This past Sunday Nike unveiled one of the faces of its latest “Just Do It” advertising campaign -- none other than former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick has been a lightning rod of controversy in recent years because of the far-reaching effects of his national anthem protests. Not only did the protests continue in his absence last season, the fact that he failed to make an NFL roster last year is news itself. Kaepernick has become the most divisive sports figure not named LeBron James, all while not having played a down of football since December of 2016.
Fact or Fiction?
It’s probably helpful to start by taking a moment to un-muddy some of the waters surrounding Kaepernick’s career, protests, and departure from the NFL. Below is an attempt to wade through the veracity of some common statements you hear tied to Kaepernick’s play, protests, and legacy.
#1) Kaepernick is out of the NFL because of his declining play. He’s not good enough to be an NFL QB. FICTION.
To some extent, this is a matter of opinion, but see if you disagree after considering the evidence below:
Exhibit A: A list of 15 quarterbacks who started at least one NFL game last season.
Jacoby Brissett
Josh McCown
DeShone Kizer
Tom Savage
Brock Osweiler
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Brian Hoyer
Paxton Lynch
Trevor Siemian
Brett Hundley
Drew Stanton
C.J. Beathard
Bryce Petty
Cody Kessler
Matt Moore
That list of quarterbacks has a combined TWO playoff appearances and ONE playoff win. Those all belong to Brock Osweiler in 2016; the same Osweiler who was so bad that he was CUT BY THE CLEVELAND BROWNS LAST YEAR. Need we say more?
Exhibit B: Blind stat comparison
This is courtesy of Nick Wright over at Fox Sports. Look carefully. The stats on the right belong to Colin Kaepernick; the stats on left belong to Jimmy Garoppolo.
While a six game sample size is FAR from conclusive, it clearly illustrates that a 29-year old Kaepernick showed more than enough on the field to justify earning a job for the 2017 season. That six game stat line was enough to earn Garoppolo a five-year, $137.5 million contract from the same 49ers club that cut ties with Kaepernick the year before.
#2) Kaepernick could have remained in the NFL if he opted in to the last year of his contract with San Francisco.
FICTION.
49ers general manager John Lynch said in an interview with Pro Football Talk that Kaepernick would’ve been cut had he exercised his player option for 2017. Here is an excerpt (emphasis added):
“Yes,” Lynch said regarding whether Kaepernick would have been cut if he hadn’t opted out, “and we had that conversation with him. So I don’t want to characterize it as he made a decision to leave here. We both sat down and under that current construct of his deal, it was a big number. [Coach] Kyle [Shanahan] had a vision for what he wanted to do, and one thing I think Kyle was very clear and I think Colin appreciated, is that Kyle has an idea of how he’d play with Colin Kaepernick. But he preferred to run the exact offense that he ran in Atlanta last year that was record-breaking in this league. And if you change it for the quarterback, you change it for everybody on that offense. So he had a great discussion that I think gave Colin clarity, so we moved on. Brian Hoyer was one of the guys we pursued. Once we pursued him, we didn’t see Kaep as a backup that would really fit in that scheme and we communicated that to him. So I think we’ve been very up front with it. But I think that is a fair characterization. Yes, he was not going to be here under the construct of his contract. We gave him the option, ‘You can opt out, we can release you, whatever.’ And he chose to opt out, but that was just a formality.”
You can read the rest of the article HERE:
#3) Kaepernick has done substantial charity work.
FACT.
Multiple media outlets report that Kaepernick has donated over $1 million to various charities ranging from social justice advocacy to education. Here’s a summary of his charitable donations from NinersNation. Sports Illustrated also penned this piece on Kaepernick’s charity work and included the following breakdown of his donations as of December of 2017.
Kaepernick started his own organization, the Colin Kaepernick Foundation which funds the “Know Your Rights” campaign. Know Your Rights is a campaign to raise awareness of “higher education, self empowerment, and instruction to properly interact with law enforcement in various scenarios.” So far, the organization has held workships in four U.S. cities to educate people about their rights (stated as 10 points) including the rights to be free, healthy, brilliant, alive, and trusted.
Yes, you read that correctly. Kaepernick is funding a charity that trains people on how to get along with the police.
#4) Kaepernick didn’t lose his endorsement money; he’s been on Nike’s payroll all along.
FACT...probably.
Nike has yet to release any details regarding Kaepernick’s contract, so there’s no concrete information on what he’s making as the face of their latest advertising campaign. Fortune reports that a source familiar with the contract told The Associated Press the deal includes an apparel line for Kaepernick and a contribution to his charity, Know Your Rights.
#5) Tim Tebow did the same thing and did not receive the same criticism.
FICTION.
This idea has been popularized by a viral screen cap that's made it's way around social media for the last year or so.
This is chock full of inaccuracies, the most glaring of which is that (A) Tebow knelt in personal prayer, not protest and (B) Tebow NEVER said "he couldn't stand for a flag that allowed for abortion." Tebow has been very vocal about his pro-life stance and it's foundation in his Christian faith, but there is no record of him ever making such a demonstrative statement regarding abortion and the flag. To put it simply, the comparison is utterly false.
What is at the root of the disagreement?
It starts with people on both sides building opinions based on emotion and sensationalism instead of facts. It’s rare in our current social climate for the average person to do research beyond a single (often one-sided) article that pops up in their news feed or an inflammatory meme they come across on Twitter. It takes less than 10 minutes of Google research to find that a number of narratives surrounding the Kaepernick controversy are misrepresented and, in some cases, just patently false.
BUT...lest you think us Kaepernick apologists, Kaepernick has to shoulder some of the blame for the beating his reputation has taken. If people already think you’re unpatriotic, wearing a shirt like this after a 2016 game against the Dolphins probably won’t help.
The shirt says “Like minds think alike” and shows images from a 1960 meeting between Malcolm X and Cuban revolutionary-turned-politician Fidel Castro. Kaepernick was grilled about the shirt by a reporter who was a former Cuban exile and defended it by focusing on the inclusion of influential American civil rights leader Malcolm X as well. When pressed further he went on to express admiration for the way Castro increased literacy in Cuba by spending more on education than on the prison systems -- something he said America is capable of doing also.
All of this took place in a city with one of the highest Cuban-American populations in the country, many of whom fled Cuba to get away from Castro's regime. Needless to say, Kaepernick’s remarks went over like a lead balloon and only add fuel to the narrative fire that his protests were rooted in a lack of patriotism. That was on the heels of this image of a rather interesting sock choice surfacing from a practice during fall camp of 2016:
So while some of the public perception of Kaepernick’s motives are rooted in people’s preconceived biases and even the spread of blatant misinformation, some of it is a result of rather ill-advised and cavalier actions on his own part. Kaepernick proudly exercised his right to express himself freely, but checks written with free speech often come with a receipt -- in this case one that said “Your activism makes you a much less attractive option to be a part of an NFL franchise.”
So again, the question remains...what’s at the root of the disagreement?
Here are three observations on what’s contributing to the growing rift.
1) People disagree on what Kaepernick was protesting.
Here are Kaepernick's own words on the matter on August 26, 2016:
I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder...This is not something that I am going to run by anybody. I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. ... If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.
After reading his initial statement on the protest, what did you take away as Kaepernick's motivation? Many that heard his initial comments took away "racial injustice" while others took away "lack of pride in the flag." Based on that quote alone, both are understandable conclusions to draw. But on August 28, 2016 Kaepernick clarified:
Reporter: So many people see the flag as a symbol of the military. How do you view it and what do you say to those people? Kaepernick: I have great respect for the men and women that have fought for this country. I have family, I have friends that have gone and fought for this country. And they fight for freedom, they fight for the people, they fight for liberty and justice, for everyone. That’s not happening. People are dying in vain because this country isn’t holding their end of the bargain up, as far as giving freedom and justice, liberty to everybody. That’s something that’s not happening. I’ve seen videos, I’ve seen circumstances where men and women that have been in the military have come back and been treated unjustly by the country they have fought for, and have been murdered by the country they fought for, on our land. That’s not right.
On August 30, 2016, the Army Times published an open letter to Kaepernick from former Seattle Seahawks player Nate Boyer, who served as a Green Beret in U.S. military actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Boyer and Kaepernick met after the open letter and Boyer summarizes the meeting in an interview with HBO's 'Real Sports:'
We sorta came to a middle ground where he would take a knee alongside his teammate. Soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen brother’s grave, you know, to show respect. When we’re on a patrol, you know, and we go into a security halt, we take a knee, and we pull security.
Kaepernick also shared this in an op-ed published by the New York Times in September of 2017:
After hours of careful consideration, and even a visit from Nate Boyer, a retired Green Beret and former NFL player, we came to the conclusion that we should kneel, rather than sit, the next day during the anthem as a peaceful protest. We chose to kneel because it’s a respectful gesture. I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy.
In spite of these seemingly clear declarations of his intent, many of Kaepernick's detractors still frame his protests as a sign of disrespect for the flag, the military, and the country. While it's perfectly reasonable to FEEL that his actions were disrespectful, the disconnect comes when people attach their OWN feelings to Kaepernick's motives. In other words, those who feel that kneeling or sitting for the anthem is always disrespectful will probably always see "lack of respect" as the primary motivation. As long as people continue to super-impose their own interpretations of Kaepernick's motives onto his actions, it becomes nearly impossible to find a middle ground from which to start a constructive dialogue. 2) People disagree on what Kaepernick has sacrificed.
Colin Kaepernick earned approximately $43 million during his six-year NFL career. That, in addition to his endorsement deals with high-profile companies such as Beats and Nike, has led many to criticize the very premise of his most recent Nike ad -- sacrifice.
Despite losing his NFL career, many don’t see becoming the centerpiece of a highly-publicized advertising campaign and starting your own clothing line as “sacrificing everything.” Others point out that no matter how much money someone makes, it’s a sacrifice to be unable to do what you love. In Kaepernick’s case, the opportunity to do what he loves to do -- play NFL football -- has been taken from him, and it seems highly unlikely he will ever play in the league again.
Those who feel Kaepernick has sacrificed little in losing his job as an NFL quarterback tend to take the approach mentioned earlier -- they blame the end of his career on declining play and often characterize him as entitled for feeling he still deserves a spot in the league. On the other hand, those who feel Kaepernick effectively sacrificed his playing career to take a stand for social issues see him as a martyr and view his exclusion from the league as yet another injustice.
It goes without saying that if you disagree on the cost of Kaepernick’s activism, you’ll probably disagree on the nobility of his corresponding actions.
3) Both sides see hypocrisy and inconsistency on the other side.
People on both sides of this debate are struggling to understand some logical inconsistencies and perceived contradictions in the responses of those with opposing views. Here are a few examples of those disconnects:
How can Kaepernick oppose the oppression of minorities in this country, but readily endorse a company known for utilizing oppressive sweatshop labor to make their products?
How can people support President Trump’s criticism of NFL players for being unpatriotic when he openly criticized the Vietnam service record of the late senator John McCain? Trump went as far as to say McCain wasn’t a hero simply because he served time as a prisoner of war.
How can Cowboys owner Jerry Jones be so strongly opposed to a peaceful protest of racial injustice, but fine with signing woman-beaters like Greg Hardy to play for his team?
Why didn’t people burn their Nike gear after it was revealed in 2013 that Tiger Woods had MULTIPLE illicit affairs on his wife? Why weren’t they equally outraged by such a grievous moral wrong?
Why didn’t people burn their Under Armour gear and Golden State Warriors uniforms after Steph Curry said he would not accept an invite to the White House because of his strong disagreement with the leadership of President Trump?
How can Colin Kaepernick oppose the oppression of minorities in this country while lauding the social accomplishments of an oppressive dictator like Fidel Castro?
Why has Kaepernick's extensive charitable work been all but ignored by the major sports networks?
You get it -- the list goes on and on. And yes, there is a certain measure of hypocrisy in the responses of people on both sides.
Conclusion
There are two further difficulties that complicate discussions like this. First, there is a nearly universal reluctance to acknowledge that there isn't always a clear-cut right or wrong point-of-view. Second, so many people lack the ability to differentiate fact from opinion in their disagreements.
For example, saying "Colin Kaepernick was protesting the flag" is false -- it's a statement that is factually inaccurate. But saying "Colin Kaepernick was disrespecting the flag" is an opinion -- a statement that can't be proven false, only disagreed with. This is the part that drives people crazy. When people can't use facts to change someone else's opinion they are typically left with raw emotions. Mix in the racial component that fundamentally underlies the entire conversation, and you have perfectly volatile mix ready for social combustion. And here we are. I don't know how Colin Kaepernick's story ends, but I hope that, at the least, his motives and actions will be fairly and accurately represented regardless of whether people can ever agree about him.
P.S. -- Can you imagine if Kaepernick ever DOES make it back to the league? Oh, the memes, articles, and social media reactions would be better than Christmas. One can only hope...
Kommentarer