Over the course of the past year or so, I’ve become increasingly angry at how the NFL treats players who kneel during the national anthem and/or who speak out against police brutality and systemic racism. By NFL, I mean everyone from Roger Goodell and the franchise owners to a loud faction of the fan base that is predominately white, nationalist-leaning and, in some cases, overtly racist. A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about my frustration. I was prompted to do so when…
Last week, the Seattle Seahawks canceled a planned meeting with Colin Kaepernick. My understanding is that the purpose of the meeting was for Kaepernick to work out with the team and to discuss potential opportunities with the franchise. However, according to reports, Seahawks management called off the meeting when Kaepernick would not disclose his plans for future off-field activities and also refused to say if he would continue to kneel during the national anthem. A day after the cancellation was reported, the Seahawks signed Stephen…
Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity I was in Houston visiting family when I heard the news about the massacre in Orlando. Like everyone else, I was stunned, horrified and deeply saddened. Now just over a week since the shootings, I continue to cycle through an array of emotions. Mostly, I feel grief for all the lives that were lost and heartache for the families of the victims. I've also been wrestling with a bleak despair over the state of our humanity and…
Although I've thought about it about a lot, I’ve never written about racism. For starters, I wasn’t sure I had the right. But even more, I’ve been too afraid: afraid of creating more pain and anger, afraid of my own ignorance, afraid of exposing less than desirable parts of myself. But in light of recent events in Ferguson, it’s clear that we don’t have the luxury of remaining frozen. I want to talk about it. It may be hard. It may be awkward. But I have…