Free-Speech Debate Misses Kaepernick's Point

In a splendidly pedagogical scene in E. L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel "Ragtime," a radical named Ben Reitman is talking about the efforts of the authorities to keep the anarchist Emma Goldman from speaking. “We win every case,” he brags. This reference to successful litigation is too much for one of Ben’s fellow revolutionaries, who confronts him angrily. The argument, he says, is a distraction: “The issue has become Emma’s right to speak rather than what she has to say.”

This story comes to mind when I think about the sudden fashion among professional athletes to kneel during the national anthem. The trend began of course with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Megan Rapinoe, star of the Seattle Reign soccer team, quickly followed his lead. On Thursday night, Brandon Marshall of the Denver Broncos similarly took a knee before the opening game of the National Football League season.