Sacrifice Everything?

I’m about to dive into something that I don’t normally get all that involved with. I’m about to go beyond the sports/nerd world that is my comfort zone to something a little more real.  I’m going to talk about some social issues for just a minute if you will allow me to.

For those of you still reading thanks. I don’t normally get into this stuff because I feel like there is no real winning. If somebody disagrees with you there is not convincing them to see the other side, and I think that’s crap. A difference of opinion does not make one a bad person.

Ok so lets get this over with. I’m sure, unless you live under a rock, in a cave, in the bottom of the ocean, that you have seen the Nike and Colin Kaepernick partnership that has culminated in the slogan “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

First I’ll give my brief thoughts on the issues that Kaepernick represents. There is absolutely a problem with police brutality in this country. Far too many black people have been beaten/killed at the hands of police that didn’t deserve it. Have there been instances also where maybe if more cooperation had been in place then the situation doesn’t escalate? Probably. But the issue still remains. And before anybody starts I absolutely support the police and the job they do and I thank them for it.

So I do believe he supports a legitimate issue, but I don’t necessarily support the way he has gone about it. I don’t really support the kneeling during the national anthem. I come from a military family and was raised that the anthem is sign of respect for the military.  So I see that the issue is there, I just don’t quite support the way his message is sent. And I fully recognize that he has the first amendment right to do so.

And that’s not to mention the fact that I believe he has hurt his credibility with some of the things he has worn to voice his opinion. At one practice he wore socks that had pigs dressed in police uniforms. Then at a press conference he wore a shirt that had Fidel Castro with Malcolm X on it. Anybody who thinks for a second that Castro was a positive influence in history needs to actually crack open a history book and do some research. So I think he hurt himself with those things, at least he did in my eyes.

Then that brings up the idea behind how he came to kneel. Kaepernick was originally just sitting during the anthem. But after talking with a former Green Beret Nate Boyer, Boyer suggested he kneel because there are instances in the military where kneeling is a sign of respect. So he has at least collaborated with some military members to figure this thing out

Anyways now that I’ve brushed over that, lets dig into the slogan of the new campaign. I have zero issues with the first sentence in the slogan. Always believe in something. Yes. Absolutely.

Now the second part “Even if it mean sacrificing everything.” According to the dictionary the definition of sacrifice is a: destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else. b: something given up or lost. c: something offered in sacrifice.

So according to this new campaign Kaepernick gave up something for his cause. But is that really the case? If you really examine the situation it’s not.

If you go back to his last season played in the NFL in 2016, he played in 12 games, with some ok stats. The 16-4 Touchdowns to Interceptions is an impressive stat, but there are some not so good ones in there as well. Like the game against the Bears where he completed 1 of his 5 passes for a  whopping 4 yards. 4 yards in an NFL game! That’s not very good, obviously.

But the real kicker is that season Kaepernick was going to be under contract with the 49ers for the 2017 season, but he opted out of his contract to go into free agency. He has since gone unsigned, but not by fault of all other teams. Reportedly the Broncos offered to sign him to a deal close to 7 million a year for two years.

So he opted out of a contract to go into a free agency and then reportedly turned down an offer from the Broncos? So he’s had his chances to be on NFL rosters, he has just chosen not to. But he still professes a desire to play, and has had talks with the Ravens and Seahawks.

He now has a collusion law suit case against the NFL that is moving forward through the legal system, saying the league has banded together to keep him out. Well which is it? Did you willingly give up football to support these issues, or are you out of football because nobody will sign you because you support these issues? It can’t be both.

Not to mention the fact that Nike is now going to be paying him money just to be the face of this campaign. I would give up a whole lot of things to get money for not doing much. So is he really sacrificing much? Until we figure that out maybe we should pump the brakes on his “sacrifice.”

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