Wednesday’s protest in support of Colin Kaepernick marked an important day in what will now be known as the #ImWithKap movement. This column is an effort to build on that movement and propose a couple of ways to pressure the NFL and its owners to change their thinking. First, a little background.
Leading up to Wednesday’s protest outside of NFL headquarters was an entire off-season filled with perplexing action by NFL owners, to say it nicely. First, there was the speculation as to which team would sign Colin Kaepernick to start at QB. When he didn’t get signed, people tried predicting which team would sign Kaepernick as a backup because he’s clearly better than every NFL backup. Finally, we came to the present reality, one where Colin Kaepernick isn’t signed by any NFL team and all because he protested racial inequality. If you think Kaepernick isn’t on a roster because of football-related reasons, you couldn’t be more wrong or willfully blind.
As you read here in March of this year, we thought that it would be one of the few NFL teams with a liberal(ish) owner that would eventually sign Kaepernick. After all, would owners really hate him enough that they’d choose to suffer a downgrade at the QB position, the most important position in football, by not signing him? Did they really want to go into the season starting guys like Chad Henne and Tom Savage or having 2nd string QB’s like Nathan Peterman, Scott Tolzien, Jake Rudock, and two guys name Kellen. Apparently, yes.
So here we are. Many fans are angry. Articles have been written. But not until Wednesday did it seem like one hint of progress was being made, because up until Wednesday there was no course of action that could actually force the NFL and its owners to take note. On Wednesday, finally, the NFL would have to pay attention, if for no other reason than because the protest was outside its offices. Even ESPN tried to steer the conversation away from the protest by tweeting the following once the protest was trending:
49ers’ Katie Sowers becomes the NFL’s first openly gay coach and 2nd full-time female assistant coach in NFL history.https://t.co/vG7QOlYM3o
— ESPN (@espn) August 23, 2017
It caught our eye:
Hmm . . . wonder why ESPN is posting this now during the @Kaepernick7 protest? https://t.co/vAbmuFlqy0
— Rudin Writes (@RudinWrites) August 23, 2017
But where does that leave us? People supporting Kaepernick are calling for a boycott of the NFL. However, for that boycott to have an effect, a whole lot of people would have to boycott. Tens of millions of people watch the NFL. Even if one assumes that thousands of people boycott, which is a big stretch, that doesn’t make much of an impact. But again, that’s some serious assuming going on because don’t forget that it’s really easy to say you’re supporting a boycott only to then tune in and watch the games anyway. It’s like the Browns fans saying they’re going to boycott the NFL because some of their players took a knee in a preseason game during the national anthem. Not happening.
Therefore, rather than force NFL fans to stop watching football, because we know that isn’t happening, how about we show our support for Kaepernick in a vocal way that will get the NFL’s attention without turning off the television? It is with that in mind that we propose “Kaepernick’s Minute.” Kaepernick wears the number 7. Therefore, anytime there are 7 minutes on the clock, no matter the amount of seconds, to those of you fans who are in the stadium, get a “Colin Kaepernick . . . clap clap clap clap clap . . . Colin Kaepernick . . .” chant going. Keep it going from 7:59 all the way down to 7:00, all four quarters. That will be tough to ignore, even if it’s only 10% of the stadium. That’s still a lot of people. Those of you at home watching, if you’re tweeting about a game that has 7:59 to 7:00 left on the clock, include the hashtag #KapsMinute. The NFL hates attention being paid to any scandal or perceived injustice being doled out by the shield.
You can also take it one step further. The NFL has a litany of league sponsers and partnerships. Any time one of them cites its partnership and tweets an ad during a game, respond with #ImWithKap, and of course, if it’s in his minute, add #KapsMinute. Force them to take a public stance and tell them in the tweet that you are advocating against the NFL teams’ collective ban on Kaepernick.
To conclude, NFL teams are private entities and can do as they please. They are not subject to punishment with regard to Kaepernick’s 1st Amendment rights because neither the NFL nor the teams that comprise the NFL are state actors, a requirement for a 1st Amendment violation. However, that doesn’t mean that we, the public, can’t let punish them in other ways, either by pressuring their sponsors or by giving them a PR nightmare. So let’s do both via our 1st Amendment rights. Let’s show them, in a way that is not only realistic but also makes a meaningful impact on those in power.
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