Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis has found himself previously in the center of the Colin Kaepernick controversy, whose unemployment traces (whether anyone admits it or not) to his decision to become the first player to not stand during the national anthem. On Sunday in London, Lewis took a knee along with multiple Ravens players during the national anthem.
It was a stunning visual, given that Lewis seemingly tried to stake out middle ground between those who support kneeling and those who oppose it. Most recently, Lewis said on Showtime’s Inside The NFL that Kaepernick would have been brought to Baltimore for a visit if his girlfriend hadn’t posted an image on Twitter that compared Lewis to a slave and Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti to a slave owner.
The involvement of Lewis in what surely will be an unprecedented display of protests and support for teammates during the anthem inevitably will bring back to the forefront of the discussion Kaepernick’s status. At a time when much of the NFL community is rallying in the face of an assault from the President, wouldn’t the ultimate act of defiance be to tell Kaepernick not “you’re fired” but “you’re hired”?