Annotated Bibliography

“Colin Kaepernick: Why are Athletes Kneeling during the National Anthem?”

By: Lori Queen

Date: Nov. 17, 2019

Babb, Kent. "The Making of Colin Kaepernick: How a Quarterback without a Team Became the most
Talked-about Man in the NFL. ProQuest, Sep 07, 2017,
https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1936397188?
accountid=10163. Accessed 03 Nov. 2019.

In this Washington Post article, Kent Babb wrote about Colin Kaepernick, Kaepernick’s life as a
bi-racial child adopted into a white family, who lived in the outskirts of Modesto, California.
Babb describes a highly intelligent and driven young man who had strong beliefs and was a little
different than most people his age. When Kaepernick went to Nevada, he wasn’t sure where he
fit in with his teammates. This article describes how Kaepernick wanted to understand how
people who were oppressed felt, and how he empathized, and ultimately how he came to
protest police brutality against African Americans. There is also a view of Kaepernick’s
generosity towards different causes that he did not want anyone to know about, he made
people promise to keep his donations and time spent with recipients' secret.

Bookwalter, Genevieve, and Lee V. Gaines. "Evanston Girls Volleyball Team Starts Conversation by
Kneeling during Anthem.” ProQuest, Sep 29, 2017,
https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1944580378?
accountid=10163. Accessed 03 Nov. 2019

This article tells how an Evanston, Il, volleyball team decided to take a knee during the national
anthem, to bring attention to those who face inequality in America. Not only did the volleyball
team kneel, but also the marching band and the cheerleaders. School officials decided that
there would not be a punishment for those who were involved in the protest, and that they feel
that the students have a right to express their views. The football team at another area high
school had a conversation about kneeling, and why each person agreed or disagreed. One thing
that they did all agree on, was that if one of them did decide to kneel, that they would still be
respected and supported. All the students felt that this opened a positive dialogue about the
reasons for kneeling and the social and legal injustices that kneeling represents.

Brockell, Gillian. "A national anthem protest ruined his NBA career. Now Abdul-Rauf is being honored by
LSU." Washington Post, 23 July 2019. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-
com.proxy039.nclive.org/apps/doc/A594218729/OVIC?u=shel41774&sid=OVIC&xid=3551fee3.
Accessed 03 Nov. 2019.

This article speaks of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and his decision to not stand during the National
Anthem. Abdul-Rauf had converted to Muslim, and per the Koran, he was not allowed to
participate in nationalistic customs, and that the America flag was a symbol of oppression. The
NBA quickly responded, and suspended Abdul-Raul, without pay, for not standing during the
National Anthem. His career quickly went downhill after this, and he had very few supporters
 for his decision. The article also mentions how Kaepernick had much support when he decided
to not stand for the National Anthem and received many tweets or statements, or activists also
joined him in kneeling during the anthem. Abdul-Rauf had the support of the players’ union and
his teammate LaPhonso Ellis, and that was mostly it. Abdul-Rauf's jersey is to be retired during
the 2019-2020 season, by LSU for his play during his time on the LSU basketball team.

Liz Clarke, Mark Maske. “Tired of Politics, NFL Wants to Get Back to What It Does Best: Selling
Football.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 8 Apr. 2018,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/tired-of-politics-nfl-wants-to-get-back-to-what-it-
does-best-selling-football/2018/04/06/6d770e7e-3448-11e8-8abc-22a366b72f2d_story.html.

This news article gives background on the protests by Kaepernick, and how the NFL is tired of
the mixture of politics and football, they want to bring the focus back to football. This decision
has come about due to the loss of revenue during 2017. Ratings were down 9.7 percent in 2017
and NFL fans have stated that their interest in the game has deceased.

"Colin Kaepernick." Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 138, Gale, 2017. Gale In Context: U.S. History,
https://link-gale-
com.proxy039.nclive.org/apps/doc/K1606007873/UHIC?u=shel41774&sid=UHIC&xid=88e8607e
. Accessed 03 Nov. 2019.

This is a biography of Colin Kaepernick's life and begins with his biological mother putting him up
for adoption, and how he was adopted into a white family. It goes into some detail about
Kaepernick’s high school and college football career. Kaepernick was an outstanding athlete and
student, with a bright future ahead of him. It also goes into his initial protests and the publicity
he received. Kaepernick was quoted saying that he would not stand to show pride for a flag and
country that oppresses black people and others. He stated that when there is significant change
he would stand. The biography also mentions how much support he had in the beginning of his
protest, and who contacted him showing their support for what he was doing.

Coaston, Jane. “2 Years of NFL Protests, Explained.” Vox, Vox, 4 Sept. 2018,
https://www.vox.com/2018/8/15/17619122/kaepernick-trump-nfl-protests-2018. Accessed 03
Nov. 2019

This article gives an overview of the entire beginning of the protest by Colin Kaepernick, and the
backlash of protests that followed. There are other sports that also had athletes kneel for the
national anthem, such as a woman in the women’s professional soccer league and a few high
school sports teams. The article also covers President Trump’s comment before he was elected
that stated the NFL football players that were protesting were “very fine people”. This
prompted Eric Reid to launch a tirade against Trump’s comment, which basically stated that
Trump was belittling the protestors. Some conservatives suggested that people should boycott
the NFL games, not buy any NFL merchandise, boycott NFL sponsors, until the protestors are
stopped.

"Kneeling Protester Kaepernick Agrees to Confidential NFL Settlement." Vanguard, Feb 16, 2019.
ProQuest,
 https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2181823115?
accountid=10163. Accessed 03 Nov. 2019.

This recent February 2019 article speaks of Kaepernick and his kneeling during the anthem
protest. It also touches on President Trump’s call for all athletes kneeling during the anthem to
be fired. Trump stated that the kneeling shows disrespect to the flag, the American military,
and veterans that served our country, while Kaepernick and Reid stated they were kneeling
against racial inequality, the oppression of people of color, and social injustice. When
Kaepernick was not signed by any NFL team, he and Eric Reid filed a grievance against the NFL,
stating that he believed he had in effect been blacklisted. This month a settlement was reached
between Kaepernick and NFL, for an undisclosed amount. Reid had signed with the Carolina
Panthers before this settlement. The article also relates that the NFL Players Association were
supportive of Kaepernick and Reid and hoped that they both were able to be signed to play.

Mediaite: Colin Kaepernick Doesn't Care about Black Lives, He Cares about Colin Kaepernick. Newstex,
Chatham, 2016. ProQuest,
https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1815059154?
accountid=10163. Accessed 03 Nov. 2019.

This article shares the thought that Kaepernick was floundering in his football career in 2016 due
to injuries and the three surgeries that had caused him to lose his value as a player due to
nonperformance. Since Kaepernick knew his football career was already in jeopardy, it has been
pointed out that he began a movement, which cast him into the forefront of political protests
and kept him in the public eye and still gained him a groundbreaking endorsement by Nike. The
article goes on to say that had never shown any opinions publicly regarding racism or the
treatment of minorities by the police force prior to “taking a knee” during the playing of the
National Anthem before a football game. This article also speaks to what decision the NFL
owners came to regarding what is allowed and not allowed during the playing of the National
Anthem and what the repercussions could be.

Perez-Stillwagon, George, et al. “Do You Believe Kneeling to Protest during the National Anthem
Disrespects the Troops?” VA.org, 18 Dec. 2018, https://va.org/do-you-believe-kneeling-to-
protest-during-the-national-anthem-disrespects-the-troops/. Accessed 03 Nov. 2019

This article asks the question of “Do you believe kneeling to protest during the national anthem
disrespects the troops?” Comments include those of President Trump, who loudly voiced his
opinion that kneeling during the national anthem was disrespectful to our military and those
that kneel should be fired. There are interviews with members of our military and their opinions
on the protests, as well as relatives of the late Francis Scott Key, who penned our Star-Spangled
Banner.