During last week’s cafe, I had the pleasure of listening to Professor Angela Cornell speak about a very important issue. Prior to this talk, I’ve had very little knowledge about the debacle with Colin Kaepernick. I’ve had the general idea that Kaepernick had knelt during the National Anthem to protest injustices and that he had received a lot of backlash for it. But Professor Angela’s talk went more in-depth with the issue and the consequences of this one football player’s actions.

Professor Angela’s talk was very insightful because we talked about the issue arguing on both sides rather than just focusing on Kaepernick’s perspective. While many of us that attended seemingly supported Kaepernick’s action, Professor Cornell challenged us to think of an argument against Kaepernick’s actions. I had never viewed the issue in this way and it allowed me to get a grasp of the issue as a whole rather than the tunnel vision perspective that I had. Previously, I fully supported Kaepernick’s actions to protest and believed he had every right to do so. However, now I understand those that felt his actions were too much. As we’ve discussed, Kaepernick’s decision to protest while working in the private sector proved very detrimental to his case. Kaepernick’s decision to kneel while on the job could be compared to a professor protesting or speaking against his/her views during a lecture; I would not want to hear such protest while the professor is on the job. Kaepernick had no legal right to protest because his first amendment rights would be limited while on the job. However, many were against him because they viewed his action as a violent crime. I personally do not think Kaepernick caused any harm to others by choosing to protest during the National Anthem. Many would argue that there were more efficient, less controversial ways to protest and express his views. But Kaepernick was placed on spotlight during the football game and had the most impact by kneeling during this very specific time. This decision was the reason that we’re still talking about the issue and why it’s the most effective way to protest because it starts the conversation for change.