Why Colin Kaepernick Matters

I don't follow the NFL.  I find professional football to be boring, predictable, and cautious. That's why I love college football, because it is none of the above.  Another reason I don't follow the NFL, or hardly any other sport covered by ESPN, is because of the pure lack of sports reporting.  I don't know who Colin Kaepernick is except for that he is the 49er's QB and was something of a media darling a few years ago--for what reason I'm not sure.  Now apparently it's important to know who he is because he thinks America is basically a racist country.  Good for him. 

When I go about my daily life I can tell you the one thing I want to know is, 'What do professional athletes think about our country?'  More importantly, I need to know what they think so that I know what I should think.  Colin has 'raised consciousness' about racism according to the media. I applaud him for this.  What we need is more discussion about race.  Sure we have Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al and other race entrepreneurs, but what about professional athletes?  I read somewhere that Colin was adopted by a 'white' couple.  He is a QB in the NFL (I don't know if he starts) and that makes him a member of a very select group of people.  It also makes him the victim of a racist, rotten America. We should take note.

Everyday I thank my lucky stars for people like Colin Kaepernick (I don't thank God because I don't want to offend anyone, you know separation of church and state and all).  I look forward to watching an NFL game this year for the first time in over 15 years.  Colin Kaepernick has renewed my faith in the athlete-scholar and ESPN will never let me go without an adequate amount of Social Justice programming. I need to sign-up for cable again.