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NFL owners are the 21st century version of a southern slavery plantation owner. This time around, the is veiled in economic and political oppression by their united stance and treatment towards quarterback Colin Kaepernick. One NFL general manager said:

“[T]he rest (roughly 70 percent of NFL GMs) genuinely hate him and can’t stand what he did [kneeling for the national anthem]. They want nothing to do with him. They think showing no interest is a form of . I think some teams also want to use Kaepernick as a cautionary tale to stop other players in the future from doing what he did.”

Consequently, their concerted effort and refusal to pick him is a means of controlling and silencing other players who dare exercise their right to protest.

In the annual owner's meeting this past March, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said the league didn’t change the current protocol for a players' right to do whatever he pleases during the playing of the national anthem. “Frankly, the players have that right,” Vincent told co-host Vic Carucci on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “They’re asked (to stand), but not required.”

Yet if you don't stand, the message is clear. Don't disrespect the flag and what it stands for White America. If you do, NFL owners, who are all white will find ways to punish you. They will equivocate and tell you it's not about this issue but deflect it to something else, but in Kaepernick's case it's a clear form of racism. Owners are fearful of the backlash from fans. The NFL has already seen a significant drop in television viewership during the past year and some say it had to do with Kaepernick himself.

According to a survey of 1000 adults, nearly one-third (32 percent) of adults said they were less likely to watch NFL game telecasts because of the Kaepernick-led player protests against racial injustice.

African-American sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards believes Black athletes have historically been targeted by mainstream white media for sharing their political views. He spoke about this issue at the 2016 North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Conference. “As Black athletes became more openly activist and outspoken relative to issues of race and racism, the mainstream media and the sports establishment became more critical and caustic in condemning them,” he explained.

Whippings, lynchings, and killings of African-Americans are outlawed in this country but white NFL owners are showing us how they can operate like 19th century plantation "masters" through economic oppression.

They can't kill you, but they will try and kill your spirit of defiance. They can't order you to stand, but they will punish you if you kneel. They can't say it's racism, but in their hearts they know it is.

Related Stories:

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/nfl-controversy/still-playing-12-nfl-players-have-domestic-violence-arrests-n204831

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colin-kaepernick-is-to-the-nfl-what-black-people-are-to-america_us_58d59e25e4b03787d358ce3d