So while conversations are sparked, so are memories. Memories of a young baseball fan, fresh from the concession stand with a soft drink and hot dog awaiting the first pitch of the New York Yankees vs. their fiercest rivals, the Boston Red Sox. Despite having his hands full, he was given the ice grill for not removing the NY hat or placing his hand over his heart during the “Star Spangled Banner.” Three innings into the game, the home team was getting handled pretty well, and Red Sox slugger Jim Rice just hit a booming double to score another run.
Now after a few beers, a few despairing words were mixed in with the boos. Care to guess what Jim Rice, who happened to be Black was called? To remain consistent, later in the game when Reggie Jackson, the superstar of the home-team Yankees failed to drive in a run, the same sentiments were shared vocally, including the big one that begins with the letter N. Two All Stars and future Hall of Famers on opposite teams those insults. Granted, Rice and Jackson couldn’t hear them. They were miles away in the physical, social and ideological worlds. You could’ve told them what had transpired in the stands and they probably wouldn’t have believed it.
The parties who spewed the venom could care less who was offended by their ugly words; they needed to get those feelings off their chests. A couple of police officers there in serve and protect capacity offered a suggestion to the pack to calm it down with the beers. Moral of the tale: Every one of the parties mentioned saluted the flag.
Fast forward to 2016. Baseball is no longer the national past time, football is. So much so that the sport is talked about year-round. In less than two weeks, the show starts. Yet this week, the league finds itself front and center for reasons outside the gridiron. San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick has set it off with what has become a polarizing act.
Quick rundown on who Kaepernick is and what he represents. He plays the glamour position in the game. A position that was once thought to be taboo for the Black football player. It was too cerebral and Blacks didn’t have that innate ability, it was reasoned. That was temporarily curtailed in 1988 when Doug Williams commanded the Washington Redskins to a Super Bowl victory. That helped usher in a slew of Blacks to the position and changed the dynamic of the sport. For the new millennials, Kapernick, Cam Newton, R.G III and Russell Wilson were poised to take the mantel of best in the game, period. An injury and conflict with management all but left Kaepernick out of that equation and on the cusp of being cut from the team. If he’s gone, he’ll be out in a major way.
With teams working to crystallize their final rooster, Kaepernick who’s battling for a position, used the game and field as a canvass for an issue he’s struggling with. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color,” he said. “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.” Was this statement rhetorical? He continued, “I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. … If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.” Once upon a time an athlete standing by his words would be something deemed admirable.
As a sidebar, the song in which he refused to align with was written by someone who unequivocally didn’t have people of color in mind. To get an idea of who Francis Scott Key was, see if you can get your hands on a book entitled, “In Snowstorm in August: Washington City, Francis Scott Key, and the Forgotten Race Riot of 1835.” Maybe when a few layers of story behind the anthem and the flag are revealed we all may rethink the role of those symbols.
Til then, enjoy the night life. Ironically, I’m headed to the Made in America music festival. Over and out. Holla next week.