COLUMN: NFL audiences hate Colin Kaepernick, have no problem with Ezekiel Elliott
It’s a confusing time to be a football fan. I am willing to bet every fan knows someone boycotting the National Football League because players are kneeling during the national anthem. This bothers them, but players with murder, rape or domestic violence charges are no big deal.
The other day I was listening to a Detroit radio station when a woman called in and said she will not watch games with men sitting out during the national anthem. The logic behind this was shocking, because she never once complained about domestic violence abusers. Her only complaint was the selfish people sitting during the national anthem.
The question this year is what’s worse: political activism or domestic abuse?
The question shouldn’t be phrased this way.
Do I agree with both actions? Absolutely not. I believe people should stand for the national anthem and men should never hit women. But I am more okay with someone trying to change a way of thinking in America than a man battering a woman.
The two athletes I am talking about are Ezekiel Elliott and Colin Kaepernick.
Elliot is suspended and will be returning to football to do his job. Kaepernick, on the other hand, has been shunned from the game with almost zero chance of being signed by a professional team.
People need to take a step back and really think about the specifics of this scenario.
America, whether it believes this is a big or little issue, has a race problem.
It is no secret any African-American is looked at and treated differently than me, a white man. I will never understand what that is like.
Kaepernick has this in mind when he kneels during the National Anthem. I do not agree with him kneeling, but the thought of making the world a better place should be looked at with respect.
Elliott, on the other hand, is a running back for the Dallas Cowboys. He was issued a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s Domestic Violence Policy.
Elliott was not convicted of a crime, but only after seeing pictures and hearing his ex-girlfriend’s statement, the NFL punished him. In July 2016, he was questioned by the Columbus, Ohio police after a former girlfriend accused him of assaulting her multiple times over the course of a week.
Elliott will still play in the NFL, after abusing his ex and viewers are not shunning or calling for a boycott because he's still playing. Viewers will wait patiently for him to return because they care more about the authenticity of football than the common courtesy of how to treat a woman.
America has a problem if this is how we treat athletes.
But maybe I'm the only one who sees the problem with hating a political activist, and letting a domestic abuser go free.
