Remember when it was taboo take a knee in the NFL.

So true. There are really two issues here.

The first is the supposed first amendment issue which of course is nothing of the sort. There is no government official breaking into homes in the middle of the night and dragging NFL players out for speaking out against their government. There is a time and place for anyone to make a case for their cause no matter how important or how stupid it is. White supremacists have a perfect right to spew their vile hate, but I don't want it at a football game, church, funeral etc. Also, I wonder how many of these NFL players would feel the same if they became an owner and found themselves losing revenue. Team owners have hundreds of million of dollars invested in their teams and it's unfair for players to use the NFL as their soapbox.

The second issue is the cause itself, which everyone it seems is afraid to tackle. As a black man, I remember clearly the militants of the 60s and had a lot of sympathy for the cause. I attended many marches and rallies at college. Today we have the NFL players taking a knee because black men are being killed by police which would seem a worthy cause, but the vast majority of those killed had a rap sheet a mile long including violent crimes. They refuse to obey directives from the police and usually attack or pull weapons. The NFL players would have you believe that the police are pulling over and shooting young black men on the way to bible class. Of course there are incidents where purely innocent black men are killed by police, but the percentages of these roughly mirror the incidents with white men in the same circumstance.

If we are to assume the NFL player's cause is right, the next logical step is to say that young black men are inherently incapable of acting in a civilized manor when it comes to authority, and I'm sure there are plenty of white folks who believe this. Anyone who thinks black men should be given a pass because they can't deal civilly with authority is a racist. I think we are better than that.

Exactly ! He was mocked and ridiculed big time but also had somewhat of a following, those who emulated him.