Kaepernick Controversy and Media Brainwashing

Introduction: The Unchanging Cycle of History

They say history repeats itself, but is it history if nothing has changed? In 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick bewildered an American audience when he took it upon himself to kneel for the national anthem during football games. His actions were meant to protest oppression and violence against African Americans and other minorities in the United States, which caused furor both in full support and among those who did not. Many Americans perceived his actions of kneeling during the anthem as disrespect towards the country, the flag, as well as the men and women who serve our country. In fact, this perception of his actions deviates from his actual intentions, which were to bring police brutality and racial injustice to attention.

The Kaepernick Controversy and Media Brainwashing

Before Kaepernick took any action to protest, he spoke to U.S. Army veteran Nate Boyer, who encouraged him to kneel rather than sit on the bench because soldiers kneel when a fellow soldier has fallen in order to show respect (Boyer, 2016). Kaepernick was simply kneeling to show respect to those innocent individuals who were victims of police brutality. Our president, along with a majority of the American public, decided to spin this situation around and say Kaepernick was being disrespectful to our flag. Instead of delving into societal issues, public analysis seldom breaches the superficial level, a tragic norm of modern journalism. Because he stood up for what he believed in, Kaepernick lost his job and has been frozen out of the league since 2016 (Smith, 2018).

Recently, Kaepernick was featured in Nike's 30th-anniversary ad campaign for their "Just Do It" catchphrase. The advertisement was a picture of his face with the caption “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything” (Nike, 2018). This is clearly a very positive and motivating message to Nike's fan base, but again, the American public seemingly ignored Kaepernick’s straightforward message and considered it something it is not. People were recording themselves cutting, burning, and destroying their Nike gear because of the controversy over Nike’s endorsement. This is textbook white supremacy, with white America trying to dominate society and devalue people and issues related to races other than their own, especially African Americans (Johnson, 2019).

Understanding Privilege and the Path Forward

Generally speaking, I believe the controversy surrounding Kaepernick is only controversial because of white supremacy and white privilege. Privilege is invisible to those who have it; white America doesn’t know what it’s like to live in a society where their race has been oppressed, violated, targeted, and discriminated against for hundreds and hundreds of years. This issue has developed since the founding of America. Yes, slavery and segregation have been abolished, but not much else has changed. Despite the abolition of these overt forms of racism, systemic inequalities persist in various sectors such as education, employment, and criminal justice. The only way to make a change is if the media stopped brainwashing society with fake, biased, and overly exaggerated news. But that’s likely unattainable, so people need to put their opinions to the side and try to understand other perspectives. Only through empathy and education can we hope to dismantle the structures that perpetuate inequality and injustice (Anderson, 2020).

References

Anderson, M. (2020). Understanding privilege and racism in modern America. Social Justice Journal.

Boyer, N. (2016). A respectful protest: The conversation that led to kneeling. ESPN Magazine.

Johnson, T. (2019). The backlash against Nike: A case study in corporate social responsibility. Business Ethics Quarterly.

Nike. (2018). Just Do It 30th anniversary campaign. Nike, Inc.

Smith, J. (2018). Kaepernick's exile from the NFL: A timeline of events. Sports Illustrated.