By GUS TURNER ZICK

The Mirror reporter

Colin Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, is under extreme fire for kneeling during the national anthem in protest for wrongdoings against minorities. This should not be the case. He should be being praised for standing up to racism.

Kaepernick is just the next from a long line of black athletes who have decided to have real feelings and care about the black community. And almost every time they get criticized for their beliefs.

Minorities being disrespected and treated wrong is still a major problem that needs to be fixed. A federal judge from San Francisco in June even ruled that there is sufficient evidence of racial discrimination in law enforcement.

Others believe that Kaepernick’s kneeling is disrespectful to the American flag and that he is not respecting the troops that fought for all the rights we have today.

Many other athletes, mainly football players, have followed Kaepernick in his protests by either kneeling or raising their fist during the national anthem.

I stand with Kaepernick as well because even though he’s choosing somewhat of a bad time to protest it’s getting a lot of attention and hopefully that attention will translate to the actionneeded for the minorities who are victims of racism.

All of these disputes could all be solved if people could be respectful and treat others the way they would want to be treated… equal.