Colin Kaepernick and I share the same birth city—Milwaukee.
And that’s where the similarities end.
He doesn’t know me.
And I don’t know him, even after reading the book he just released.
It’s not necessarily a literary masterpiece.
But it does tell his story—and his version of events.
And it left me with all sorts of questions?
Why did anyone care when an individual kneeled during the national anthem?
Isn’t that right to protest what keeps us from being North Korea?
Why is Colin Kaepernick so obsessed with identity anyway?
Must he describe every single person with an adjective referencing skin color?
Isn’t that archaic?
By doubling down on flawed categories, is he actually moving us forward?
Or backward?
Isn’t identity complicated?
On some level, isn’t it fabricated?
How can anyone argue that NFL owners didn’t collude to keep Kaepernick out of the league?
How can anyone who understands business blame them?
Does anyone actually think the NFL cares about things like player safety and social justice?
Would Kaepernick have been signed if he were playing better?
Did his divisiveness plus mediocrity make him expendable?
Was his way of protesting police brutality the best way?
Could he have gone a different route?
Should he have gone a different route?
Has he accomplished anything?
Didn’t he have an obvious point?
Isn’t police work remarkably dangerous?
Was the backlash proof of racism?
Did the backlash turn a simple act into a national crisis?
Do I need to pick sides?
Is it not okay to see all perspectives?
Isn’t a binary view of the world oversimplified and juvenile?
Why do they play the national anthem before these silly games?
Isn’t that disrespectful of the national anthem?
Why do I keep watching the NFL?
Why do fans embrace those with domestic violence and murder charges?
Yet they shun those who peacefully protest?
Do I agree with Kaepernick?
Do I disagree with Kaepernick?
Will I ever be as brave as Colin Kaepernick?
