NOW DO YOU SEE WHY HE TOOK A KNEE?

            If anyone in the U.S. doesn’t understand now why Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem four years ago, he or she just isn’t interested in comprehending the quarterback's intent. 

            It wasn’t to disgrace the flag.

            He wasn’t being anti-American.

            He was protesting the brutal police treatment of black Americans. Period. 

            Oh, and the flag that all his critics wrapped themselves in was the shield that protected his protest. Kaepernick was protesting exactly what happened in Minneapolis last week. And in countless other U.S. cities over the past decades and centuries. You can spew jingoistic outrage about how you support our troops, but you cannot deny – if you are at all interested in being an honest and thoughtful person – that Kaepernick’s anger was justified. 

            As sports tries to stir from its coronavirus-inspired hibernation, its players, coaches, executives and fans are grappling with the fact that the racism problem in this country is real and widespread. Some are speaking out. Others are supporting those who have to fight the fight every second. Many are listening. And learning. Talking. Those are good things. They are necessary things. But they aren’t enough. If they are not backed up by action, we won’t ever progress from where we are today.

            Nothing is more about tribalism than the world of sports. My team can beat your team, which by the way, stinks. My school is better than your school. My quarterback is better than yours. We arrange ourselves in tribes based on allegiances to our favorites. It’s natural for humans to seek out people with like interests and backgrounds. In sports, that means Eagles fans will back each other in any confrontation, sometimes to the detriment of civilized society. There is nothing wrong with supporting a team or school and bonding with others allied with the same squad. 

            But our connection with tribes of all kinds must not be based on hatred and intolerance. It’s one thing to root against the Cowboys. It’s another to foment distrust and animus against another race. Or gender. Or sexual orientation. (Those are topics for another time.) Colin Kaepernick didn’t take a knee to disrespect our armed forces. He wasn’t agitating for the overthrow of the government. He wanted to make everyone aware that some members of the law enforcement community were and had been treating black people violently and without care. 

            He chose to do it during the national anthem because it generated awareness. And he did it because he was protected by a Constitution that guarantees free speech. As the anger mounted against him, his message became distorted by those trying to use him for political, social and just plain hateful purposes. 

            The amusing thing about all of this is that spending the couple minutes it takes for the anthem to reach its first-verse conclusion out on the concourse of a stadium or arena reveals hundreds of people showing no respect at all for the anthem. They are talking, buying food and drink, searching for their sections, going to the bathroom and doing just about anything other than standing at attention, with their hats removed, and singing along. But because those folks are law-abiding Americans, they get passes. 

            The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer has triggered fury that has been simmering – and often reaching a boil – for centuries. It has spawned protests, but what it must do now is catalyze honest discussion throughout the country about what it really means to be a black person in America. 

            A few years ago, El Hombre spent a couple hours interviewing a black minister in Wilmington, DE, about race and that city’s efforts to emerge from poverty and violence. El Hombre asked the minister what would happen first if the two of them had the opportunity to solve the nation’s problem with racism.

            “That would require a conversation in which you would have to hear some very uncomfortable things,” the minister said.

            “But what if you hear some things you don’t like?” El Hombre asked.

            The minister laughed.

            “I’ve already heard them,” he said.    

            He’s right. He had heard it all, and El Hombre hadn’t heard enough. Kaepernick tried to open our ears, but his silent power was no match for the cacophony of those unwilling to look past their own biases. As sports return – we hope – those involved will be speaking out again. Before fans dismiss them, they should find somebody who looks different than they are and have that uncomfortable conversation. Listen. Learn. They may not change their minds completely, but they will gain some knowledge. That’s a great start.    

* * *

            EL HOMBRE SEZ: When El Hombre gets his three wishes from Jeannie, one of them will be for the Almighty’s imagination, just so he can dream up something like what happened in a New York courtroom Monday. A judge dismissed Lenny Dykstra’s defamation suit against Ron Darling on the grounds that Dykstra had already defamed himself so thoroughly with his actions that no one could do any more damage to his reputation. Darling had written in his autobiography that Dykstra had hurled a string of vile epithets at Boston pitcher Oil Can Boyd during the 1986 World Series, and Dykstra claimed the book had harmed his rep. We’re at the point where if someone referred to Dykstra as Joe Stalin, the Soviet Man of Steel’s estate might sue…Uh-oh, Dookies: A Florida State Court judge ruled Monday that Zion Williamson has to answer questions about whether he accepted cash and prizes from Durham Community College to play ball for Saint, er, Coach Mike Krzyzewski. The imbroglio stems from a lawsuit brought against Williamson by his former marketing manager, who claims she was wrongly replaced. Williamson’s attorneys – and one would imagine Duke fans everywhere – will appeal. But this puts us one step closer to finding out that the Blue Devils weren’t attracting all those five-star recruits just because Krzyzewski is such a great guy. Wouldn’t that be a sin?...The NBA is hoping to start its season again by July 31, with the Finals’ concluding by Oct. 12, a time period that will bring a satisfactory conclusion to the season but will also put the league up against the NFL and (El Hombre hopes) the MLB’s pennant chase and post-season. Anyone expecting fans to spend August and September watching roundball is wishing and hoping and dreaming. But such is life in a pandemic. And if the 2019-20 season ends in mid-October, when does the ’20-21 campaign commence? Strange times, indeed…At this point, the math seems pretty simple: MLB players want to play 114 games, and the owners want 50. The players want 50% of their salaries guaranteed, and the owners want to pay 40%. So, how about 82 games and 45%? Makes sense, doesn’t it? Get on it!

* * *

            AND ANOTHER THING: With minor leaguers facing highly-uncertain futures, and the entire farm system model at risk, thanks to the cratered economy and Majoke League Baseball’s attempt to gain control (read: cut costs) of the bushes, huge credit should go to David Price and Sean Doolittle for stepping up and promising to pay salaries of players in their teams’ systems. Price is paying the 200-plus players in the Dodgers’ system $1,000 each this month, while Doolittle convinced the Nationals’ big-league players to pick up the balance of the weekly $400 stipends the minor-leaguers were scheduled to receive, before the franchise cut them. Doolittle’s advocacy – and his teammates’ generosity – shamed the Nats’ owners into coughing up the full amount. Price is due to make about $31 million this year, so it’s not like he’s going to be eating beans for dinner or anything, but $200,000-plus is no joke, so he is to be commended. So are the Nationals. As for the owners, El Hombre hopes they won’t have to serve cut-rate caviar on their yachts this summer. 

* * *

            YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT? Fans often wonder what NFL players say to each other on the field, when the pressure mounts, and the action is at its peak. This week, Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson suggested TV networks make up for the lack of fan noise on broadcasts by putting microphones on players and airing their banter, comments, insults and trash talk. It’s a great idea. In theory. But do the players – and especially the NFL – want to expose the public to what is really said? El Hombre doesn’t think so. Forget about the bad words and how creatively the players use them. Think about the wildly politically incorrect things that are said on the field. The NFL sure doesn’t want that in the public record. And how about momentary flare-ups between coaches and players that get settled almost immediately after they start? That’s not good for business, either. Fans would love an inside look like that, but the league can’t afford to provide it. About the only person in the league capable of wearing a microphone is Colts’ QB Phillip “Goshdarnit” Rivers. Or, maybe someone could arrange for full access to a BYU scrimmage. But an NFL game? [Expletive] no!

-EH-