The "why" behind the boycott

Tonight, September 7, marks the start of the 2017 NFL season. Millions will tune in. Many others, including myself, will not.

It's been more than two weeks since my first post on this blog, which I do plan to post on at least occasionally for the foreseeable future, and so much has happened since. A couple of friends and family have reached out and all, both in support of me simply writing again and also supporting boycott of the NFL which officially starts today. Those two things are separate, as just as many who support me picking up the proverbial pen again are absolutely against the boycott.

I'm not here to villainize them for their opinions or for the mere fact that they plan to watch tonight and every game they can this season. But a particular friend mentioned something that I think bears repeating and is the topic of this post: "Why are you boycotting the NFL?"

"I've asked this question to lots of people who have asked me about why I'm not boycotting. I've gotten 'to get Kap signed' and 'to show solidarity in the fight against police brutality.' I think a boycott for those reasons is silly."

This person's point is simple. Police brutality has nothing to do with the NFL, police policy and local politics have something to do with police brutality. And that's a sort of a fair point.

Sort of.

But we have to go back why Kaepernick was protesting by kneeling during the national anthem to begin with.

Kaep brought the conversation to the sports world by kneeling in protest in a way no one else did in that particular arena. It brought a lot of attention to an ongoing issue — police brutality and the specific killings of unarmed black and brown people — that already made national headlines. It forced many apathetic people to, if nothing else, face the issue head-on even if they didn't want to. 

Sports is often used by people to escape reality. The protest brought, at least for short minute or so, an end to that escape. NFL audiences had to think about the deaths of Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Laquan McDonald and so many others just before kickoff of several national broadcasts throughout the season.

Or at the very least, you had to ponder why a supposedly rich quarterback would suddenly kneel in protest during the anthem before a game that paid him millions to a game.

Being confronted with an uncomfortable, inconvenient truth about police forces across the country forced Americans, who reflexively honor, respect and believe them, pushes those who hear it to become empathetic or emboldened to fight against it. 

It is my thought that Kaepernick is being blackballed. The goal of keeping Kaepernick out of the league will silence the player, silence the protest, and will act as a deterrent for current NFL players to stop them from making any other overt display against the police. I also think most NFL owners have a vitriolic response to Kaepernick, in general, because of that flag and that anthem. It's something they can't get over and have a sympathetic ear to anyone else who feels the same.

My boycott and many others, therefore, is a byproduct of both police brutality of people of color and the opinion that Kaep is being blackballed in an effort muffle his voice and his cause. 

While I think it's completely unfair Kaepernick is still out of the league, this isn't just about the Know Your Rights advocate getting a job that's he's more than qualified for. It's about what the NFL is doing to silence him and how its owners hope this will have a chilling effect on the rest of its employees.

Fortunately, this hasn't been the case entirely. Michael Bennett and a host of other players have had some form of protest during the playing of the anthem, sitting or kneeling before the flag. But just as Bennett eloquently spoke on why he plans to sit during the anthem throughout the season, Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant wants no part in protests and mentioned how he "has a family to feed."

I don't disparage Bryant's comment either. What he's saying is real, especially for a player inching closer to 30 years old.

Perhaps related or unrelated, 13 days after Bennett declared he'd sit for the national anthem, the Seattle Seahawks defensive end had his own brush up with law enforcement. Bennett detailed an encounter with police August 26 in Las Vegas he claims was an incident of police brutality. 

It's amazing that we've come full circle. Police brutality — the very thing Colin Kaepernick was protesting about a year ago — is now the subject of an investigation involving an NFL player, who just so happens to be protesting.

And here we are. It's the start of the season, Kaepernick is unemployed and blacklisted from a league that wants nothing more than the issue of police brutality off the field and out of people's minds.

It's ironic its actions and, perhaps a little happenstance, have only brought both issues even closer to the forefront.

— Joey Baskerville; joey.baskerville@gmail.com