As with most discussions of this issue of bending the knee, this article obscures the reason why Colin Kaepernick bent the knee in the first place. The US is undergoing an epidemic of police violence against African Americans in particular, but by no means limited to them. The fact is, every African American male, rich or poor, is vulnerable to being pulled over by police for the most trivial reasons and then quite possibly being shot to death. When that issue is resolved it will be appropriate to talk about what type of protest is acceptable, but not before.