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Kaepernick's Victory and the Folks Who Aren't Having It.

Kaep sat (then knelt) to call attention to the issue of state-sanctioned, anti-Black violence. Others joined him for a time. Other pros from other sports... even high school kids. That kept the issue as headline news EVERY WEEK. Even after it was purposely twisted into being about military "disrespect" yadda yadda, the media had countless stories about his protest and his stated rationale.
Then, he lost his NFL platform. And Kaep shifted his focus to donating his OWN money to programs to impact Black youth in a positive way. The NFL boycott kept Kaep in social media heat as plenty of folks kept talking about how suss the NFL was in not hiring him while hella scrubs got contracts.
Nike got on board and elevated his platform AGAIN. By this time, there was a third shift away from his initial protest, as focused turned to the injustice against Kaep for taking a stand (what was that stand against again???).
All the while, Kaep is funding his foundation and its initiatives.
THEN, he decides to take the fight back to the NFL and sues them for collusion. People snorted and suggested he would never win. The articles ramped up again. Every time there was movement on the case (the negotiations were pretty quiet), another round of articles dropped. And now, the case has been settled.
We ALL KNOW the NFL is trash. Plenty of Black people are so invested in giving those trash owners their money for the "privilege" of watching this entertainment, that THEY don't care about any of it. Not the cops killing Black men and women... not the injustice of blackballing a player for expressing a peaceful protest... none of it.
That's not entirely unreasonable. I mean, it's not like the NFL itself has a negative impact on the health and well-being of its Black players (and their spouses)... Oh, wait.
Kaep acted to raise awareness of state-sanctioned, anti-Black violence. When they tried to silence him, he made his own moves. Then, he sued to get justice for HIMSELF (that's a problem HOW???). Now, the NFL has had to pay... and that money will continue to be used for the programs he has begun.
Black folks can pretend that Kaep "sold out" because he didn't force a "public" trial. FOH. The vast majority of Black folks continued to support the League DESPITE CTE... DESPITE the hiring of spouse abusers... DESPITE drug use and gun violence.
PLEASE.
Those that stood with him can CONTINUE to press the issue in our communities... as Kaep continues to do. Whether the NFL faces any actual consequences is up to the marketplace. For my part, I support my son's team... and my Rattlers. I'm good.
As I said, it's not like we needed this case to prove that the NFL owners are trash.
We KNOW they're trash.

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