Picture by Jennifer Cheung

Kaepernick takes a stand against minority oppression

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In the midst of all the police brutality and minority oppression, one athlete has decided to peacefully protest to express his opinion on the issue. During a NFL preseason game against the San Diego Chargers on Sept. 1, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, refused to stand up as the national anthem played while many fans disagree with his protest, others applaud Kaepernick for his brave action. His protest has created a domino effect that has led other athletes to sit or kneel down during the pregame salute.

Kaepernick’s bold move has even gotten President Barack Obama’s attention, who believes that he [Kaepernick] is “exercising his constitutional right”. In the First Amendment, the people have the freedom of assembly, petition, press, religion and speech. That means that Kaepernick is allowed to object against the salute and that there should not be a punishment for it. It would not be fair if the NFL chose to suspend or terminate his contract because as an American citizen, Kaepernick should be able to exercise that right.

The purpose of Kaepernick’s action was to stand up against minority oppression, which has been happening a lot lately. Police shootings, for instance, play a huge factor of the abuse. After the game, he shared with the NFL Media his perspective on the subject.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

One of the athletes that participated in the protest was United States women’s soccer player, Megan Rapinoe. Rapinoe understands and agrees with Kaepernick that our rights aren’t always protected. When ESPN’s Julie Foudy asked about her decision to kneel, Rapinoe explains the discrimination she faces as part of the LGBT community.

And quite honestly being gay, I have stood with my hand over my heart during the national anthem and felt like I haven’t had my liberties protected, so I can absolutely sympathize with that feeling,” Rapinoe said. “The very least that I can do is continue the conversation with him [Kaepernick] by kneeling for the anthem.”

Since the same-sex marriage law was only passed last year, the LGBT community is slowly getting acknowledged and accepted. However, several states are still restricting certain rights that enable LGBT citizens to feel completely free. For example, in N.C., Governor Pat McCrory signed a bill that makes transgender citizens go to the restroom that correlates with the sex that they were born with. As a result, the NCAA has decided to relocate their championship games out of N.C. as a protest of the bill.

Kaepernick will continue his protest with other athletes and will donate $1 million to organizations that help minority communities. Discrimination is the reason why America has been experiencing violence. People need to push their stereotypes aside and not oppress others for their race, religion or sexuality.

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