Sanub Sinclair(G5)
In 2016, Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem before the start of football games as a protest against social injustice. He started a trend over the National Football League where other players joined, and even full teams staying inside the locker room to support Kaepernick. This event started an uproar in the NFL and branched out into national news. Many people agreed and followed in his footsteps, others like Donald Trump did not, who said that it was “unpatriotic and disrespectful.” Which led to him becoming a free agent after the 2016 season and still to this day, remains unsigned. After 3 years, the NFL has finally agreed to give Kaepernick a tryout or workout where all 32 teams are welcomed. Invited to observe if Kaepernick is still capable of league play. The NFL had arranged the tryout at the Atlanta Falcons training facility, but at the last minute the quarterback’s representatives moved the workout to a high school stadium so media could be present. It is believed that not all 32 teams showed up for the workout, however people that showed up were not against him joining the league again. However, nobody wants to take the chance on signing him and having that backlash from those who do not agree, politics.
One concept that I chose to incorporate with this article was conflict. Conflict is when you come into collision or disagreement with an opposing party, a perceived incompatibility of actions or goals. To relate it back to the Colin Kaepernick issue, first look, the conflict is between Colin and the NFL but if you look into it deeper, it is a conflict between him and society. Not everyone is against Colin and his beliefs, but a large amount of society does not agree with his actions. With the fans who love America and everything it stands for, Colin’s actions is a “spit in the face” to them, so therefore the NFL has to listen. It’s like the saying “customers are always right”, they can’t ignore the fans comments because that is how the NFL makes their money and if that one player is getting in the way of their money, something must be done in anyway to preserve money and keep fans happy. Even though it was for a good cause, and behind closed doors most people agree then out loud in public, how would an organization look for having an athlete on their roster who disrespects the national anthem?
Another concept that I choose to relate to the article is mediation. Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution resolving disputes between two or more parties, it can be used to resolve disputes of any magnitude with communication. To relate it back to the Colin Kaepernick story, the mediation in it is getting Kaepernick that workout. After years of fighting society and the NFL and all there criticism he has always been in the picture someway, somehow. Whether is it being in a nike ad or social media, or the NFL giving hope that he will return just to shut it back down with no teams signing him. It has been 3 years since Kaepernick has been on an NFL team, and the longer the delay, the least likely chance he will get signed. However, the National Football League and Kaepernick and his representatives came to an agreement where both parties agreed, by offering a workout where teams can see the former San Francisco 49ers star display his talents in hopes of getting signed and re entering the league.
Works Cited Page
Cherry, G. (2019, November 17). Colin Kaepernick ‘ready to play anywhere’ after NFL tryout. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/us-sport/national-football-league/colin-kaepernick-nfl-tryout-video-moved-protest-roger-goodell-racism-donald-trump-a9206071.html.