With the heated National Anthem debate at its apex, Time Magazine chose San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to cover their October 2016 issue. Even though the 49ers QB was only sitting on the bench by the Gatorade cooler during his less conspicuous, initial protest, the pose that was chosen was that which has taken fervor in sports stadiums and arenas around the country; getting down on one knee.

Time tweeted the cover, their metaphor to a national debate that has put patriotism in question over the lives of young Black men that are dying at the hands of police with little to no recourse from the justice system.

Kaepernick has received tons of backlash, including racial slurs on and off the field as well as death threats, to which he publically responded, “If something like that were to happen, you’ve proved my point and it would be loud and clear to everyone why it happened..”.

On the flip side of that coin, many athletes in several sports have followed Kaepernick’s lead. The Miami Dolphins players who took a knee recently held a townhall meeting with members of the police department and local leaders to discuss the issues in play.

Ever since Colin Kaepernick first protested, there have been 16 police related killings, but this debate is slowly moving forward to the issues that are most significant about this protest.

September 22, 2016