A tale of two QBs

It was before a 2016 NFL pre-season game that Colin Kaepernick first refused to stand for the national anthem choosing instead to kneel as a form of protest against and to raise awareness about racial injustice in our society. The action proved to be a career ender. Exercising his right to express his views in a peaceful, law-abiding manner got Kaepernick black-balled by the NFL. Who would have thought the words of now-Justice Clarence Thomas at his Senate confirmation hearing - "high-tech lynching of an uppity black" - would still apply after 30 years? What is the difference between the two? In Thomas' case the "lynching" put him on the Supreme Court; for Kaepernick, it ended his career.

Fast-forward to 2021 - another NFL quarterback is making the news. You could not have missed Aaron Rodgers' performance carried by most news channels regarding his views on COVID which led him to violate the league's policy by refusing to be vaccinated. I do not understand how those views could justify lying about being vaccinated to circumvent the rules. Or how those views could justify exposing his team-mates and fans to the risk of the disease. Those transgressions are on him. His punishment for his "misleading" statements and irresponsible behavior is barely a slap on the wrist for Rodgers. Incidentally the "woke mob" Rodgers claims is after him also brings to mind the words of Justice Thomas.

This post is not about Kaepernick vs Rodgers but about right vs wrong. I believe that the people who approved of Kaepernick's protest also disapprove of Rodgers dissembling and lies and that they outnumber the people on the other side. This is one more example of the consequences of the silence/apathy of what I believe is the moral majority. The "woke mob" needs to wake up and make themselves heard not just in football stadiums and in the media, but also at the polls. It is easy to admire Aaron Rodgers' prowess on the football field but we must not let it blind us to the big issues such as social justice, public health and democratic values. And to those curious about the Rodgers vs Kaepernick match-up, Kaepernick was 3 and 1 against Rodgers and his Packers before his career was sadly truncated.