Caleb Baum
Sep 7, 2018 · 4 min read

What exactly is this all about, Mr. Kaepernick?

Let me first start by saying I fully believe that it is a person’s right to peacefully protest however they choose to do it. “Peaceful protest” is not altered because people are angered by it. If NFL players taking a knee pisses you off, that is a YOU-problem. I wish they would not do it, but they have that right. Secondly, congratulations to Mr. Kaepernick on the big Nike contract — this is what capitalism is all about.
However, I am confused about the issues now. First it was police brutality, then it was social injustice, now it is what?
Let’s talk about it.
This movement has taken a lot of turns.
This all began on August 26, 2016 when Colin Kaepernick decided to sit during the national anthem. After the game he said “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” Then within a week, he wore socks that depicted police officers as pigs — which happens to be derogatory in nature. He associated those socks with “rogue cops.” Which is what these police officers who shoot unarmed people are — rogue. Every profession, ethnicity, community, etc … has bad apples; police officers are not immune to it. Kaepernick also followed this up with the revelation that he does not vote and that he had not, to that point, donated any of his money to help causes he is protesting.
To sum it up, Kaepernick protested, then wore derogatory socks that portrayed a community as a whole but tried to say it was only meant for the few, then said he doesn’t vote, and then sad he doesn’t donate money — but he wants people to fix the problems. I’m confused too.
Then it was showtime. Kaepernick began defending Fidel Castro’s policies. He said that Castro put more money into the education system than the prison system. That could be because Cuba did not need a prison, seeing as how they would assassinate you in your house, in front of your kids — but, apparently, that type of oppression can be overlooked if we throw a little extra money into the school system. Now I’m even more confused.
Whether you agree or not, this made Kaepernick the face of the NFL protest. Now it doesn’t matter how well Malcom Jenkins handles it, this is Kaepernick’s battle and it always will be.
Kaepernick claims to be “fight oppression of all kinds globally.” Just go look at his website.
Nike’s checkbook may have changed that stance, though.
Why? Well……
In August 2018 a class action suit was filed against Nike by women. Among the allegations were:

  1. Executives were calling female counterparts “dykes” on “several occasions.”
  2. A female employee started and was told her wage was “non-negotiable.” 2 months later, a male counterpart was hired to the same position but at a higher salary.
  3. A male co-worker sent nude photographs to a female co-worker and followed that with more harassing text messages. After the female co-worker told the male co-worker to stop, the male co-worker began withholding information from the female co-worker. That information was imperative for the female co-worker to perform her job. The make co-worker also began skipping meetings that the female co-worker schedule and encouraged other co-workers to skip the meetings as well.
  4. HR was informed of all of these incidents, but never took action.

I know what you might be saying — “these are just allegations.” That is my first response also. However, Nike publicly said they have “failed to promote enough women and minorities” and also said they have cultural issues. That is as close to an admission as you will get regarding allegations.
What about those Nike sweatshops? Since the 1990’s Nike has used Chinese sweatshops to create their products. The workforce there, which is mostly women, works 60–84 hours a week, roughly 16 hours a day — but “earn” on average $62 a week. These shops have been criticized for using children in their factory’s and working them at the same rates for even less money. That sounds a little bit like slavery.
How does Nike think they can be forgiven the quickest? Maybe sign Colin Kaepernick because he “fights oppression.”
But let me ask you this Mr. Kaepernick, what about that oppression against “women and minorities?” Is it just about the money? What about Nike taking advantage of children in China to save a few dollars in the U.S.? Adidas and Puma were recruiting you for the same thing, why choose Nike when they have this type of systematic oppression going on in their own building? I thought we were fighting all social injustice here?
A lot of this is confusing.
But I do know one thing, if signing a multi-million dollar, multi-year deal with Nike is “sacrificing everything,” sign me up.

http://www.the-closing-argument.com/closing-arguments/what-is-this-all-about-mr-kaepernick