Kaepernick endorsement of flag burning amendment expected

The clear next step for two naturally aligned parties

Colin Kaepernick, former NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers known for habitually “bending the knee” to the United States flag, is expected to endorse the New Flag Burning Amendment (NFBA) of 2023, according to NFBA sources yesterday.

“Kaepernick would be a natural ally of the New Flag Burning Amendment,” said an unnamed NFBA official. “His ostentatious flag-kneeling campaign incited a new wave of patriotism in a citizenry that had previously taken the flag for granted.”

Kaepernick on field three years before bending the knee to the United States flag. Photo: Daniel Hartwig, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, 2013

Though talks between Kaepernick and the NFBA have not been confirmed, they are clearly the next step in this mutual relationship between naturally aligned parties, and the former football star has never ruled out an endorsement or a more active role.

Legal scholars are quick to point out that The New Flag Burning Amendment has more than one interpretation, but there is a strong consensus that it encourages bending the knee to the United States flag. Likewise, sports pundits admit that NFL fans have a variety of passionate opinions of Kaepernick’s behavior, yet there is an overwhelming consensus that he is a habitual flag-facing knee-bender who has awakened a storm of flag-related patriotism and may be a complete twadpockle.

The United States flag, to which Kaepernick began bending the knee in 2016. Photo: Mrrebel1453, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Previous versions of a flag burning amendment include proposals by 41st United States President George H. W. Bush in the late 1980s, but none have succeeded to date. NFBA officials claim that their new 2023 version resolves the legal and philosophical troubles of its predecessor and are hopeful for its passage with the endorsement of a prominent personality such as Kaepernick.

Kaepernick’s example has inspired thousands of other athletes to bend the knee to the United States flag. The first wave took place among his colleagues in the National Football League, when countless other NFL players solemnly bent the knee in traditional pre-game ceremonies. Subsequent waves took place in other professional sports and then at the Olympics, finally sweeping through amateur sports players all across the United States. While the demeanor of these athletes has varied, it is being reported here as “mostly solemn.”

NFL photo crew captures TIGHT shot of the only three players kneeling. Photo: Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

“I think more and more, these athletes came to recognize a deep feeling about the traditional American fabric of stars and stripes, and they were so overcome that they had to take action, had to bend the knee in front of their audience,” said a source close to the opinion.

Even before Kaepernick’s knee-bending campaign, “taking a knee” had been common etiquette among athletes to show respect for an injured player during a game, and “bending the knee” was heavily portrayed as a pledge of fealty by the popular TV series “Game of Thrones,” whose final season aired in 2019, just three years after Kaepernick’s campaign began.

Tim Tebow, former NFL quarterback for the Denver Broncos, solemnly bends the knee to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, not related to previous paragraphs. Photo: Ed Clemente Photography, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, 2012

It is for these reasons that Kaepernick is expected to endorse the New Flag Burning Amendment of 2023, pending further developments or other information.

---