By Harvey Wasserman

Tribune News Service

For many years, I have held two shares in America’s only publicly owned major sports team, the Green Bay Packers.

There are no dividends, no special seats, no stadium perks. I cannot sell the shares. But owning them does in fact make me a team part-owner. And as such, I am registering my first demand: Now, more than ever, the Pack must sign Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick’s take-a-knee protest before the National Anthem guarantees him a place in civil rights history. It is a carefully considered public call to pay attention to ongoing police brutality toward black people in this country.

Since Kaepernick quietly began his protest as a San Francisco 49er last year, hundreds of athletes in various sports at all levels have joined in. Rarely has a series of protests been so widely distorted. As Kaepernick’s teammate and fellow protester Eric Reid wrote in a New York Times op-ed: “It baffles me that our protest is still being misconstrued as disrespectful to the country, flag, and military personnel. We chose it because it’s exactly the opposite.”

Reid is still playing for the 49ers. Kaepernick, facing certain elimination by the 49ers, chose free agency. He remains one of the most talented athletes in the world, but thus far no franchise has had the courage to sign him. This has prompted him to file a grievance against the NFL owners for conspiring to deny him a job.

It’s hard not to conclude that he has a point. Exhibit A is the Green Bay Packers, which on Oct. 15 lost star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, possibly for the season, due to an unnecessary, unconscionable and unpenalized late hit by Minnesota Viking Anthony Barr. Rogers was left with a broken collarbone and the Packers were left with a second-string quarterback, Brett Hundley, who has since led the team — once a likely Super Bowl contender — to two consecutive losses.

Why not pick up Kaepernick? His numbers last season were strong, with 18 total touchdowns against just four interceptions. He is still an excellent passer, with running abilities rarely seen among NFL quarterbacks. Just shy of 30 years old, he’s within his physical prime while being more seasoned and savvy than most of the league’s designated starters.

Whether or not Hundley improves, the Packers need another quarterback. Kaepernick is the best one available.

From the sidelines, President Donald Trump has cheered on discrimination against NFL players who protest, saying owners should issue directives to “get that son-of-a-bitch off the field” and fire them. But the protests inspired by Kaepernick should be honored, not disparaged; they exalt our glorious First Amendment by using it to confront the racism that plagues our nation. In a league in which about 70 percent of players are black, it is what we should expect.

So, as an owner, I have made my decision. I respectfully direct the Packers’ management to do what’s best for the franchise, and the nation.

I further ask that they notify me immediately, so I can be first among the millions to buy a new Packers’ jersey with Colin Kaepernick’s name on the back.

Harvey Wasserman, a California-based writer and radio talk host, used to play football. He wrote this for Progressive Media Project, a source of liberal commentary on domestic and international issues; it is affiliated with The Progressive magazine. Readers may write to the author at pmproj@progressive.org.