His protest does not need to be recast as patriotic, as patriotism is not a higher virtue than justice
Two years ago, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat down during the playing of the national anthem. When asked why, he told the press: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”
Kaepernick had, like millions of other Americans, witnessed police violence take the lives of a number of unarmed black people, while the excuses for such violence piled up next to an absence of accountability. The protest spread, within the league and outside, sparking a fresh round of conversations about the place of politics within sports, the role of the athlete-activist, free speech, and what constitutes an appropriate protest.
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