{"id":4553,"date":"2016-09-10T16:31:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-10T16:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/?p=4553"},"modified":"2026-08-12T16:34:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:34:29","slug":"i-stand-by-kaepernicks-decision-to-sit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/2016\/09\/10\/i-stand-by-kaepernicks-decision-to-sit\/","title":{"rendered":"I stand by Kaepernick\u2019s decision to sit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cWe\u2019re so tired of these uppity Negroes<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the collective voice of the now termed \u201calt-right\u201d when news spread that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a stand by sitting \u2026 sitting during the playing of the \u201cStar Spangled Banner\u201d before the Niners preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. Kaepernick sat and the alt-right had a hissy fit. Truth be told, it wasn\u2019t just the far right that was outraged. Some white folks (and even Black folks) who consider themselves moderate expressed dismay distain. I\u2019m not one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t the first time an athlete has protested the \u201cimplied consent decree\u201d that all Americans must stand, hand on heart, facing the Stars and Stripes, humming along with a tear rolling down one cheek<\/em>. In 1996 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was the recipient of death threats \u2026 yeah, people threatened to kill the man \u2026 after he refused to stand for the national anthem. That didn\u2019t go over too well for the star point guard. It\u2019s not going over too well for Kaepernick either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funny thing is, not many people paid attention to Kaepernick\u2019s silent protest as it was happening. In fact during his immediate postgame interview not one question was asked about Kaepernick\u2019s decision to sit. Most of the sitting questions were about Coach Chip Kelly\u2019s decision to sit Kaepernick in favor of Blane Gabbert. The reporters at the game certainly didn\u2019t notice. And there\u2019s probably a pretty good reason they didn\u2019t notice; because chances are, they too weren\u2019t paying much attention to the \u201cStar Spangled Banner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should be noted that during that interview session Kaepernick showed up sporting a hat with a large X on it and a t-shirt with images of Malcolm X and the caption, \u201cLike minds think alike\u201d \u2013 a bit of a tell as to the quarterback\u2019s views on social justice issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But back to the decision not to stand for the national anthem \u2026 and the so-called outrage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This whole national anthem \u201coutrage\u201d recently reemerged not with Kaepernick, but with Gabrielle Douglas during the medal ceremony following the U.S. women\u2019s gymnastics team\u2019s win at the Summer Olympics. Douglas had the \u201caudacity\u201d to not place her hand over her heart during the sacred<\/em> song. Twitter fingers couldn\u2019t type fast enough. And now with Kaepernick, the alt-right \u2026 and let\u2019s call it for what it is, the racist right \u2026 is again feigning outrage. But funny thing is, I\u2019ve been to hundreds of sporting events \u2026 hundreds. And when the \u201cStar Spangled Banner\u201d is playing I could have documented hundreds upon hundred<\/em>s of instances where white fans are doing almost any and everything during the song. Concession stand workers are still fielding orders from hungry fans, buddies are high fiving one another in anticipation of what they hope is a victory for their side. Hats are on, arms are folded; half the crowd is on the phone texting, taking selfies or posting on social media. So where\u2019s the outrage there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a Black man (regardless of what that idiot Rodney Harrison thinks), Kaepernick knows that the \u201cStar Spangled Banner\u201d was not written for us<\/em>. In fact, as exposed in many places including in a July commentary on The Root<\/em>, author Francis Scott Key penned multiple verses to the song (though only the first verse is sung during events) and in the third verse, Key makes it crystal clear how he feels about Blacks \u2026 former slaves \u2026 fighting to gain their freedom; their independency \u2026 their humanity. His words are as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That the havoc of war and the battle\u2019s confusion<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A home and a country should leave us no more?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their blood has wash\u2019d out their foul footstep\u2019s pollution.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No refuge could save the hireling and slave<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019er the land of the free and the home of the brave.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a Black man \u2026 descendent of slaves \u2026 not exactly something that makes me want to stand either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And back to the real and most important issue; why<\/em> Colin Kaepernick is refusing to stand during the national anthem. By not standing, he\u2019s in fact standing tallest. He\u2019s not standing because of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. He\u2019s not standing because of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. He\u2019s not standing because of 18-year-old Michael Brown. He\u2019s not standing because of Oscar Grant. He\u2019s not standing because of Eric Garner. He\u2019s not standing because of John Crawford, III. He\u2019s not standing because of Freddie Gray. He\u2019s not standing because of Sandra Bland. He\u2019s not standing because of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. He\u2019s not standing because of Jamar Clark. He\u2019s not standing because of Alton Sterling. He\u2019s not standing because of Philando Castile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s not standing because of the continued killing of Black people \u2026 many just kids \u2026 at the hands of law enforcement and wanna-be law enforcement. He\u2019s not standing for it any more. Neither am I.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe\u2019re so tired of these uppity Negroes.\u201d That\u2019s the collective voice of the now termed \u201calt-right\u201d when news spread that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a stand by sitting \u2026 sitting during the playing of the \u201cStar Spangled Banner\u201d before the Niners preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. Kaepernick sat and the alt-right […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2821,524,2822],"class_list":["post-4553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-chip-kelly","tag-colin-kaepernick","tag-green-bay-packers","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Insight-News-Website-Images-9-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4553"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4555,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4553\/revisions\/4555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}