When former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat for the national anthem in August of last year, the team’s leaders went to Kaepernick and asked him to explain what he was doing, and why he was doing it. The leaders were concerned because several players, particularly those with friends and loved ones in the military, were upset.
Kaepernick went up in front of the team and said he was protesting police violence in communities of color. He was then challenged by center Dan Kilgore a white man from Kingsport, Tennessee who wears an American flag tee-shirt under his shoulder pads.
Kaepernick asked Kilgore if he was against violence, discrimination and racism. Kilgore said yes. And then he said that he would support Kaepernick’s cause. He explained he would never sit or kneel for the anthem, but he would support Kaepernick’s efforts.
You wonder what would have happened if the meeting didn’t take place, and Kilgore openly resented the player he was hiking the ball to – Kaepernick. That could have had an impact on game day.
Instead, Kilgore has become one of the most eloquent voices on the subject of what the protests are about. He doesn’t even call them protests, but rather a raising of awareness about what’s happening in communities of color in terms of criminal justice, education and access to resources.
Kaepernick also made himself available to anyone who wanted to talk about the issues. He’s well informed
and has read widely about the impact of inequality. He had a number of interesting conversations, including one with then kicker Phil Dawson, a staunch conservative.
In the end, nearly the entire locker room supported him. I talked to about 37 players and only two, linebacker NaVoro Bowman and defensive tackle Quinton Dial, didn’t think that Kaepernick should have protested. Later, Bowman supported Kaepernick with a source saying he advocated for him to win the Len Eshmont Award, which is given by vote of the locker room to the most courageous and inspirational player. Kaepernick won the award last year.
The 49ers only won two games last season, however a lack of effort on their part wasn’t the issue. A stark lack of talent was.
I bring this up because of the Raiders. They are a talented team that’s seemingly not playing together. Their offensive line hasn’t protected Derek Carr as well as last year, and the receivers have been abysmal. The team lurches and sputters and appears to be a talented group that isn’t playing as one.
Could it be that quiet resentments are festering below the surface because the team hasn’t addressed the anthem issue?
When the Raiders took the field against Washington after Donald Trump’s comments suggesting that protesting players were SOB’s, some Raiders stood while other linked arms and knelt. Carr stood, and he addressed the issue after the game.
“Obviously some guys stood and we wanted to make sure we were together, whether you agree or disagree. From the outside looking in for standing or sitting or whatever, we all love one another, whether one guys sits or one guy stands,” Car said. He was then asked if the protest impacted the team after the loss to Washington.
“I hope not,” Carr said. “It didn’t distract my mind, … “You don’t know what’s going on in everybody’s head and all those things.”
Carr’s heart seems to be in the right place. During the preseason he draped his arm around Kahlil Mack, who he called his best friend, during the anthem. Carr said after the game even though Mack comes from a different background and is a different race, friendship can still happen.
Possibly complicating the issue is running back Marshawn Lynch, who sat for the anthem and then stood for the Mexican anthem last Sunday. Lynch hasn’t addressed his reasons for his protests, and maybe not with his team either.
The Raiders need a team meeting. As Carr suggests, they need to know what’s going on in each others minds. They could even bring in Kaepernick to explain what the protests are all about. Such an air clearing could be therapeutic for a team that’s not playing like a one. The Raiders are only two games behind the Chiefs who were stunned by the Giants on Sunday. There’s time for them to make a run, and getting on the same page about their social views would be an excellent first step.