Letters to the Sports Editor: Colin Kaepernick
Colin Kaepernick
Regarding the Aug. 30 column on Kaepernick by Tom Jones, he gets it wrong. It is about both the message and the messenger.
So here we have another celebrity dividing our nation. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who makes more money in one game than I made in my entire time as a classroom teacher, decides to show us who is morally just and who is not. Which is greater, his ignorance or arrogance?
By what logic is honoring and respecting our flag inconsistent with opposing racism? What reasoning made those concepts mutually exclusive enemies? Is not the combination of respect for our flag and respect for all Americans regardless of color or creed or origin the exact sentiment that allows the United States to progress toward a better future?
His actions are painfully and unnecessarily divisive. Why do I, a Marine veteran of two combat tours in Iraq, have to chose between honoring my country and opposing racism?
Kaepernick’s shallow “my-way-or-the-highway” approach represents everything that is wrong with America’s public discourse today. Where are the reasoned voices seeking to unite us? Where are the mature leaders who seek to bridge our divides?
Why do people like Kaepernick constantly seek to force us into hostile corners readying for the bell to ring for the next round of battle?
Shame on Colin Kaepernick.
Mike Walker, Meridian
With Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the playing of our national anthem, he has slapped the faces of every veteran who served in our Armed Forces and risked their lives, and in a lot of cases died, to give him the freedom he now has.
He had a choice to protest the issues our country faces by either using positive or negative methods. He chose the negative route, thus compromising his purpose and becoming part of the problem himself.
This kind of behavior only fuels the fire. He needs to apologize to veterans and the American people, or get himself and his negativism out of the United States of America.
Ronald Asselin, Boise
Dear Mr. Kaepernick, instead of sitting down and refusing to take part in the national anthem, maybe you should take the lead of some of the heroes who preceded you like Pat Tillman and John Borbonus, who truly showed their love for our country and what it stands for by committing the ultimate sacrifice.
You “sit” there trying to make a statement making several million dollars as a second-string quarterback in the NFL, living in the lap of luxury on your opportunity and skill. Would you have had the same opportunity had you been born in Syria or Afghanistan?
Supporting the Wounded Warriors project would be more beneficial.
Bill Burns, Boise
This story was originally published September 4, 2016 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Letters to the Sports Editor: Colin Kaepernick."