Colin, it's Mitch.
Listen, man, I see you. I hear you.
And I'm wondering if we can have a talk.
I promise I won't burn your jersey in protest of your refusal to stand for the national anthem. I won't threaten you bodily harm.
But, yes, Colin Kaepernick, I think your decision to take a stand by sitting is both disrespectful and misguided.
Understand I don't know how you've been treated in this land of ours. I don't know what you've seen. It's obvious you have strong feelings about racial issues. And I support your call for "significant change."
But I strongly suggest you don't just sit during the national anthem. I strongly suggest you sit instead beside politicians and social leaders. Sit instead beside those within the framework of our government. Sit instead beside those on school boards.
And talk. Affect change.
I know you're getting a lot of attention at the moment. And, hey, I'll give you credit for owning your actions.
"I'll continue to sit," you said. "I'm going 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 it's supposed to, I'll stand."
First, it's questionable, Colin, if you'll have the opportunity much longer. Your quarterback skills have seriously diminished.
Yet if you do have the opportunity, I'd suggest you reconsider your stance.
Because that flag represents all of us here, Colin. It represents our ideals. It represents the good, as well as the broken. And if you see something broken, well, don't just sit there. Get off you backside and do something tangible, substantial.
Too, a flaw I see with your protest, Colin, is its lack of refinement. When Muhammad Ali refused Army induction, it was in protest of the Vietnam War. Specific. Effective.
In your interviews, you've touched on a variety of topics. You've dissed both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. I mean, get to the point, man.
I saw a terrific piece from the Independent Journal Review, which spoke with Dorian Majied, an Army Ranger veteran who served in Iraq.
Majied pointed to the powerful appearance of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade at the ESPY Awards. He pointed to Michael Jordan's recent actions. He called them "more appropriate acts of protest."
"He could write his congressman; he could petition; he could picket; he could join the service and actually fight for the rights he seems to think are not offered to him," said Majied. "His sitting through the National Anthem was a lazy lack of will and brain power."
The Army Ranger veteran said Kaepernick has valid concerns and supports the QB's rights. But then he spelled out exactly how the protest is disrespectful.
"To disrespect the country that has afforded him the opportunities and fortunes he acquired is only made more offensive by the fact that his life is the personification of the ideals I see in the American flag and National Anthem: a bi-racial child, raised by white parents, and who has accomplished much despite his 'oppression.' In how many more nations around the world can a story like that come to fruition?"
What's more disappointing is Kaepernick has said he's had conversations with folks like Dr. Harry Edwards. If so, though, they certainly didn't help put this plan together.
Yes, Kaepernick has everyone's attention. He's effectively jumped up and down and waved his hands, much as a child would seeking his parents' attention. But what, specifically, do you want it for, Colin?
You've disrespected our flag, our nation, our ideals and those ancestors who strived to make our country a better place in concrete ways.
Is our country perfect? Heck no. But if you're planning to sit until it is perfect, well, I'd suggest you pack a lunch - for the millennium.
See, Colin, what I'd rather you do is stand, not sit.
Stand for the national anthem and for all it represents, yes. But get off your duff. Stand and walk and talk with those that can effect "significant change" and, well, affect significant change.
In a respectful way, Colin.
So maybe, just maybe, we can then respect you.