Jim Brown has spoken up once again about social justice, but he is stealing from Colin Kapernick's message to do so. It is a bit late for the hall of famer to decide that he can speak on the flag considering he has supported social justice causes in the past. He has a right to his opinion, but it looks odd to have this particular opinion at this particular time. Jim Brown would have done better to be the elder statesman and help push the message that Colin was hoping to spread.
He needs to choose his spots
Colin Kaepernick was not trying to desecrate the flag or cause a stir by disrespecting America.
His message has been made clear many times over. He is interested in righting social wrongs in the black community, and he hoped to bring attention to it by not standing for the national anthem. Jim Brown should be wise enough to know that deflecting from that message is what has much of America in an uproar about Kaepernick. The underlying issue bothers people, and he should not give people a license to say, "see, Jim Brown disagrees."
Kaepernick needs more allies
There is no reason to believe that Kaepernick cares as much about football as he does about social justice. He has given his life's work for a cause because it will change lives. That is a brave thing to do that is much like what Muhammad Ali did when he refused to be drafted and went to prison.
He did come back to boxing, but it was a loss for him -- an athlete and father. Kaepernick is giving his money hand over fist to good causes, and he should not have to be concerned about being undercut by someone in his own community.
Praise in public
Praising Colin Kaepernick in public would have been an easy thing to do, and Brown could have contacted Kaepernick privately to explain why he disagreed.
That would have been a simple thing to do, and it would have helped, I think. There is a chance that Kaepernick may have changed his position, and he could have spun that communication for good. Brown speaking in public negatively about a situation that impacts him simply serves to give excuses to those who wish to deny we have social justice issues in this country.
Sports fans can claim that he would prefer to see football instead, and that would not be true. However, the damage is already done.
I only wish that Jim Brown would have thought his comments through before he used his platform to cut off Kaepernick's protest at the knees. This issue is not going away, but it was dealt a blow today.
