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What would Jackie Robinson think about Colin Kaepernick’s protest?

Mike Oz

There are no simple answers in the Colin Kaepernick debate. It’s not as easy to distill as the knee-jerk takes all over your Facebook page might have you think. Answers shouldn’t be easy or convenient, because issues about race, equality and patriotism never are.

Wrapped inside of Kaepernick’s protest — a refusal to stand for the National Anthem because he believes this country oppresses blacks and other minorities — is decades of sports context that has pushed its way to the surface.

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You shouldn’t think about Kaepernick without thinking about Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists on the Olympic podium or about Muhammad Ali’s defiant stance against war or Jackie Robinson’s segregation-challenging journey to the big leagues.

It has to make you wonder: What would Ali say if he were here? What would Robinson say? We don’t know the answer to either question necessarily. But we do what Jackie Robinson was thinking close to this death in 1972.

In his autobiography, “I Never Had It Made,” which was published shortly after his death, Robinson wrote the following, with specific mention of the National Anthem and the flag:

There I was, the black grandson of a slave, the son of a black sharecropper, part of a historic occasion, a symbolic hero to my people. The air was sparkling. The sunlight was warm. The band struck up the national anthem. The flag billowed in the wind. It should have been a glorious moment for me as the stirring words of the national anthem poured from the stands. Perhaps, it was, but then again, perhaps, the anthem could be called the theme song for a drama called The Noble Experiment. Today, as I look back on that opening game of my first world series, I must tell you that it was Mr. Rickey’s drama and that I was only a principal actor. As I write this twenty years later, I cannot stand and sing the anthem. I cannot salute the flag; I know that I am a black man in a white world. In 1972, in 1947, at my birth in 1919, I know that I never had it made.

(AP photo)
(AP photo)

The world has changed a lot since 1972 — maybe not enough for Colin Kaepernick’s liking — but enough that no one can say for sure that Robinson would, 44 years later, agree with Kaepernick’s stance. Though it is clear that at this point in his life, Robinson definitely knew the place from which Kaepernick is coming.

This isn’t to compare Kaepernick’s plight to Robinson’s (or Smith’s or Carlos’ or Ali’s). Kaepernick has had it easier, there’s no doubt. He was condemned by fans all around the country — but he knew that was going to happen. He came back to work two days later, albeit with much more racism in his Twitter mentions, and further explained himself for 20 minutes in front of the media. He wasn’t silenced or sent away.

The historical context around Kaepnerick is important because we don’t see this type of protest as often from athletes anymore. They’d rather sell you a pizza or a pair of shoes than make you think about race, which is every bit their right, just as Kaepernick’s protest is his. Other athletes are careful to stick to the script from their media-training session, as to not show the wrong type of emotion and end up ostracized like Cam Newton.

The modern world might even have you believe that Ali was revered during his days of defiance, from all the social-media eulogies a few months ago. He wasn’t. He stood for what he believed in, and faced dogged criticism for it, including a media that wasn’t nearly as supportive as it’s been to Kaepernick. But Ali didn’t back down.

So if there’s one thing we can safely assume sports’ famous activists would applaud Kaepernick for, it’s this: He voiced his opinion, acknowledging that it might hurt his reputation and financial situation and he didn’t care. When the condemners came condemnin’, he didn’t backtrack, waver or dodge questions.

Whatever you think about Kaepernick’s method or message — that, too, is your right — he at least deserves credit for that.

BLS H/N: @Kaibutsu

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!