kaepernick didn’t kneel to protest trump, stop whitewashing this

“There’s a lot of things that need to change. One specifically? Police brutality. There’s people being murdered unjustly and not being held accountable. People are being given paid leave for killing people. That’s not right. That’s not right by anyone’s standards.” — Colin Kaepernick

These were the outspoken athlete’s own words describing why he decided to sit out the national anthem at games, spoken in a locker room interview in August 2016. Not only is that three whole months before Donald Trump was elected president, but these remarks outline specifically why he is protesting: police brutality.

Yet, after Trump called the quarterback a “son of a bitch” at a political rally in Alabama this past weekend, many players and league personalities who never supported Kaepernick before (and indeed, some who actively opposed him) are now joining the protest to show of “unity” in the face of Trump’s supposed divisiveness.

Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is one of those individuals. Not even going as far as to kneel like Kaepernick (who already compromised his message by kneeling instead of sitting), Snyder locked arms with his players during the national anthem Sunday, later releasing a statement reading:

“Football has always served as the great unifier, bringing people together to celebrate the values of courage, commitment and achievement […] We are proud of the players, coaches and fans of the Washington Redskins for all that they have done to improve the lives of others in neighborhoods all across our region. We are also grateful for the sacrifices made by the brave men and women of our armed forces that have provided us the freedom to play football. In that great tradition, the Washington Redskins will work to address divisions and bring unity, civility and respect to our greater community.”

Read that again. See any mention of police brutality in there? Me neither.

I do see a billion dollar brand co-opting an increasingly popular message to try and seem as though they are on the right side of history without doing any of the actual work necessary to create real change. As Kaepernick said of the violence he is protesting, “These aren’t new situations. This isn’t new ground. There are things that have gone on in this country for years and years and have never been addressed, and they need to be.” Making this about “unity” in the face of a Trump statement or even a Trump presidency is never going to get to the bottom of that.