Kaepernick's Stand Fails to Hit the Mark

If you are a fan of the NFL, have a TV, social media account, or just a normal, breathing person, odds are you heard in some form or fashion about how Colin Kaepernick refused to stand up for the National Anthem, opting to sit down in protest of the treatment of African Americans and minorities as a whole in the United States of America. Kaepernick has done this the entire preseason, however it did not garner any attention in weeks one or two because Kaepernick was not dressed out and did not play in either of those games. Kaepernick started a firestorm of reactions and hot takes from not only the sports world, but news as a whole. Kaepernick went on to say until he sees real change around the country he will continue to sit during the National Anthem (This could become a non-issue as some have reported that Kaepernick could be cut before the regular season begins).

I am not going to get into the debate about the merits of Kaepernick's cause. There are people who are much more intelligent than I am who will debate it to its fullest extent. And while I agree that minorities do face undue scrutiny in America today, I do not support how Kaepernick is going about his cause. I think that there are many different ways in which Kaepernick can use his star and celebrity to highlight an issue that is clearly important to him and still get the desired effect. You do not even need to look far in the past to see an example of what I believe to be a better way to leverage someone's image to shine light upon the exact same issue. At the ESPYs a little over a month ago, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade spoke out about this issue, in a strong and poignant moment that I believe stole the entire show. Anthony has been one of the most outspoken athletes in recent times, crafting a well-stated message and remaining level-headed in a situation that could easily get out of hand.

Courtesy: USA Today

These stars were able to get their message across effectively to the entire world, and did it without offending anybody or creating a whole other side narrative. And I do not think anybody will debate with me that the star power of these four NBA superstars significantly outweighs the influence of the backup QB on the 49ers. Thanks to Kaepernick, I do not think the conversation is about the plight of minorities, instead it is a debate upon Kaepernick's disrespect to the American Flag and everything it stands for. I do not believe that Kaepernick truly understands the message he is sending by refusing to stand up and honor the flag. I know that America is not a perfect country, and there are numerous transgressions in the past of the United States taking advantage and oppressing minorities, but with that said - America is still the greatest country in the world. The American Flag represents freedom, democracy, it is the symbol of those who day in and day out protect our liberties, and it is the manifestation of the American Dream- that is a dream that I would argue Kaepernick has experienced during his life.

I applaud Colin Kaepernick's decision to take a stand. Martin Luther King Jr and Muhammad Ali were extremely controversial figures, and their decisions to take stands in the past were much maligned at the time, however I would argue that the way they went about making their point was much more effective. I think that athletes should be more involved in what Americans experience on a daily basis. Time and time again people complain about how athletes don't appreciate the fact that they are role models. I would argue this is a perfect example of an athlete using his role model status to stand for something that he believes is right. So while I think you can criticize his method, I think we also need to applaud the fact that Colin Kaepernick has made the conscious decision to represent what he thinks is right. Even if you do not agree with his stance, I think we all can agree that socially-active athletes can bring about as much or more change than most public officials.  

This is what makes America so great. We can have a conversation about something we disagree on vehemently, but at the end of the day we can stand together as one nation, under one flag, and celebrate the fact that we live in the greatest country in the world- it is a shame that Colin Kaepernick will not stand with us.

Duncan Hensley

Indiana Univesity

Kelley School of Business '18

First Day of School!

Today was the first day of school here in beautiful Bloomington. And I have to say even though I have done this 16 times now, I think that for the rest of my educational career I will always get nervous on the first day of school. Even though there are no presents, it is similar to the feeling you have on Christmas Eve. You know what is coming on the horizon, and for me at least I have always struggled to fall asleep and then I wake up early on both days. There is something about the first day, so many endless possibilities, so many people you haven't seen all summer, and so many things that you just have no idea how they will work out. I am a self-described nerd, so I kind of looked forward to the first day of school as summer began to wear down, but everyone wants to cling on to the last few days of rest and relaxation before you have to focus on hitting the books and getting to work.

This semester will be like nothing ever before for me. I "technically" am a semester ahead thanks to summer classes, and there is a little part of me that feels bad for my fellow peers who are beginning their I-Core journey. Then I just think of how much work the classes and case are, and those feelings of pity for my classmates quickly transform into feelings of happiness. In addition to embarking on my major classes, this is also going to be a big semester for recruiting in hopes of landing an internship for this upcoming summer. It's pretty incredible that we are one day into the fall semester and I am already thinking about next summer, but thus is the tribulation of going to business school. In a couple of weeks there will be career fairs held at the lovely Bloomington Convention Center, and thousands of Kelley students dressed in Business Professional will have to squeeze around each other, hoping to just get a quick conversation of insight into a wide array of companies that come to recruit the nation's best students (I may be a little biased, but the numbers speak for themselves, Kelley consistently ranks at the top of rankings from recruiters in regards to quality of students, thus ending the humble brag). That will be just a slightly stressful experience, but thanks to my parents poking and prodding me at the College Convention that we went to, which seems like ages ago, I think I'm ready to take on the challenge.

Before I end this relatively short post this week, I need to give a special shoutout to my Mom. Every first day of school, my Mom would force Will and I to stand on our front porch with a sign commemorating the new school year. At this moment we would begrudgingly smile and take pictures and hope that none of our neighbors saw us do it- even though the Schroeders were doing essentially the exact same thing across the street (Man I hate it when parents can use the argument "But everyone else is doing it). This past May during Will's Graduation Party, these pictures were hung with care on our porch, and all I have to say is WOW how things have changed. Even though these pictures were not always taken with earnest, they are fantastic pictures, and they do a pretty good job of showing how we evolved from small elementary school students all the way to big university boys. So here's to you Mom, forcing us to take those pictures actually worked out well for us in the end- just don't expect us to eat and squash or zucchini while we are away at college.

Go Hoosiers,


Duncan Hensley
Indiana University
Kelley School of Business '18

There will never be another Michael Phelps

The great thing about not having anything to do for the past week and a half has been sitting on my couch and watching Olympic coverage for 8+ hours a day. I can't remember the last time since going to college where I have been able to wake up, eat breakfast, and then not worry about anything for the entire day- and I have to say it has been damn good. Compound this with the fact that I LOVE the Olympics, and I have been spoiled. As a sports fan, there is just nothing like the Olympics. While the World Cup is incredible just from the fact that there is so much high quality soccer for a month, nothing compares to the Olympics when it comes to the diversity of sports and the amazing level it is played at.

Since 2000, Michael Phelps has been the epitome of the Olympics. Not only was he the face of a sport that a majority of people only watch every four years, he has dominated the pool. Even though he struck out at the tender age of 15 in Sydney, this led to 16 years of pure dominance along the way that I think we would be lucky to see ever again. And while I think there is an argument that Usain Bolt's career since 2008 equals or even betters Phelps' accomplishments, I believe that Michael Phelps is the best Olympian that I have ever seen or will ever seen.

Courtesy: Baltimore Sun

I remember reading an article in Sports Illustrated leading up to the Athens game that talked about how a brash young American would try to break Mark Spitz's (Go Hoosiers) Olympic record and win eight gold medals in a single Olympic Games. Immediately I was enthralled with the greatness of Phelps, and watched as Phelps swam and fell short of the record, "only" winning six gold medals and two bronze. I was disappointed, as Phelps fell short of his record, but even then it was clear not only how difficult this accomplishment would be but how audacious it was for Phelps even to consider challenging this record.

Flash forward to the Beijing Games in 2008, and Phelps embarked upon the same journey- determined to reach the pinnacle of his sport and etch his name in the Olympic history books. I watched all of his events and two in particular stand out. The first one was his 100 meter Butterfly, a race he won by a fingertip and after watching the replay I'm still shocked he won. Not only do I remember that race for how close it was, but I remember my Uncle Ken who I was watching with say, "There's no way he'll win" after watching the first half and first three quarters of the race. Everyone in my living room was just in shock when he actually was able to squeak in and win the race by one one hundredth of a second. Obviously the 2nd race I remember was when he broke the record. Walking out of a Bar Mitzvah party the hotel had the race on, and I stood and watched with about 20 other people when Michael Phelps did the impossible and won his 8th gold medal in a single Olympics.

Even with all of his achievements, the road hasn't been easy for Phelps. There have been mistakes and controversies along the way, and even when he had a solid Olympics in London in 2012 I think it was clear he wasn't 100% dedicated to the sport. But after Rio, it is clear that Michael Phelps has differentiated himself from the pack, not only among swimmers, but among all athletes. I mean he broke a 2,168 year-old record held by Leonidas of Rhodes with his last gold medal for crying out loud!

Many stories have been written about how Phelps has evolved during his time in the public eye. And while I have not studied and written about him like many people in the media, I have grown up watching and sitting in awe of what this man has accomplished. If this is indeed his last Olympics, which is what he has said and what I believe, he exits the world spotlight as the most accomplished athlete of all time in terms of Olympic medals, and one of my favorite athletes of my lifetime. I am not sure we will ever see another athlete be as successful as Phelps on the world stage, and I will be forever grateful that I was able to watch the Greatest of All Time do it with my own eyes.

Duncan Hensley
Indiana University
Kelley School of Business '18

Players Personal Conduct needs to be Addressed

For the first time since January, I can sit around and not have to worry about going to class and doing homework. I've just had a couple of days of rest and relaxation since finishing up I-Core, and I have to say it has been much appreciated. I've caught up on some television shows, I have almost finished "The West Wing", well worth your time if someone is looking to start a new Netflix series, and have gotten to sleep in which is always a beautiful thing. Having this time to go home and relax is definitely coming at the right time. The biggest thing I am looking forward to for the next two and a half weeks is my final trip to Turner Field which should be fun, and then getting to see a bunch of friends that I haven't seen in awhile. It is also nice to be home for a short period of time, even if my bed is turned into a desk and my bedroom into a conference room/office.

With the MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline coming to a close at 4 PM today, teams around the league are posturing themselves to make a late season push and then a deep run into October in hopes of being crowned World Series Champions. One of the big names on the trading block was Closer Aroldis Chapman. Chapman, owner of the fastest pitch in an MLB game, was supposed to be part of the greatest bullpen ever in New York for the Yankees when they traded for him during the offseason. Fast forward to last week when the Yankees traded the Cuban pitcher to the Chicago Cubs for a treasure trove of players, headlined by Shortstop Gleyber Torres. But even with the fanfare of being traded to the World Series favorites, fans and analysts alike have found themselves caught in a moral conundrum of whether or not they should be rooting for Chapman. During the offseason, Chapman was involved in a domestic dispute, although no charges were ever filed. Chapman was the first player suspended by Major League Baseball under their new Domestic Violence Policy, missing the first 30 games of the season. Domestic Violence in our society is a massive problem, and it is not just limited to star athletes and celebrities.

Courtesy: New York Daily News

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, there is an average of 20 people per minute that are abused by an intimate partner, totaling 10 million people every year. Domestic Violence doesn't have a face, and in many cases most of us do not see it happen to our friends and families, but it happens. I am among those that didn't truly grasp the gravity of Domestic Violence until the Ray Rice Case of a couple of years ago, and even then, I needed video evidence to understand what actually occurred that night in Atlantic City. But Rice, just like Chapman, have paid their price, and must live with their actions for the rest of their lives. We as fans, do not have the right to stand on the moral high ground and pick and choose what episodes of violence we believe deserve our attention. Ben Roethlisberger is a perfect example of how our society will accept and move on if it satisfies our whimsies. Roethlisberger has twice been accused of sexual assault, but has never been convicted of a crime. Eventually NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended the Steelers Quarterback for 6 games for violating the NFL's Personal Conduct Policy. Roethlisberger served his suspension, moved on, and by all accounts has not had any issues since the suspension. During football season I never hear fans or analysts talk about these episodes, so why do we continually penalize Rice, question the acquisition of Chapman, but seem to forget about Roethlisberger's transgressions? It just goes to show that there seems to be a double standard in certain cases, and I am not sure why it happens and where the delineation takes place.

A person has to be responsible for his or her actions. Blaming others for what you do is not sufficient, and accepting ownership of your mistakes is of paramount importance for those that look to move on from troubling incidents. But in the case of athletes, the spotlight and the scrutiny that they live with is incredible, and in many cases when incidents occur, whether it be Domestic Violence, fighting in a bar or club, or simply driving under the influence the biggest problem is that I think leagues, players associations, and agents are too reactionary rather than proactive. In Business Operations, a man named W. Edwards Deming moved to Japan post-WWII to help rebuild the nation. One of Deming's biggest principles is that inspection does not result in improved quality, and the best way to improve the quality of a product is to invest in better training early in the process. Currently, I think that in most situations we are relying on inspecting each player after the fact, or every once and awhile during the season, and believe that this way we are avoiding truly helping these players become better people as they undergo their transition from college into the real world. While all of the player associations have rookie symposiums and try to help players start off on the right path, I don't know if they are doing enough. Athletes still find themselves in compromising positions that reflect poorly upon themselves, their teams, and their leagues.

But the focus just shouldn't been on player associations. Teams and leagues need to start increasing the amount of money that is spent on training players on how to properly represent themselves when they are outside of the locker room. Granted you will never be able to get a 100% success rate, but the teams and leagues need to realize that when a player makes a bad decision, it reflects poorly on the team and league as well. Everyone needs to be held accountable, and investing more time, money, and energy will allow for executives around each respective league sleep a little easier at night knowing that they have done everything they could to help players. Once again, I am not excusing the actions of these players, they are still definitely responsible for their actions on and off of the field, but I believe that a stronger and more coordinated effort at training these players will help avoid troubling incidents, arrests, suspensions, and result in more peace of mind.


Duncan Hensley
Indiana University
Kelley School of Business '18