Nike/Anthem Kneeling

It seems like everyone is talking about Nike's "controversial" decision to make Colin Kaepernick the face of their new line, so I figure I'll weigh in. I have to admit that the athletic clothing brand doesn't really strike me as a topic of grave importance, but the underlying issues that Kaepernick has become associated with are in fact very important. We all know the whole story of him kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality, but unfortunately, so many people have confused this gesture with disrespect for the flag and the country. Do I think Colin Kaepernick dislikes this nation? Absolutely not. In fact, I'd say he loves it a lot more than many of those criticizing him, because in doing what he did, he wanted this country to make changes to better itself. That strikes me as a much more mature type of patriotism than blindly adoring America while overlooking all of its flaws. If you truly love something, whether it be a country, an institution, or a person, you want to see it/them become better and fix it's/their flaws. In doing what he did, Colin was attempting to bring the issue of racial inequality into the national spotlight, and to an extent, he succeeded, although obviously he wasn't able to avoid causing a bit of a stir. Nike's decision to make him the face of their new line doesn't really strike me as a controversial choice, although I know many people disagree with me. The words "Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything" do strike me as a little bit over the top though. Yes by making the choice that he did, that was a large factor in the decline of his athletic career, but obviously saying that he sacrificed EVERYTHING, is a bit much. However, that doesn't change the fact that by kneeling for the anthem in protest of racial injustice, he brought the issue into the national forefront and started a dialogue, which is the crucial first step in solving any problem, large or small.