Many have slammed Colin Kaepernick – who has been kneeling for the national anthem in protest of police brutality of blacks in America – and the demonstrators he has inspired for disrespecting our military.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who served in the Air Force,won’t let them get away with that.
Popovich, via Melissa Rohlin of the San Antonio Express-News:
“I absolutely understand why they’re doing what they’re doing, and I respect their courage for what they’ve done. The question is whether it will do any good or not because it seems that change really seems to happen through political pressure, no matter how you look at it. Whether it’s Dr. [Martin Luther] King getting large groups together and boycotting buses, or what’s happened in Carolina with the NBA and other organizations pulling events to make it known what’s going on. But I think the important thing that Kaepernick and others have done is to keep it in the conversation. When’s the last time you heard the name Michael Brown? With our 24/7 news, things seem to drift. We’re all trying to just exist and survive.
“It’s easier for white people because we haven’t lived that experience. It’s difficult for many white people to understand the day-to-day feeling that many black people have to deal with. It’s not just a rogue policeman, or a policeman exerting too much force or power, when we know that most of the police are just trying to do their job, which is very difficult. I’d be scared to death if I was a policeman and I stopped a car. You just don’t know what’s going to happen. And part of that in our country is exacerbated by the preponderance of guns that other countries don’t have to deal with. It gets very complicated.
“At this point, when somebody like Kaepernick brings attention to this, and others who have, it makes people have to face the issue because it’s too easy to let it go because it’s not their daily experience. If it’s not your daily experience, you don’t understand it. I didn’t talk to my kids about how to act in front of a policeman when you get stopped. I didn’t have to do that. All of my black friends have done that. There’s something that’s wrong about that, and we all know that. What’s the solution? Nobody has figured it out. But for sure, the conversation has to stay fresh, it has to stay continuous, it has to be persistent, and we all have a responsibility to make sure that happens in our communities.”
This hits the nail on the head.
Too many Americans are ignorant of what it’s like to be black in this country. Kaepernick shined a giant spotlight on the issue, getting people talking and learning. Because of Kaepernick, LeBron James was asked about his anthem plans, and he shared his – too familiar to blacks – fear of his son getting pulled over. Because LeBron holds such a large platform, his concerns are being considered and analyzed by people who ignored this pressing issue.
Meanwhile, Kaepernick continues to be vilified by many, some of whom are using the cover of the military to denounce Kaepernick’s cause. Popovich isn’t here for that.
Courageous is the word I keep coming back to on Kaepernick. He is courageous for risking his reputation to promote a greater good.
And it’s working. People are having this conversations. For the precise reason Popovich said, they must continue.
