Dr. Michael Brown Pens an Open Letter to NFL QB Colin Kaepernick after He Refuses to Stand for National Anthem

Dr. Michael Brown : Aug 29, 2016
Charisma News

"The flag is the flag. Regardless of how you feel about things that are going on in America today, and the things that are going on across the world with gun violence and things of that nature, you've got to respect the flag, and you've got to stand up with your teammates. It's bigger than just you, in my opinion. I think you go up there, you're with a team, and you go and you know you pledge your allegiance to the flag and sing the national anthem with your team, and then you go about your business, whatever your beliefs are."  -Victor Cruz, New York Giants.

[Charisma News] Dear Colin,

You're obviously getting a ton of responses to your decision to sit during the national anthem, both negative and positive, but as I just read that you intend to continue to sit during the singing of the anthem, I felt your actions and comment deserve yet another response. (Photo: Reuters/via Charisma News)
 
In short, I admire your courage, but I question your judgment, and there is due cause for many to charge you with hypocrisy. Are you sure your actions were righteous?
 
Explaining why you will continue to sit, you said. "I'm going to continue to stand with the people that are being oppressed. To me, this is something that has to change. When there's significant change and I feel like that flag represents what it's supposed to represent, this country is representing people the way that it's supposed to, I'll stand."
 
Again, I admire your courage, since it is very possible that this incident will cost you millions of dollars in the coming years and will follow you the rest of your professional career. So this is not an easy thing to do, and I think it's excellent that you feel a responsibility to use your very public platform to be a role model.
 
That too is commendable—but that doesn't mean it is right.
 
First, when you take an individualistic stand like this, you are putting your whole organization, and most particularly your whole team, in a negative light.
 
Isn't "team first" the mentality on which the NFL is built? Aren't you taught to put the good of the team before your personal interests and points of view? And as you've been struggling on the field for some time now, haven't you expected your team to have your back?
 
Yet now you've decided that getting your personal message out is more important than cultivating team solidarity. Is that a right thing to do?
 
As New York Giants player Victor Cruz said, "The flag is the flag. Regardless of how you feel about things that are going on in America today, and the things that are going on across the world with gun violence and things of that nature, you've got to respect the flag, and you've got to stand up with your teammates. It's bigger than just you, in my opinion. I think you go up there, you're with a team, and you go and you know you pledge your allegiance to the flag and sing the national anthem with your team, and then you go about your business, whatever your beliefs are."
 
You said last week, "To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way."
 
Perhaps it's the exact opposite? Perhaps your act was actually...
 
Continue reading this open letter, here.