Jackie Robinson: “I cannot stand and sing the anthem. I cannot salute the flag”

...and I would have "stood" with Jackie Robinson. In his time, discrimination was common place. Bigots were welcome in polite company. Segregation was the law of the land. Lynchings still occurred with frightening regularity and little or no consequences. None of this is true today. Not one bit of it. Yes, there are still bigots, but they are pariahs in modern American society. Segregation is banned. Discrimination is unacceptable. Sadly, today's racial unrest is generated artificially for political advantage. False narratives are used to create crisis that politicians can use to divide and conquer voting blocks. An armed thug killed by police while committing a crime is transformed into a beloved son and sibling, and the police are portrayed as savage brutes. This NFL athlete is contributing to that lie and is damaging what hope there is to turn back from the abyss of another century of racial tensions.

Everyone in this country has a right to express their opinion through freedom of speech as guaranteed in the constitution, however, be prepared for the fallout. Just like the 2nd Amendment says I can be armed any place I go (sort of), there may be bad days ahead for me if I bust through the front door of a local police station at the low ready. Consequences! In this case, with Kapernick, the repercussions are merely a social backlash because he's going against the accepted norm. Do what you think your career can handle!

SSG Drew Cook I really hope you are not trying to put the spoiled kapernick in the same category as Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson broke through a barrier. He lived and played in a time when discrimination was at the best ignored, at worst socially acceptable. Furthermore, Jackie Robinson was not making MILLIONS of dollars. He could not take the money he was making and actually put it to work to bring about a real change. All he could do was prove on the ball field that he was as good, and mostly better than everyone around him. Kapernick is doing neither. He is not working to make his community better, and he is not dominating the game. He is crying about injustice from the safety of his million dollar home in his private community where the only injustice is someone not picking up after their dog. So in closing Colin Kapernick is not fit to shine Jackie Robinson's spikes, and trying to compare a spoiled sub par quarterback to a great ball player who had to break barriers is ridiculous at best, an INSULT to Jackie Robinson's memory at worst.