Early at the University of Miami, friends and I discussed what kinds of things we would do for money.  Naturally, the discussion iterated on both sides of this.  On one side, we discussed the nature of what we’d need to do; on the other, we contemplated the amount of money we’d receive.  At the time, I asserted that no amount of money would lead me to compromise on certain principles.  One friend responded, “Of course, there’s a dollar figure.  A buck’s a buck.”

Naturally, movies like Indecent Proposal lead us to contemplate these very limits of what we’d do and for how much.  However, money by itself is simply an arrangement of digits in an account.  It simply enables us to get a class of products (fancy car) or services (tropical vacation) we may get.  Alternatively, it’s a means to dissipate certain worries (broken car or leaky roof).  Having more money generally means more access, fewer worries, and a better life.

However, let’s think about a particular figure, $19 million.  This amount of money should be sufficient to fund your life’s needs provided you manage it carefully.  Would you compromise your principles for this much money?

The magical $19 million figure

Many years ago, I observed a manager treat fellow teammates wildly inappropriately.  This included instances of assigning books to read during a maternity leave, conducting morale events strictly at drinking establishments (while she was pregnant), and interrupting people mid-sentence while they talked (disproportionately women).  I believe that this peer who was pregnant worked on an H1B visa; losing her job came with considerably more complications.  I took the conversation to this manager discreetly and alerted them that this wasn’t appropriate.  When they didn’t acknowledge it, I escalated to their manager.

This manager who behaved this way also happened to be my manager.  Shocked friends asked why I’d risk retaliation and bring up their behavior.  This manager directly influenced my assessment and employment; why stick my neck out?  The answer was surprisingly simple.  Had Microsoft, this company I love, become the place where employees could be treated this way?  Had we become the place where bad actors could retaliate against allies for pointing out these transgressions?  If this was now true, I did not want to work here.  I escalated with both an understanding of the risks and with intention.

Naturally, this manager gave me a poor assessment, and they laid me off in a ‘reduction of force’ years later.  Though if you’re asking, “Yes, I’d do it again.”  My reasoning still stands.

Let’s suppose that you earn $19 million a year.  Doing anything that may risk your employment could legitimately cost you $19 million for that year alone.  How strongly do you stand on your principles?  Enough to risk your employment?

Incidentally, Colin Kaepernick earned an average of $19 million per year.

Did Kaepernick lose $19 million?

Colin Kaepernick knelt during the National Anthem on September 1, 2016.  By the 2017 season, no NFL team employed him as a player.  The interesting question is, “Did this protest against racial injustice cost him his employment?”  Let’s examine the data:

• Kaepernick did not suffer a career-ending injury.  Healthwise, we cannot conclude that he would not have returned for the 2017 NFL season.
• Kaepernick played well enough.  In 2016, his QBR rating was 23 of 30 teams.  While he didn’t land on the top of that list, quarterbacks who land in this 23rd position can and often do return for subsequent seasons.

Based on both his health and his performance on the field, we could reasonably conclude that he would have continued to play, whether in San Francisco or another team.  While we can’t guarantee employment, we can safely assume he would’ve made $19 million (his average salary) during the 2017 NFL season.

While technically Kaepernick opted out of his contract and entered free agency, the 49ers informed him that they would release him.  Moreover, he became radioactive; no other NFL team elected to sign him.  Donald Trump even said, “Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he’s fired. He’s fired.”

As for Kaepernick, I’m sure he understood what he risked.  He similarly protested with an understanding of his actions and potential retaliation; he lost tens of millions of dollars.

To kneel ≠ to disrespect

Kaepernick wanted to call attention to racial injustice by kneeling; I won’t debate that.  However, I’ll ask the more interesting question: “Did he do it with disrespect to the flag?  Or perhaps he didn’t care.”  Fortunately, we have an answer to the question of his intent.  At first, he sat on the bench during the National Anthem, but US Army veteran Nate Boyer convinced him to kneel instead.  Every indication points to Kaepernick conducting a protest to draw attention but doing so with the utmost respect for the flag.

I genuinely believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  However, the source matters when it comes to the perspectives about disrespecting the flag.  I value the opinion of Nate Boyer, who served as a Green Beret in US military actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq, over Donald Trump, who avoided serving from bone spurs.  Furthermore, allow me to be bluntly honest, the opinion of someone who maintains that the Central Park Five are guilty, even after exculpatory DNA evidence and an uncoerced confession, does not hold a lot of credibility.

Furthermore, the group who disproportionately screamed about Kaepernick proved to be rather selective about who and why someone disrespects the flag.  During the January 6th attack on the US Capitol building, they held their silence about disrespect for the flag.  I didn’t hear a peep as the QAnon Shaman occupied the chamber in Congress.  Some rioters literally impaled the US Capitol police with flag poles bearing the US flag.  Are they screaming about them as loudly as Colin Kaepernick?

Hearing the name ‘Colin Kaepernick’

I chatted with a friend around four years ago, when I mentioned the name ‘Colin Kaepernick’.  He had a visceral, allergic reaction just to the name.  He responded with, “That guy is an asshole.”  Even through our discussion, he continued to repeat the typical hate-driven talking points like a human parrot.  However, even he could not deny these points:

• It’s not about disrespecting the flag:  Unless you’re willing to condemn every single one of those January 6th rioters, especially the ones that impaled police officers with flags, then you can’t rationalize the outrage against Kaepernick.
• Years after the kneeling, people still talk:  Nearly a decade after the kneeling incident, he still elicits outrage.  This means the message behind his kneeling was extraordinarily effective.  People recognize ‘Colin Kaepernick’ more than ‘Pat Tillman’.
• Kaepernick gave up at least $19 million:  Say what you want about him, but he stuck to his principles even at the expense of that much money, and probably considerably more.  To put it in perspective, Musk pushed FAA chief Michael Whitaker to resign after incurring $630k in fines.  This is only 3.3% of what Kaepernick lost.

Independent of what conservative pundits will tell you, if Kaepernick didn’t actually disrespect the flag any more than many rioters, why still all the rancor even today?