Farewell Colin Kaepernick the 49ers QB; hello Kaepernick the political piñata | The Fresno Bee

When Muhammad Ali died in early June, I spent 1,100 words asking why more of today’s professional athletes don’t speak out. Why so many don’t use their platforms to support social causes. Why so many are content to pocket their fat paychecks and stay silent.

Then along comes Colin Kaepernick to illustrate my point. Simply by sitting down while others stand.

Until Friday night, Kaepernick was best known for being a 49ers quarterback. He wasn’t even the starting quarterback, for reasons that have nothing to do with this discussion. Not anymore. He now is a political piñata and, if my hunch is correct, a presidential campaign issue for Hillary and Donald all the way through till November.

Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the national anthem before multiple preseason games, as well as the social stance that brought him to that decision, rubs out anything he will do on the football field.

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From this moment onward, Kaepernick is no longer just a quarterback, starting, backup or clipboard-holder-for-life. He is The Quarterback Who Won’t Stand for America.

“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 told NFL.com after the game. “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.”

I sincerely hope Kaepernick enjoyed his time as a professional athlete. He is rapidly on his way to becoming a national symbol, and with that comes a whole new level of scrutiny. Remember when the Turlock native used images of a devastating Houston flood on Instagram to trash-talk Texans fans, and quickly apologized? That was just a trickle compared to the tsunami breaking over him now.

Kaepernick made this choice based on his conscience and political beliefs. If you visit his Twitter page, it’s a hodgepodge of references to the Black Lives Matter movement and retweets of New York Daily News senior justice writer Shaun King. Certainly he is entitled to have those beliefs and express them – this is still America, right? – just as those with opposing views will now paint him as an ungrateful poster boy for everything that’s wrong with this country.

During the current political cycle of bitter divisiveness and extreme meanness, there will be no shortage of those eager to take their whacks. (A personal observation: Isn’t it strange how the people who object most vociferously to any criticisms of this country are the same ones driving around with “Make America Great Again” bumper stickers?)

Kaepernick seems aware of the barrage of criticism coming his way, telling NFL.com he is not “looking for approval.” He also seems to understand the impact such a stance can have on his future ability to earn $12 million a year throwing spirals.

“If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right,” he said.

While an admirable stance for someone to take, you have to wonder if Kaepernick truly understands the crapstorm he created for himself. Not three weeks ago, at the Rio Olympics, certain segments of America went into a tizzy when Gabby Douglas didn’t place her hand over her heart as the national anthem played during the gold-medal ceremony.

Douglas felt compelled to apologize, saying she meant no disrespect to the flag. Kaepernick may be forced to as well, even though he clearly did.

For now, the 49ers are sticking with Kaepernick. (Ironic, since they spent most of the offseason trying to rid themselves of him.) The team issued a carefully worded news release recognizing the “right of the individual” to participate in the national anthem ceremony. As is the NFL, whose official spokesman said players are “encouraged but not required” to stand while the anthem plays. Hmm.

Again, if this story blows up on an atomic scale, as I believe it will, you have to wonder how long before the 49ers and the NFL buckle to public pressure, change their tunes and disavow Kaepernick’s actions.

Then he will really know what it’s like to be on an island.

Whether you admire Kaepernick for taking a political stand or want to toss him into the nearest trash compactor depends, of course, on your own political and social wiring.

The reason I stand for national anthems isn’t due to tradition or some zealous, patriotic fervor. Since the U.S. started going to war in the Middle East over oil and profits, I’ve disagreed and been disgusted each time. The reason I stand for national anthems is out of respect for those who gave their lives in those wars – including the eight former Buchanan High School students who came home from Iraq or Afghanistan in flag-draped coffins – as well as the ones that came before I was born.

Those are my reasons. You have yours, and Kaepernick has his. In a better world, a healthy debate over national symbolism and how that pertains to race relations could help foster understanding between opposing sides. In the world we actually live in, such a discourse probably only further tears us apart.

By sitting down during the anthem, Kaepernick ignited this conflagration. He will be the one getting singed.