October 8: On This Day In 2017
49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started it during the 2016 season, taking a knee during the national anthem to protest police shootings of Black Americans. Soon, many Black (and other) NFL players were doing the same.
"Kaepernick's gesture and voice have resonated unlike anything we've witnessed by or from an athlete in years," reported the NFL's in-house channel.
But, aghast, Donald Trump took every opportunity to disparage the protesters. Trump's message certainly was heard in the NFL, and eventually, Kaepernick was apparently blackballed from the league, never playing again after that season.
Trump forced his lapdog Pence to pile on: OTDI 2017, Trump asked his Veep to end his scheduled trip and instead hurry over to an Indianapolis Colts game. As he stood in his fancy box seat, Pence (and Trump) knew the cameras would be on him. So as soon as the national anthem began, and players predictability took their knees, Pence theatrically turned around and fled the stadium.
“It had the distinct appearance of a well-planned, if costly, political stunt,” the New York Times reported. Those travel, security, and associated costs to US taxpayers were later calculated to be $325,000.
Trump is all about looking out for himself: During a deposition about Kaepernick’s apparent blackballing, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones revealed that Trump told him that kneeling was: “a very winning, strong issue for me. Tell everybody (protesting players), you can’t win this one. This one lifts me.”
This, of course, was not the first time Trump ordered Pence to take a ridiculous trip so he could profit politically or personally.
Given Pence’s willingness to please his boss, it’s all the more remarkable how viciously Trump turned his back on Pence during Pence’s ultimate moment of need. This new evidence was recently revealed in Trump’s election-theft indictment. As Trump’s Jan 6 mob was literally trying to hunt down Pence, and Pence was forced to hide, Trump was appraised of these developments. His response to the Vice President’s harrowing escape? “So What?”
Dive Deeper
NYT points out that the orders came directly from Trump himself
The Atlantic explains Trump’s motivation
SI has the cost analysis here
The Independent reports on Trump’s So What?
The NFL Network's coverage
On This Day In The Trump Administration: Trump declares war on Black athletes NFL Kaepernick