CHAUNTE’L POWELL: Athletes are people too

With school back in session and fall just around the corner, my favorite time of the year is back — football season.

The tailgating, the jubilation that comes with winning, the anguish that comes with defeat and the trash-talking that takes place regardless are just a few of the many joys this time of the year brings. As you dust off your team’s jersey and get the face paint ready, I’d like to encourage everyone to take a second and remember one thing: the athletes we all pay to see, love to cheer for and have on our fantasy teams are not some one-dimensional androids placed on this planet simply for our entertainment. They are human beings with thoughts, concerns, emotions, etc., just like you and I.

It’s strange to have to remind people of this, but over the weekend when news broke of Colin Kaepernick’s protest during the playing of The National Anthem before the San Francisco 49ers’ preseason game, players, fans and media members alike seemed to have forgotten that, telling him to “just stick to football.”

The first bone of contention was the idea of a multi-millionaire having any complaints about the ills of the world despite the fact a wealthy business man presented the country with a laundry list of complaints and is now a presidential candidate. Is Kaepernick not allowed to have a say in how to make America great again?

Despite being adopted by white parents, the quarterback has shared stories of the racial discrimination he’s faced growing up. Since he’s become a starter, I’ve seen trivial articles critiquing how he wears his hat as well as comparing him to a prison inmate for having tattoos, many of which are bible verses. Such remarks have not been made when players such has Tom Brady or Greg Olsen sport a backwards hat or number of visible tattoos. Reaching a certain tax bracket does not make one blind to the societal problems our nation faces and should not be held against a person speaking out on behalf of those struggling.

The critique of Kaepernick comes a week before the three-month anniversary of the passing of Muhammad Ali. Less than 90 days ago, The G.O.A.T. was being celebrated across the nation as one of the inspirational sports figures of all time not just for his dominance inside the ring, but for his courage to speak out on injustice outside of it, including his protest of the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War. The activist aspect of Ali’s legacy was just as important as the boxing, yet people conveniently forget as they tell present day athletes trying to make a difference in their own way, to just stick to sports.

Since Ali heyday, the country has managed to integrate and even go on to elect an African-American president. But recent reports from the Department of Justice on discriminatory policing practices against African-Americans in cities such as Ferguson, Chicago and Baltimore, as well as the current voter-blocking controversy show we still have a ways to go. Heck even a simple twitter search of Kaepernick’s name shows the nation isn’t as post-racial as many would like to think.

As the daughter, sister, niece, cousin and godchild to countless military veterans, I can unequivocally say I understand just as much, if not more the sacrifice that goes into ensuring the rights we as Americans are granted, including freedom of speech to protest as Kaepernick did. As an African-American, I also understand the harsh reality that the same country my loved ones are fighting for is still a place that doesn’t quite see them as equal without their uniform on and that is something none of us should stand for.

So the next time an athlete exercises their right as an American, take a second to try and empathize why they feel the need to protest instead of firing off reasons why they shouldn’t, because remember, athletes are people too.