#MIDDLEBURY
By Mark Vasto
K.J. Carson is a friend of mine. We used to sit in the back of our high-school classes and constantly crack up on the way to our C averages. We had this one teacher who was about 110 years old who used to like to start his lectures with a line from the famous person he would be teaching us about that day. For instance, if he was teaching us about John Kennedy, he might start with “Ask not what your country can do for you …”
The day K.J. and I really became friends was the day that teacher walked in and declared “I am the virgin queen!” I’m not sure if we ever really stopped laughing from that day since. Yeah, we didn’t learn much from that class – and if I am ever asked who the virgin queen was, I will quickly answer “Mr. Reed” – but we did keep a running commentary over the years.
K.J. is a burgeoning radio talk-show host. Over the years, we have floated the idea of me phoning in as “the token white guy” on his show (K.J. is black), but we never really saw it through. We’ve talked about doing podcasts for this column, but the furthest that ever got was me designing a nifty graphic for this column’s Twitter handle: @sportingview (be sure to follow … Pete Rose does!).
The other day, he broke his silence on Colin Kapaernick, the soon to be former NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Colin, as you may know, refuses to stand for the national anthem in protest of police brutality against persons of color. I personally don’t really care what Colin does on the sideline … I didn’t know this was even a thing until K.J. opined.
“What gives a man the right to tell another man how he should protest a perceived injustice? Our law frowns upon vigilante-style retaliation, and this isn’t even close. I’ve heard and seen some strong language about a guy they don’t personally know. They think they know him because he plays football on TV … I wish some people would just admit they have a problem with Colin Kapaernick making $19 million a year. It’s not about a flag, or disrespecting soldiers. That’s trying to “dictate” what you believe he is doing instead of “listening” to what he is saying … unless you don’t want to hear that … because that’s your right too!”
I can only add that it’s fitting to remember what police officers go through every day, too. As a former police-beat reporter and member of a family that has had more than a few cops in our ranks, it is important to remember that these officers are the ones kicking in the door to find your dead grandma in the morning, handling multiple murders before lunch, fighting rape, finding stolen tools (which, believe me, causes murders in a small town filled with day laborers and drunk and disorderly nights). There is no way to fleck off the instances of police brutality, but you can put me squarely on the side of sane reform. These people signed up to be heroes, and now it’s time to help them out.
Whether or not Colin can be helped from here on out is up to him. He went from a standout to someone now remembered for refusing to stand.
Mark Vasto is a veteran sportswriter who lives in New Jersey.
(c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.
