Opinion: Four years after Colin Kaepernick began his protests, sports figures' voices are growing louder — because they have no choice

The crack in Doc Rivers’ voice was undeniable. The emotion so crystal clear. The fatigue as plain as day.

“It’s just really so sad,” Rivers said Tuesday night after the Los Angeles Clippers’ blowout victory over the Dallas Mavericks — an outcome far from his mind at that point. “Like, I should just be a coach. I’m so often reminded of my color. It’s just really sad. We got to do better. We have to demand better.”

Rivers’ passionate and eloquent speech was fueled by yet another example of police brutality against a person of color. This time, it was officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shooting Jacob Blake — an unarmed Black man and father of three — in the back at least seven times.

Incidentally, Rivers’ comments came on the eve of the four-year anniversary of the day Colin Kaepernick was first shown trying to turn America’s attention to a very real problem of ongoing racism. 

Kaepernick, then a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, chose not to stand for the pregame playing of the national anthem because he wanted to spark conversation about police brutality against people of color and systemic oppression.

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Kaepernick explained his stance back then by saying, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

Kaepernick went on to kneel during the anthem, a move that drew the ire of right-wing white America and ultimately prompted the NFL’s 32 owners, who collectively valued their profits over the protests for equality and the sanctity of human life, to deny him employment. 

And here we are, four years later. How much has changed?

The cries for justice have grown louder. Many players across the NFL joined Kaepernick in his pursuit of justice and racial equality. They have taken up their own causes, working to aid their communities through education initiatives, lobbying lawmakers for criminal justice reform and more.

Athletes in other sports have joined their NFL brethren, using their platforms to stress to the world that Black lives matter. Coaches like Rivers have lent their voices and resources to the causes. On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks refused to play in their playoff game against the Orlando Magic, leading the NBA to also postpone two other contests.

But many in white America still refuse to get it. They’re still too proud to acknowledge this country was founded on racism and that many of those ideologies still plague us today. They’re too stubborn to admit that white privilege exists. 

Rather than take some time for self-inventory and work to educate themselves and develop any sort of empathy, they hide behind “patriotism,” condemn a peaceful sign of protest during the national anthem and ignore the cries for “all men are created equal” to truly apply to people of all colors and creeds. 

These hard-headed individuals still blame the victims of oppression for the injustices leveled against them rather than agree on the need for accountability. 

At this point, it’s nothing more than willful ignorance. It’s intentional blindness. And, in some cases, pure hatred. 

“We’ve been fighting this fight as a coalition for the last four or five years,” said former NFL wide receiver Anquan Boldin, one of the co-founders of the Players Coalition. “You’re fighting and trying to get people to understand your point of view, and I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m at the point where we’ve shown people all this evidence, so they’re not at a point where they don’t know.

"They’re willingly suppressing the evidence so they don’t have to support it. We talk about America being a racist country, and they come up with excuse after excuse. How many times do you have to show them evidence of this being a racist country? All of these names, and the list just keeps getting added to. It’s not just the killings of unarmed Black men and women. It’s a host of other things that you can point to. Look at our criminal justice system. Look at our prison system, our education system. Again, it’s not a lack of evidence. … You have to ask ourselves, what’s the real problem? And to me, the fact that you don’t want to see anything about it shows that you have a moral issue.”

Ever since they started speaking out against racism in America, Kaepernick, his fellow NFL players and athletes in other sports have had to deal with all kinds of criticisms. They’ve been accused of selfishness. Their efforts are slammed as attention grabs. They’re called entitled and spoiled.

But think about that. These athletes have chosen to use their voices for the voiceless. They could easily insulate themselves thanks to the luxuries that their professions afford them. They could devote their off days to their families and friends. But instead, they’re using their energy and resources to spark change for the underprivileged.

As Rivers said, “I should just be a coach.” Every single athlete-turned-social-justice-warrior would give a hearty, “Amen.” They’re not using their platforms as star athletes to discuss racism because they want to. They do it because they feel like they have to. 

If they weren’t forcing this conversation, who would? If they didn’t, as Rivers said, “demand better,” and if none of us followed suit, then how could we ever expect things to change?

“Doc hit the nail on the head,” Saints linebacker Demario Davis told USA TODAY Sports. “Yes, the fight continues, obviously. And anyone that’s not fighting on behalf of Black people at this point should ask themselves, ‘What are (we) fighting for?’”

In the months that have followed George Floyd’s killing, it’s become more acceptable to acknowledge that Black lives matter, for some anyway. The NFL is taking steps to ensure Black athletes feel supported in their fights for justice. The NBA has “Black Lives Matter” painted on its courts.

But it’s easy for all of the public gestures and social media sharing to come off as lip service. There are still far too many people who refuse to open their minds and hearts to the need for true change and accountability. They still want to keep their sports and politics separate, and keep their heads in the sand rather than do their part to make the world a better place.

And so, here we are. Still.

Four years after Kaepernick tried to spark a conversation about much-needed change in America, people are still missing the point. It’s frustrating. It’s depressing. It’s insulting. 

And that’s why pro athletes and now coaches are raising their voices — not because they want to, but because they feel they have no choice. Because sadly, every few weeks, another video displaying police brutality against a person of color goes viral. And the offenders continue to dodge accountability. Every such incident, every willfully ignorant mention of the need for compromise, every tired accusation of disrespect for the flag — it all serves as another painful confirmation of why they kneel, and why they can’t give up the fight and just focus on sports.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Mike Jones on Twitter @ByMikeJones and listen to the Football Jones podcast on iTunes.