I Fought for Our Country. Now NFL Players Are Kneeling for Me.

By Vanguard AdministratorSeptember 8, 201866 comments

By Samuel Innocent

I’m a veteran of the U.S. Army. So it may come as a surprise that the day I read about NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, I could not have been prouder. I was proud because after serving my country for seven years, it felt like someone was finally looking out for me.

As someone who served as a sergeant in Afghanistan, only to take a civilian job helping veterans upon returning home, I fully understand patriotism. I work hard to embody it every day. That’s precisely why I think it’s so important to stop mischaracterizing Colin Kaepernick’s movement as unpatriotic. Players are not kneeling to protest the national anthem, as they’ve explained time and time again. They are kneeling to say that the ways in which police officers and the criminal justice system treat African-Americans — people like me and my family — constitute a national crisis.

I’m grateful for the players’ decision to take a knee. Because when many people set eyes on me, the first thing they see isn’t someone who may have missed his sister’s wedding, lost his father, and buried several friends during his tour of duty. They don’t see a former combat medic who’d risked his life for their country or a man whose seven years of honorable service didn’t include a moment to grieve. Instead of a veteran, they see a Black man first and foremost. And in 2014, police saw a potential criminal.

The awakening came only a few years after leaving the Army and returning home to my beloved New York. I’d enrolled in college, one of the major steps for reintegrating back into society after service. My new dream was to work on local policy.

I commuted daily from the Bronx to Manhattan to attend my classes at City College of New York. One night, during the two-block stroll from the subway to my apartment, New York Police Department officers stopped me in my path. I fit the description of someone who’d just committed a crime, they said.

“What was the crime?” I asked. They said they couldn’t tell me. When I asked if the description was for someone who looked like me — someone wearing a shirt and tie — they said I would have to call the station to find out. I was then put against a wall and searched. I felt humiliated and helpless.

It was only when they asked for my ID that they saw my veteran status at the top of it. Finally, the degrading and unwarranted search came to an end. They told me to have a nice day.

A part of me wanted to dismiss what had just happened to me as an isolated incident. But I knew that this practice disproportionally occurred in poorer neighborhoods and overwhelmingly targeted young Black men.

A report by the New York Civil Liberties Union showed that innocent New Yorkers were subjected to stop-and-frisk tactics more than 5 million times since 2002, with people of color comprising the vast majority. These racially discriminatory NYPD stops were ruled unconstitutional in 2013, but this year officials revealed that Black New Yorkers were still 8 times more likely than white residents to be arrested for low-level marijuana charges, despite the groups using it as similar rates.

Tragically, racially biased policing isn’t contained to my hometown and leads to deadly consequences across America. Last year, a journalistic investigation found that Black people were shot more often than white people by police, although Black people were less likely to be found with a weapon.

When I left to join the military, it wasn’t for me — it was for my family and loved ones who I would leave behind. I felt like I was doing my part, so they wouldn’t have to live in fear of events like 9/11 happening again. But my service in Afghanistan hasn’t made my family safer from the people sworn to protect us in our own backyards.

So yes, I was proud of players like Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid, and Olivier Vernon because I knew how few people would be willing to risk their careers to shed light on issues that are urgent for people of color but that others often sweep under the rug. I’m proud that when Americans tune in to be entertained, the players in turn make the world more cognizant of the need to change how law enforcement operates.

The players are not disrespecting veterans by kneeling. My local Veterans Affairs hospital in Brooklyn has slowly shut down parts of the facility and forced veterans to seek care elsewhere. This truly is disrespectful and not the promise that this nation made to its service members. Disrespect is the struggle that veteran charities face when trying to raise money. If you feel that forcing America to grapple with its continued systematic oppression of racial minorities is disrespectful, take a deeper look at why it bothers you.

I pray that one day my fellow countrymen will see me for who I am: a veteran and a Black man who wants to be treated the same as everyone else — whether I’m in uniform or not. I fought for our nation abroad, and now the players fight for my inclusion at home.

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66 comments

      1. You should read the comment section on articles about Kaepernick and Nike.  I would say that the comments are 10 to 1 against Kaep and Nike.  But the ACLU can always march out some isolated person to write a story about.

        I’ll bet Nike loves that their emblem is associated with the cop pig socks.

         

        2. You should read the comment section on articles about Kaepernick and Nike.  I would say that the comments are 10 to 1 against Kaep and Nike.

          I’m sure that’s true of articles on your preferred news sources. So what? Do you form your opinions on social issues by tallying the pro and con comments on social media sites?

          But the ACLU can always march out some isolated person to write a story about.

          Not sure why you attribute this to the ACLU but, again, so what? This is just a way of dismissing a point of view out of hand without having to address the merits. Very lazy.

        3. I’m sure that’s true of articles on your preferred news sources. 

          Actually go to Yahoo which is very much left leaning news and articles and read the comments.  Most of the articles are pro Kaep and pro Nike but if you take a poll from looking at the thousands of comments the public is very much against them.  I get most of my news from Yahoo because I use it for my home page.

  2. Why  the kneeling protest is such a big deal regardless of motive .  I view burning the American Flag I  a lot more offensive and disgraceful than kneeling during the National Anthem. Even President lashed out anger at  NFL ‘s kneeling players . I don’t get this part of the  outrage . The First Amendment is  sacred.

  3. Things were already slowing down for Nike & the NFL with other brands moving in and people getting tired of watching some multi-millionaires run a few plays in between an ever increasing number of beer and truck commercials, but bringing politics in to the brands are just turning off people (on both sides) even faster…

    2. Ken A

      The  Colin Kaepernick’s action was blown out of the proportion and politicized  by the media and the  politicians and NFL . I believe that  the President and other politicians were wrong by condemning the Colin Kaepernick’s action and adding  more fuel to the fire .

  4. Jerry, the 1st amendment is sacred.  It’s also the people’s sacred first amendment right to boycott the NFL and Nike for their actions.  It’s also the people’s right to denounce Kaepernick for his kneeling and wearing cop pig socks.

    1. From the Bee editorial this morning: “Not that kneeling is really the issue. Granted, many people think it is, but it isn’t. After all, the same anger directed now at Kaepernick was once directed at Martin Luther King. The problem is not how black people complain, but that they complain at all. That’s why black protest has historically always been condemned as “untimely,” “disrespectful,” “ill-advised” or some other code for, “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to know.””
      Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article217824585.html#storylink=c

      1. Look, David cherry-picked another article that backs his views.

        Shall I post excerpts and articles that show the other side?

        This could fill up the whole thread.

        1. No, I raised a point I wanted to raise.  You can raise a point that you want to raise in response. Of course I’d be more interested in you telling me why you disagree with the quote.

    2. You are correct… people have the right to denounce “taking a knee” when they are on the pitch and a teammate or opponent is injured… or taking a knee before a professional football game to pray with teammates… or taking a knee to give thanksgiving for a score they made… and all those folk who take a knee (or two) ‘on any given Sunday’ as part of their idea of sacred worship…

      Go for it, Keith!  Denounce them all… or you thinking just Kaepernick?

        2. Really?  What don’t you get?  Kneeling during our national anthem is disrespectful, all those other examples don’t include disrespect for our country.  That’s how much of America sees it and that’s their first amendment right.

          1. What I don’t get is why kneeling during the national anthem is disrespectful for some things and not others. Nor do I get why it’s disrespectful in the first place. I can certainly see there are disrespectful things to do during the national anthem – talking, flipping the bird, etc. Not sure why kneeling is one of them. Adding to that point, who gets to decide what is and is not disrespectful?

          2. To be honest with you:

            This looks quite respectful to me. He’s clearly making a statement, while still honoring this country. Isn’t this country based on freedom of speech.

            I’m sorry, I don’t get this disrespectful thing. So maybe if you can explain it to me and what the objective standard is, I’ll be more accepting of your view.

        3.  Adding to that point, who gets to decide what is and is not disrespectful?

          Well you obviously feel that kneeling during an anthem isn’t disrespectful, why do you get to decide?

          Everyone makes their own determination, that’s their right.

        4. Keith: So what you have is that disrespect is subjective – which I think it is – “everyone has their own determination…”. If that’s the case, there is no objective standard for being disspectful.  Correct?

        5. BTW, David covered several, I see a lot of disrespectful actions (or inactions) during the anthem, besides not putting one’s hand ‘over heart’ (see the pic David provided)… chugging on a beer… eating food… not removing one’s hat (aka, ‘cover’)… talking or not looking at the flag… not singing along (even silently)… taking the opportunity for a ‘potty break’… etc., etc.

    1. The essence of this articles is the following part .

      As someone who served as a sergeant in Afghanistan, only to take a civilian job helping veterans upon returning home, I fully understand patriotism. I work hard to embody it every day. That’s precisely why I think it’s so important to stop mischaracterizing Colin Kaepernick’s movement as unpatriotic. Players are not kneeling to protest the national anthem, as they’ve explained time and time again. They are kneeling to say that the ways in which police officers and the criminal justice system treat African-Americans — people like me and my family — constitute a national crisis 

      City of Chicago with Mayor Rahm Manuel in charge  is an example which constitute a national crisis .

  6. The bigger idiocy here is that we are talking about a football game. GAME, not holy communion or Passover seder, A FREAKIN’ GAME. I realize that for many football is tantamount to high mass, but it’s a GAME where men sacrifice the substance of themselves for your entertainment. 68% of these men are African-American. Perhaps in your vast white benevolence you can allow them this silent, yes they are silent, old white men are the only ones making noise here, tribute to those abused at the hands of authority.

  8. They are kneeling to say that the ways in which police officers and the criminal justice system treat African-Americans — people like me and my family — constitute a  national crisis 

    Very true
     
    HE SPENT 27 YEARS WRONGLY CONVICTED OF MURDER.
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/he-spent-27-years-wrongly-convicted-of-murder-he-wants-to-spend-the-rest-encouraging-inmates-to-read/ar-BBN2dDG?ocid=spartandhp

    The first book John Bunn fell in love with, curled up in his cell at a maximum-security prison in upstate New York, was Sister Souljah’s novel “The Coldest Winter Ever.”
    In the book, a maternal woman advocates for the improvement of her black community in Brooklyn as she watches the people she loves suffer from the consequences of incarceration, violence and a seemingly endless cycle of poverty.
    “I related to that book on so many levels,” Bunn says.
    Bunn knows more than most what it’s like to face injustice. Arrested and imprisoned as an adolescent in New York City, he spent 17 years in jail for a crime he didn’t commit and a further decade on parole, fighting for his exoneration. In that time, he battled, among others, the courts, police investigators, PTSD and the challenges of illiteracy. He was 16 before he could read and write.
    Today Bunn is 41 and a free man at last, mentoring at-risk young people and advocating for the power of reading through his own program that brings books to prisons.
    In many ways, his own story sounds straight out of a Sister Souljah book. Except that Bunn, who survived years of wrongful incarceration with his humanity intact, is determined to write the next chapter himself

  9. Those supporting Collin Pumpernickel and Nike’s move generally watch soccer.  Maybe that was the strategy for Nike… seeing that the NFL was a declining business, grab someone that represents that decline and capitalize on the rise of soccer interest in the US that is derived from the mass immigration of people without any connection to the game of American football.

    The political left in this country dislikes American professional football and NASCAR.  Nike is like late night talk shows, going after THAT customer demographic because they think they can improve their ratings riding the great anti-Trump freak-out tantrum.

    However, I think it is a bad move.  One recent study I just read (and cannot find it for a cite) talks about the next generation of kids coming online back to interest in work and money.  These are the children following the children of the mess-up Baby-boomers and in some cases THEIR messed-up children that opine for Venezuela as the model of governance they prefer.  Venezuelans love soccer, but unfortunately fewer and fewer of them can afford even one Nike shoe.

    1. Jeff

      The black people forcible diaspora and violation of their Human Rights for 300 plus years on  the American land is a lot broader problem than left and right and the  NFL .  I see the similarity between  the black people diaspora in America and  Jewish diaspora in Europe  which ended in Holocaust  as we know from history . As you noticed  the mass immigration has no  connection to American football but the majority of legal   newcomers are living quite well in USA after a few years being here with a necessity to like the American football . Most of the newcomers who are educated are conservative folks or ultra conservative . Most of them have nothing common with the American left .

    3. So, let’s see. Jeff-isms abound:
      Disparaging name for Colin Kaepernick.
      Sweeping generalizations about why people like soccer (immigrants!)
      Generalizations about the “political left.”
      Of course, the obligatory insult about people who oppose Trump.
      Insult the baby boomers.
      Snipe about Venezuela, with the odd assumption that anybody (leftist or baby boomer or otherwise) considers it a desirable model of governance.
      I think you hit all your usual highlights here.
      Did you have an actual point to make? I must have missed the wheat for all the chaff.

      2. Disparaging name for Colin Kaepernick.

        Bad spellcheck

        Sweeping generalizations about why people like soccer (immigrants!)

        That is factual.  Why do you see it as a generalization? (and assess a negative connotation to it?)  Frankly, I am beginning to like soccer more than NFL.

        Generalizations about the “political left.”

        Now that I will agree with.  Let me know when they don’t deserve this and I if I agree I will stop.

        Of course, the obligatory insult about people who oppose Trump.

        I think I identified a certain cohort of people that oppose Trump… not generalizing about all.

        Insult the baby boomers.

        Yup.  And they deserve it.  Note that I am one of them.

        Snipe about Venezuela, with the odd assumption that anybody (leftist or baby boomer or otherwise) considers it a desirable model of governance.

        The polls show a majority of Democrats support socialism and oppose capitalism.  And Venezuela is a protected victim group now?  I did not get that memo.

        I think you hit all your usual highlights here.

        Thanks for reading.

        Did you have an actual point to make? I must have missed the wheat for all the chaff.

        I think you got all those points.

        1. I think I identified a certain cohort of people that oppose Trump…

          Or, are thinking Amendment 25, Section 4 (Constitution) might apply… not clearly, but a “‘tweener”…

    4. “The political left in this country dislikes American professional football and NASCAR. ”

      I almost never miss a 49er’s game on TV and I have Bill Elliot, Dale Earnhart and Jeff Gordon signatures on memorabilia. No one at Nascar or NFL events has ever asked me how I voted.

      We’ll assume that you define “political left ” as anyone to the left of you.

      edited
      “that opine for Venezuela as the model of governance they prefer,,”

      I can honestly say I have not heard anyone other than extreme left, left of Chairman Mao, paid propagandists offer that opinion. Never heard it in conversation with my friends or family, never heard it from my kids. I hear a lot of edited: right- wingers quote that sort of thing though, without attribution of course, but you guys must be going to the meetings to hear the “inside scoop.”

      edited

      1. Just like there might be a few more other vegans like my friend Rob who hunt deer, ducks and elk there are not a lot of them just like there are not many people who would describe themself as part of the “political left” that are NASCAR “and” NFL fans (even the smarter than average NASCAR fans that come to Sears Point where the cars make both right “and” left turns).

        P.S. While on a business trip to NC ~20 years ago I went to a NASCAR race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and it was a scary place (I have never seen so many drunk edited with confederate flags)…

        P.P.S. Has anyone ever seen a truck with a Hillary, Dale Jr, and Raiders stickers on the bumper?

      2. John

        This article is not about how many 49er’s games you missed or watched.  Nobody cares . This is article is about oppressed and the  oppressors and about  Colin Kaepernick’s and other NFL players protest up front of 100, 000 or more people on the stadium . You agree or you disagree with these players action ? What is your point  in your rant ?

    5. I think Nike knows their market very well. And it isn’t American football fans.

      For Nike, the company’s best customer prospects are active, high-earning young people, for who else can or will spend more than $100 for a pair of sneakers, Nike’s pricing sweet spot, when the average price for a competitive pair runs about one-third less. These high-earning young people, those I call HENRYs (high-earners-not-rich-yet) making $100,000-$249,900 annually in professional jobs, live in big cities, and Nike’s 12 Key Cities are the best place to find them.

      https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2017/06/19/nike-to-stay-out-in-front-with-biggest-data-of-all-demographics/#7041f1dd432c

      There is nothing at all disrespectful about quietly dropping to one knee when the national anthem is playing. It is a classic example of silent protest. But the response to this respectful protest has been anything but civil.

      1. There is nothing at all disrespectful about quietly dropping to one knee when the national anthem is playing.

        Lol.  Of course it is disrespectful.  That is the point…  it is an FU to everyone that believes in the symbolism of respect for the flag, the anthem and the country.  If it was not disrespectful they would not do it and would do something else.
        It is also an FU to the demographic of traditional football fans who are tired of protesting on politics and pay to watch the entertainment of professional sports to escape that crap.  So it is also disrespectful to those fans.
        There are constructive ways those gifted millionaire entertainers can make a positive difference.

      2. I do agree that Nike is being strategic. Betting on the future.  But they are doing the FU to many NFL fans.  Interesting that these protesting NFL players are biting the hand that allowed them to become millionaires.

        2. Don may not feel that quietly lifting a middle finger is disrespectful, but many feel that what the football players have been doing before the national anthem is even worse…

        3. So in your book, protest = disrespect

          If I go to a gay pride parade with a large Christain cross and a sign that protests homosexuality would that be disrespectful?
          Context and location matter with respect to the level of respect.

        4. Making a “I hate Trump” sign and marching through town with it = A form of protest

          Bringing the “I hate Trump” sign to funeral of a soldier who was killed by an IED = Disrespect

          Few (if any) people will have a problem if the guys that make millions want to “protest” how horrible America is the other 164 hours a week when they are not on the clock (and on TV).

          I’m no flag waving patriot and I don’t own a flag, never plan to own one and try and avoid both the pledge of allegiance and national anthem (as well as most people that seem to like them).

          With that said is is “disrespectful” to do stuff when getting paid (minimum wage or a million a month) that hurts your boss financially and/or pisses off a large number of their customers.

          I just found a box with some old CDs including NWA and Dr. Dre and my wife couldn’t believe that I owned them.  I don’t have any problem with the CDs, but playing them around children, law enforcement or religious people would be “disrespectful”…

          P.S. Most people would consider it to be “disrespectful” to play this Dr. Dre song at a #meetoo event (I’m wondering it David would consider it “protesting”)…

          https://genius.com/Dr-dre-housewife-lyrics

        5. Ken…

          We are way different, and I’m a moderate…

          I fly the flag when appropriate… have two grandfathers, my Dad, two uncles and many friends whose caskets were covered in them… I own two of those flags… am proud of them, and understand the flag code.

          I do the pledge thing, but am silent during the “under god” thing that “tail-gunner Joe”, a Republican, likely a fervent alcoholic, got added to it… and, as someone who fervently believes God exists…

          Anthem I sing silently, due to pitch range, and inept singing voice…

          I care not for the knuckle-dragging, pseudo-patriots offended. They can sit on a flag-pole…

          Make America Real Again…

           

        6. “I just found a box with some old CDs including NWA and Dr. Dre and my wife couldn’t believe that I owned them.  I don’t have any problem with the CDs, but playing them around children, law enforcement or religious people would be “disrespectful”…”

          Just curious as to why “religious people” should get automatic protection from materials they find offensive/disrespectful, considering many super conservative religious types (of all belief systems) seem to think they can say things that are incredibly offensive to non-religious types (such as “You are going to Hell b/c you don’t believe what I do,” which has been said to me several times by relatives and “friends”).

          This seems to be a slippery slope that would have people in society (and the “nones” are rising at a far greater rate than in the past, and will probably eventually supplant the orthodox religious members of our society), where we would get to the point where there would be censorship to avoid offending/disrespecting certain religious groups.

          Just curious as to why they should get a pass. I don’t think anyone in this society has a right to not be offended or disrespected (barring, of course, the usual time/place/manner caveats of the First Amendment).

        7. Kendra asks “Just curious as to why “religious people” should get automatic protection from materials they find offensive/disrespectful”

          The world would be a better place if people made an effort to not to offend or disrespect anyone.  No one needs to tell an atheist that they are going to H E Double L just like an atheist does not need to tell a religious person that magical sky genie they call God is as real as the Easter Bunny.

          I would not want to offend a religious person playing edgy rap for the same reason that I would not want to offend an atheist (and even most Christians) by making them listen to “Christian” rap music…

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj5Qm0x0x7w

        8. Just curious as to why “religious people” should get automatic protection from materials they find offensive/disrespectful, considering many super conservative religious types (of all belief systems) seem to think they can say things that are incredibly offensive to non-religious types (such as “You are going to Hell b/c you don’t believe what I do,” which has been said to me several times by relatives and “friends”).

          Sorry, but this is hilarious.

          Ask Tim Tebow and all the high school players and coaches disciplined for taking a knew in honor of their religion.

          https://www.csindy.com/IndyBlog/archives/2015/12/02/usafas-tebow-prayer-stirs-controversy

          http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/08/23/court-rules-high-school-football-coach-cannot-pray-on-field.html

          Religious types that say you are going to hell for your sins and lack of commitment to their faith are in fact “taking a knee” for their belief.  The difference is that you can “turn them off”… disassociate yourself from them if you are offended by their comments.   Contrast that to people that want to watch football for entertainment and not have unwanted and offensive symbols and protests put in their face.   Your choice is to not watch the game or else ignore what offends you.   So, it appears by your comments that you are unable to ignore what offends you, so I have to ask why the double standard when it comes to the NFL players that take a knee during the Anthem?

  10. There’s no difference between dropping to one knee and flipping people off? Really?

    There IS a difference.  Privileged millionaires dropping to a knee during the national anthem played on TV to an audience that is mostly flag-loving and country-loving patriots is flipping off THAT ENTIRE AUDIENCE, AND those given the difficult job to keep law and order, and every man and woman that has fought to keep the country free so those taking a knee could be privileged millionaires.

    And they are “stealing” air time that isn’t theirs.  They are harming their employer.  They are turning off fans.  They are also breaking the trust of the people that want to watch football including that connection with patriotism and ceremony to honor the country that invented the game and made it what it is.

    But I think you must know all these things.

    There are ways to protest what they think is the problem (and many could not even articulate what they were taking a knee for) without all these negative consequences… dividing… angering… splintering… inflaming tribalism.  Ironically, Trump has done more to help solve those problems and yet many seem to be taking a knee joining the TDS train as yet another form of tantrum over the election.

    1. and every man and woman that has fought to keep the country free 

      I guess this is the point at which I get to remind you that the article you are commenting on was written by a veteran.

    2. Wait a minute… aren’t you one of the ones criticizing the “millionaire pensions” of public employees, particularly public safety employees?

      What military service did you provide to protect the country?  Or, are you like POTUS?  What are your creds as a “patriot”?

      Sports cameras don’t need to film them… people in the stadium should be focused on the flag and the anthem, not “screen shots”… IF they were patriots… patriots oppose despots… the violation of laws justly adopted…

      I have known patriots (and consider myself one), and I do not see that trait in you, except in your bravado words and expectations of others… from what you’ve shared… I may be wrong…

    3. Privileged millionaires dropping to a knee during the national anthem played on TV to an audience that is mostly flag-loving and country-loving patriots is flipping off THAT ENTIRE AUDIENCE

      Jeff

      Did you notice how the flag -loving and country -loving patriots reacting  during the black players protest?  Did they walked out from the  stadium , whistled or screamed bad names aimed at black players .Full  stadium of people is a  perfect place for protest to get the message out and across  regardless of consequences.  It does  not matter if agree or not but to risk a  millions dollar contract for the cause is not easy and it  require more determination and the  courage then  if  have nothing and you have nothing to lose .  Black players did not organize  the protest to get more money or better benefits  for themselves . Read the article what is this article  about .

    4. what they think is the problem (and many could not even articulate what they were taking a knee for) without all these negative consequences… dividing… angering… splintering… inflaming tribalism.  Ironically, Trump has done more to help solve those problems

      Yeah, right… the Donald had done everything to avoid ‘dividing, angering, splintering, and inflaming tribalism’… and he has been doing that noble service for many years… hell, Barack Obama isn’t even a citizen!

      That’s why he is on a witch hunt to find the NY Times op-ed “sick” person author, and his toadies are crying “not me!”… yeah, right…

      I want to learn how to play bridge, so I can bid 5 NT…

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