Retired NFL quarterback Michael Vick continues to draw backlash for his comments Monday that it would be in Colin Kaepernick’s best interests to clip his hair and become more “presentable.” SB Nation writer Tyler Tynes posted one of the strongest disagreements yet by claiming that Vick is advocating for “respectability politics” and white oppression.
Tynes cited a collection of essays written by James Baldin in 1963 and urging “that black people shouldn’t be, and don’t need to be, accepted by white people. That respectability politics is a vicious disease others posit with the assumption that the marginalized will receive better treatment from those in power, if they act in accordance to the principles the majority have laid out."
Vick said the free agent Kaepernick’s afro may be contributing to the quarterback’s inability to land an NFL contract. But to Tynes, that was “lecturing” by Vick. Even though Vick tweeted the next day that he was not expressing malice toward Kaepernick, Tynes complains “the nature of his comments is what becomes bothersome.”
Tynes bitterly objects to Vick’s suggestion that blacks need to please whites:
Outside of the respectability in Vick’s words, you have to understand who is setting the precedent that Vick defends himself with. White consumers, owners, coaches, and more are the gatekeepers of this ideology. Black hair has often made the majority uncomfortable, whether publicly or professionally. It’s been seen since the ’60s and ’70s as a political statement, especially an afro. But, it’s naive to think Kaepernick would be closer to game day if he had a fade instead of a fro.
Tynes also rejects the thought that if African-Americans talk “right” or act “right” then White people will treat them “better.” It’s not “far-flung that Vick could not only believe this but offer it as a resource to other Black athletes. Vick is a convicted felon who was sentenced to 23 months behind bars for fighting and killing dogs. He still receives backlash over his crime. But he found a way not only to play football after that, but to succeed in the sport. It’s not hard so see how he’d conclude that with a haircut, Kaepernick could do the same.”
Nonethless, Vick’s thinking is misguided, writes Tynes. And it fits with a 2004 speech to the NAACP by Bill Cosby, who “lambasted poor black folk for failing to live up to the dreams of the Civil Rights Movement.”
Respectability politics are absurd to Tynes, who wrote: “Kaepernick doesn’t need to and isn’t better served to abide by fictitious rules about himself or his hair.”
The SB Nation left-stream writer closes by citing another criticism Baldwin offered in his 1963 essays:
One of the many questions Baldwin asked in his book was “Do I really want to be integrated into a burning house?” As the NFL currently turns its nose up at the idea of keeping Kaepernick in the game, one has to ask why a man demonized for protest would want to be a part of the NFL’s noticeable blaze.
If anyone started a “fire,” though, it was Kaepernick, who disrespected the brave people keeping us safe and characterizing police officers as pigs. Spitting on the red, white and blue is not an entitlement for employment or a seven-figure salary.
