“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. “

The spectacle of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (right, kneeling) degrading America’s national anthem with a gesture in support of the Black Lives Matter cop killers, which other black players are expected to emulate on Sunday, show unmistakably that it’s time for Americans to man up and put away their childish football fantasies.

I was first hit by the relevance of 1 Corinthians 13:11 when I read about the black football player at Vanderbilt who admitted to raping a white coed at the school. He urinated on her face, all the while “uttering horrific racial hate speech that suggested I deserved what he was doing to me because of the color of my skin.” “That’s for 400 years of slavery you b—-” Cory Batey, the black player (right, in both black and orange outfits) said [Cory Batey sentenced to 15 years in Vanderbilt rape case, by Stacey Barchenger, The Tennessean, July 14, 2016].

I’m a big fan of college football. I spent most of my life dedicated to a particular team. I have wonderful memories of tailgates and games with family members, some living, some now deceased, all of which I cherish to this day.

But the story of Batey justifying his rape helped me man up and quit the “opiate” I’ve been addicted to imbibing each fall.

Now, on the first Sunday of the football season, which falls on September 11th this year , tens of millions of Americans will be confronted with their moment to finally retire childhood and become a man—because Colin Kaepernick spitting on their national anthem and on their heritage.

Let’s pause for a moment: personally, I have concluded that America is no longer “our country,” nor is it run with our best interests in mind. We've pretty much dismantled our civilization to appease black people—which is why I feel America is irredeemable.

However, your normal Americans, who support Donald Trump for President or who are thinking about supporting him, don't feel that way. And when they see Kaepernick and the increasing number of black NFL players take a knee during the national anthem in the names of Black Lives Matter and Michael Brown, it makes them angry. They can’t respect these sports multimillionaires who refuse to “stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppressed black people and people of color” [Colin Kaepernick on his anthem protest, the police, the election, and much, much more: “This is because I’m seeing things happen to people that don’t have a voice,” by Tim Kawakami, Mercury News, August 28, 2016].

And this is a great thing. Consider:

Now, on top of all of this, comes the Kaepernick caper. With black members of the Seattle Seahawks (right) considering some sort of solidarity gesture, the 15th anniversary of 9/11 could see multiple players take a knee in a movement that is simply an expression of anti-police —well, let’s call it what it is: anti-white—hatred [ Seahawks players may expand national anthem protest Sunday vs Dolphins , by Stephen Cohen, KOMO News, September 9, 2016].

President Barack Obama, needless to say, has already come out in support of Kaepernick, saying he is:

"exercising his constitutional right…. I think he cares about some real, legitimate issues that have to be talked about. If nothing else, he's generated more conversation about issues that have to be talked about”… [Obama: Colin Kaepernick 'exercising his constitutional right’, by William Wan, Baltimore Sun, September 5, 2016]

“I think it’s personally not a good thing, I think it’s a terrible thing. And, you know, maybe he should find a country that works better for him. Let him try, it won’t happen.” [Donald Trump says Colin Kaepernick should find a new country, by Charlotte Wilder, USA Today, September 5, 2016]

Donald Trump had a much different take, solidly based on his America First philosophy:We’ve already seen the consequences of what happens when football combines with Social Justice Warriors/Black Lives Matter: the debacle at the University of Missouri over the poop Swastika Hoax

What were the consequences of this hoax?

The black football players of Missouri were honored for their commitment to the tenets of SJW/BLM goals by ESPN with the Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award at the Sports Humanitarian Awards—all because they threatened not to play a game if the university didn’t capitulate during the poop hoax [ESPN to honor Missouri football team for 2015 boycott amid campus unrest, by Tod Palmer, The Kansas City Star, July 10, 2016]

The school suffered a 23 percent decline in enrollment for fall 2016, forcing five percent budget cuts because of a shortfall of $32 million in tuition revenue [University of Missouri enrollment and budget picture ‘grim’ for fall, faculty leader says, by Rudi Keller, Columbia Daily Tribune, March 11, 2016].

And donations (tax-deductible) to the athletic program dropped 68.7 percent from the prior year, while donations to academic programs dropped by $6 million [ The University of Missouri pays a high price for its public meltdown , by David French, National Review, February 24, 2016]

In other words: white alumni of the school stopped supporting the majority black football team—and encouraged their sons and daughters to seek alternative means of higher education.

It takes dramatic examples to shake people from their apathy. Watching multimillionaire black athletes take a knee during the national anthem on September 11, 2016 may well cause many NFL fans across the country to rethink supporting the league.

After all, the only interest these players seem to have in politics is to make sure police can no longer arrest black criminals.

Football is a kid’s game. College football and NFL are nothing more than entertainment.

It’s time to put the game away and become men.

It’s time to confront the problems that America is facing.

And it’s time to stop basing our identity on our alma mater and favorite professional football teams.

Paul Kersey[Email him] is the author of the blog SBPDL, and has published the books SBPDL Year One, Hollywood in Blackface and Escape From Detroit, Opiate of America: College Football in Black and White and Second City Confidential: The Black Experience in Chicagoland. His latest book is The Tragic City: Birmingham 1963-2 013.