Last week I had the pleasure of sitting in Dr. Angela Cornell’s discussion on the legal ramifications of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest. The discussion was lively and I learned about several new developments in Kap’s case, including rumors of de facto exclusion from the NFL  thanks to collusion among NFL leaders. Dr. Cornell asked us several thought-provoking questions, including one I paraphrase here: Was Colin Kaepernick using his right to free speech and free protest correctly when he kneeled during the national anthem at the beginning of a game? Technically, he was on the job when he performed this act of protest against police brutality. On that note, however, the NFL is a holistic brand and therefore its players and affiliates are never technically off-duty; their actions reflect on their organization 24/7. I believe that Kaepernick was engaging his right to protest as a citizen, and as a black person in a country that has consistently proven hostile to black people; he intentionally used his platform as a public figure in the NFL to draw attention to an issue that affects him and his community every single day. Whether or not he was in the legal right is a valid question on some level, but in a larger sense, when the national anthem is playing, everyone in earshot is more than just a sports fan or a player or a coach; the anthem creates a solemn moment in which everyone remembers that we are all American, and Kap used that moment to bring attention to an issue that was taking the lives of innocent Americans daily.