Another day, another Facebook post on your timeline about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his ongoing protest against racial inequalities in America.

In fact, the conversation about Kaepernick’s kneeling during the pregame national anthem has moved past Kaepernick himself and onto the whole of the organization that employs him. Twitter users started a #boycottNFL trend to share their outrage with the quarterback’s decision to take a knee during the national anthem multiple times in the NFL preseason.

Kaepernick claims that he is trying to raise awareness of the racial tensions between police officers and the black community, but many fans think it’s a cowardly and disrespectful way of making his point.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL media after a preseason game in San Francisco.

Kaepernick isn’t the first to stand up (or kneel) for this cause. He joins many other athletes such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony in the movement to bring awareness to the racial injustices they perceive.

Many see Kaepernick’s actions as ironic; his choice not to stand is made with the freedom of speech granted by the flag he deems unworthy of his respect. But the real irony lies not in Kaepernick’s actions, but in those of the NFL fans attempting to boycott the league on social media.

Given the crime problem that plagues the NFL, one would think that fans would have this much hatred for the many players accused of sexual assault or domestic violence. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

People are up in arms about how Kaepernick’s actions are “anti-American” and abusive of his freedoms, but what’s more opposite of American values than the violent and often sexual crimes that go virtually unpunished by professional sports leagues and brushed off by fans?

Fans have never started a #boycottNFL movement after one of their favorite players had been accused of a heinous crime. Since 2014, seven 49ers alone have been arrested, three of whom for domestic violence or sexual assault charges, and only one was cut by the team for a DUI hit and run. No outrage, hashtags or boycotts resulted from fans.

More recently, Cubs pitcher Aroldis Chapman was accused of firing his gun and choking his then-girlfriend, an incident which got him suspended for 30 games. There was little anger from fans until a Cubs employee decided to play the song “Smack My Bitch Up” as Chapman approached the mound this August.

The employee was fired and received more punishment and shame than Chapman ever will for the allegations against him. While the joke was absolutely in poor taste, it doesn’t make sense that the employee responsible receives the punishment while Chapman still stands tall on the mound.

This issue hits even closer to home for those of us in Champaign: Four Illini basketball players were arrested just last year. While all but one were suspended from the team, there was still little outrage over the shocking actions of the people who sport our school colors.

Kaepernick may be misguided in taking a knee during the anthem, and he may indeed be ignorant of the countless lives that were lost to allow him that freedom. But his actions surely aren’t meant to divide us; He is supporting a cause that is begging for empathy and understanding from all Americans.

It’s important that we rethink our priorities when it comes to the players we root for. It is shameful that so many sports fans will blindly stand by the name on their team’s jerseys for the sake of enjoying a win, but will lose any willingness to understand when a player peacefully stands up for a cause with the goal of uniting Americans.

Isabella is a sophomore in ACES.

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