Unnecessary Roughness

It’s tempting to pile on 49ers’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick for his take on the state of race relations in America.  Kaepernick hasn’t exactly distinguished himself with comments, and the amount of money he intends to contribute to social-justice causes seems to be more out of future earnings than what’s he made as a six-year NFL player.  But I was young, too, once, and talked in ways not so different from Kaepernick.  My father, who ran into burning buildings for a living as a Chicago fireman, let me live.  You could say it’s time to pay it forward.

I do wonder, though, if there are any demons inside Kaepernick.  His points would be better made while having an MVP season, not with a team now 1-11 after losing to the heretofore hapless Bears on Sunday.  At 29 and mired in his second straight subpar season, Kaepernick will have a hard time finding a football job next year.

Deep down, he may not even want one, at least not in quarterback-poor Chicago.  Kaepernick said some strange things after the game, about what an honor it was being in Chicago “on the anniversary of the assassination of [Illinois Black Panthers’ party] chairman Fred Hampton,” who was killed by Chicago police in a raid on Hampton’s apartment in December 1969.  The consensus is that police did all the shooting, despite their initial contention that people inside the apartment shot first.  So, Kaepernick honored a slain revolutionary by completing one pass on the day for four yards and rushing for another 20?  The conversation he wants to start off the field isn’t the one his stats will allow him to have.

Even if he’d torched the Bears’ secondary for five touchdowns, his words would’ve fallen pretty flat with anyone who’s not already a member of the Kaepernick choir.  Take me, for instance.  My uncle—and Confirmation sponsor—was a Chicago cop who didn’t shoot anyone black or white in his time on the force.  Should he have resigned in protest over what other officers did?  If so, then shouldn’t Kaepernick do the same and leave the NFL, which on more than one occasion has been accused of racism?  Conversations can get messy once they start.

Kaepernick has a college degree and is certainly capable of earning more; he could become a teacher, professor or lawyer.  Or he might run for office.  Only those accumulating stats and questionable remarks—about not voting and who to honor at Soldier Field, named for veterans of the armed forces—are not going to make him electable in many places.  My father gave me time to grow up.  Kaepernick needs that same chance.  Once that happens, then we can judge.