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| Ex Footballer. New Nike Swoosh |
LETTER TO THE BBC:
Yet another one-sided report on the BBC TV News: fully supportive of the progressive line on Colin Kaepernick's "taking the knee" and all it stands for (against police killings of black men). And fully supporting Nike's move to hire Kaepernick as the face of its "Just do it!" campaign.
But not a whisper that there might be a reasonable counter view.
In the process the BBC gives Nike huge exposure. This the same Nike that has been indicted for abusive labour practices in its Asian sweatshops. The same Nike that we all loved to hate, is now the poster child for care and diversity…
I suggest Jason Whitlock as a knowledgable sports commentator who can give a counter to the incessant lionising of Kaepernick's knee.
In the process the BBC gives Nike huge exposure. This the same Nike that has been indicted for abusive labour practices in its Asian sweatshops. The same Nike that we all loved to hate, is now the poster child for care and diversity…
I suggest Jason Whitlock as a knowledgable sports commentator who can give a counter to the incessant lionising of Kaepernick's knee.
Whitlock is African-American; his critique is not based on race or a racist narrative.
Whitlock's criticism of taking the knee is two-fold:
(a) Football players are entertainers and TV personalities. Just as no network would allow a news broadcaster to air their personal political views, the same standard should apply to NFL players.
(b) In any case, the data do not support claims —by the Black Lives Matter movement as well as Kaepernick — of prodigious police killings of black men. We accept that Kaepernick cares about black homicide, so he ought lend his fame and his knee to the real black homicide problem which is killings within the black community.
To charges that this just "whataboutery" Whitlock says not really, it's about highlighting the real problem, not a marginal one. Focussing this huge amount of attention on a huge problem not a small and declining one (pace Black Lives Matter). Then everyone could get behind Colin. Come on, Colin, you "Must do it"!
To charges that this just "whataboutery" Whitlock says not really, it's about highlighting the real problem, not a marginal one. Focussing this huge amount of attention on a huge problem not a small and declining one (pace Black Lives Matter). Then everyone could get behind Colin. Come on, Colin, you "Must do it"!
In the meantime fans are turned off and tuning out. NFL viewership dropped 10% last year. That will feed through into lower salaries for Kneelers and Standers alike. Well done Colin. You just did it…
Yours etc,
Pf
Pf
