No Kap, No NFL: Three Years without Football
The last NFL game I watched was in January 2017, a divisional playoff matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys (1). Anyone who watched that game knows it didn't end well for Dallas. My boy Tinsley chronicled his experience in real-time (2), exposing people to a day in the life of a Dallas Cowboys fan. It was also the last time Tony Romo would ever wear an NFL uniform as he went on to retire later that calendar year. As was the case after every Cowboys season before that, the disappointment would carry into the later months and I would simply recharge the batteries for more anguish and pain once the 2017 season began.
However, there was no 2017 season for me, because the 2016 season was also the last time Colin Kaepernick would play in the NFL. Once it became obvious as to why he wasn't on a roster and allowed to compete, I renounced my NFL fandom and vowed not to watch another game until he was signed to a NFL roster. I have not watched it since (3). The way I saw it, if Colin Kaepernick was willing to jeopardize his career on behalf of people who looked like me, then I was willing to give up the NFL as a source of entertainment, no matter how long it had been a fixture in my life.
There is an expression as battle-tested as the days are long and it is very simple: God don't like ugly. That was a reason why it's been easy to not watch an NFL game, not engage in conversations about the NFL with anyone who continues to watch the product for over three years, and why it has been easy to never return. Colin Kaepernick took a knee to highlight systemic oppression against black and brown people and people of color in the United States (4) and, as someone who has been black all my life, I knew exactly what he meant. It was easy to align with what he was doing. It did not take having to bury an unarmed loved one killed by the police for me to be upset. I see myself anytime I see stories of black and brown men who are treated unjustly by American law enforcement. It is impossible not to take it personally when people who lack empathy trivialize your feelings and stance about what has long been an issue in this country.
Also, a simple history lesson within the framework of sports shows that Kaepernick wasn't the first person to use his platform to demonstrate peacefully on behalf of black people and the various populations in this country who have been systematically discriminated against. Tommie Smith and John Carlos demonstrated during the national anthem after the 200-meter finals at the 1968 Olympics (5) in Mexico City and were ostracized by their home country before they even stepped foot back in the country (6). Muhammad Ali was vilified in 1967 (7) for his refusal to join the armed services during the war with Vietnam. In 2003, Toni Smith, a former basketball player at Martinsville College, turned her back to the American flag during the national anthem as a way to protest the US involvement in the war in Iraq (8). She faced the ire of fans at home and away games (9), yet remained steadfast in her resolve. As a 21-year-old senior, she had the foresight to articulate the fact that the flag meant different things to different people (10) and to peacefully demonstrate during the anthem did not mean it was an act of disrespect toward veterans. To Toni Smith, a woman with a multi-racial and a multi-ethnic background, the flag represented the slaughter of her ancestors (11). To face the flag would be to face a symbol that represented the mistreatment of her people, which was something her conscience would not allow.
History has shown that all of them were in the right and all were later praised for their acts of selflessness. Having those three athletes as a backdrop, I had a feeling of exactly how things would go if shit hit the fan: history would be re-written with Colin Kaepernick as a hero (12), at the expense of his peak years of earning potential. Indeed, one of the unfortunate and frustrating aspects of Smith, Carlos, and Ali's stances is the loss of income during their primes since all three of them were in their twenties at the time they took their respective stands.
As it pertained to Kaepernick, black men who were riding the fence with his stance by claiming they understood while continuing to quench their gridiron thirsts by watching the NFL and engaging in other activities to feed the financial beast would have their “Now I’m blind, but now I see” moment and realize their perspective was misguided, at best, or complete and utter trash at worst. Even more troubling was claiming to understand Kap's stance while simultaneously having the audacity to say "Well, if the players aren't boycotting, then why should I," as if a group of professional athletes who have trained for years should give up their opportunities to earn a living when the fans who watch them scoff at the mere thought of giving up their entertainment.
Something that has been frustrating the past three years, outside of people falling all over themselves to justify why he hasn’t been signed (13), whether it was talk of contract demands Kap allegedly made (14) or media claims that he wouldn’t accept a backup role which has never been verified, is the sham of a workout from November 2019 that the NFL claimed was in good faith. Watching the entire scene unfold (15) had people who gave up the NFL surprised initially, which quickly led to skepticism and a continued lack of trust in the product when the final version of the workout fell apart (16) the day of. It was insulting to watch and, once again, made the decision to stay away from the NFL much easier.
By no means is this an "I told you so" moment. Life has a way of showing all people that some experiences are best learned if you are fortunate enough to be given enough time on this planet to learn them. For some, the countless killings of unarmed black people (17) at the hands of law enforcement and vigilantes masquerading as law enforcement (18) were enough for them to realize what Kap was saying and demonstrating through his words and deeds through his Know Your Rights camps (19) camps throughout the country. For others, the death of George Floyd was the final straw. That is certainly evidenced through the peaceful protests and demonstrations (20) which have taken place throughout the country and the world since his tragic demise on May 25, 2020. People from all walks of life have contributed to the moment (21), through their actions (22) and words (23).
Whatever the moment, it is bittersweet to see Colin Kaepernick vindicated. The presence of a pandemic (24) the likes of which hasn't been seen in over 100 years along with skyrocketing unemployment (25) and the tragic and unnecessary losses of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor (26), Sean Monterrosa (27), Ahmaud Aubery (28) and other victims of police and vigilante violence led to the perfect cocktail for today's revolution to not only be televised but for it to also be live.