Colin Kaepernick is out of a job because of his silent protest that was anything but quiet in 2016.
Kaepernick, a former NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, took a knee during the national anthem last season. He did so, in his words, to try to raise an awareness for the way black people are treated by police officers in this country. He was adamant that his intention was not to insult the military.
(Here's an unwritten corollary of our great right to freedom of speech in our great country: You have the freedom of your speech, but you do not get to dictate how that speech is interpreted.)
Kaepernick's protest for all intents and purposes cost him a seven- to eight-figure-a-year job. He is now unemployed, despite having thrown 16 TDs and only four interceptions. He is easily one of the best 50 quarterbacks on the planet, and for a team such as Baltimore to sign some guy named Thaddeus Lewis on the last day directly points to the reason why Kaepernick does not have a job.
Jay GreesonThe folks saying Kaepernick is not on a team for football reasons are just as wrong as the folks saying this is about race. After all, the NFL - more than 70 percent of its players are black - could make an argument that it is the least racist billion-dollar operation anywhere.
This is about the protest, plain and simple, and how owners view that protest would affect the bottom line.
The word protest for a lot of us took a different turn this weekend.
Yes, Kaepernick likely is the best known protester in years, not only in sports but in a social media age.
Kaepernick's motives can be debated. His goal can be debated. His patriotism can be debated.
What can't be debated - especially after the acts in Virginia - is Kaepernick's choice and method.
Sure, hate his message. I do. I hate the fact that he unintentionally dishonored the deeds and memories of military forces - our true American heroes - and our flag.
But his method and its impact are way better than the hate-mongers who invaded the University of Virginia.
And Kaepernick's path is being emulated, and the NFL now continues its transformation from the center stage of sports to the center stage of Americana. The discussion on national anthem protests only will continue to swirl around the NFL shield.
Three players - Seattle's Michael Bennett, Oakland's Marshawn Lynch and Philadelphia's Malcolm Jenkins - had some form of protest during the national anthem last weekend as the NFL opened its preseason schedule.
It's a trend that likely will grow, perhaps to college football fields come Saturdays in the fall or high school fields on glorious Friday nights.
Athletes - with insane wealth and, for the stars, a ubiquitous platform in today's media realm - are going to be spokespeople.
After Charlottesville this weekend, we welcome a peaceful discussion.
The aftermath of that Virginia hatred should embarrass all of us. White. Black. Every color, because, simply put, it was an awful day for the red, white and blue.
Those events should have outraged all of us and left us more than a little sad, embarrassed and uncertain.
That uncertainty only can be eased by embracing what's good for the whole and not the isolated.
A friend told me about a talk he had this weekend about how the youth of our country are going to find a cause and a crew. It makes sense. Those causes can be agents of evil - think gangs or the hate-filled white supremacists in Virginia - or good - sports teams come to mind.
Now we just make sure all of those messages are for the best advancement of all, not the advancement for this cause or that.
Colin Kaepernick, whether you think he is Ali or not, did it more constructively.
And if we are ever going to take the next step, we are going to need to see that the colors that matter are not black or white.
No, the colors we should all be embracing and trying to protect and embolden are red, white and blue.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343.