"Although I am touched and honored to be selected for such an award, the ongoing controversy with NFL players' disrespect for the national flag forces me to decline to participate in the presentation," wrote Wells, according to the release. "I am unable, in good conscience, to enter an NFL stadium while this discourtesy prevails. Since this award is tainted with the dishonorable actions of the NFL and its players, I cannot accept it."
This quote was from, like, week three of his protesting—last year.Somehow (white) people are offended by this. Somehow (white) people think protesting inequality in a country that loves to talk about how all men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights is objectionable. Somehow (black) people pointing this out is unpatriotic. Somehow the voiceless, even when they have the largest platform, go unheard.This shouldn't even be a discussion. Dishonorable? What's dishonorable is willful ignorance. What's dishonorable is the vilification of peaceful protests. What's dishonorable are the circumstances—the unabated murder of citizens by police without consequence—that led to these protests in the first place. It is a national embarrassment."I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."