A Double Standard is a rule or principle that is unfairly applied in different ways to different people or groups. This standard has become the norm in these contemporary times. It has become so “normalized” that it is routinely accepted as a legitimate argument rather than the exercise in hypocrisy that it clearly is. “Silly me, I didn’t realize that it’s one rule for you and a completely different one for me!” That sentiment is completely hypocritical on its face.
In the NFL, you can commit these criminal activities and not lose any fans at all: rape, homicide, assault, domestic violence, and illegal drug use. But apparently what you cannot do is exercise your constitutional right to peacefully protest or your right to exercise freedom of speech and still play in the NFL without losing the support of the fan base. With the football season just around the corner and NFL players active in training camps nationwide, Colin Kaepernick has been shut out again and again. Not because he is incapable or injured. He is as qualified as some, and more qualified than many others. No. The outrage the fans of the Baltimore Ravens weighed in and rejected the idea that the team was considering hiring Kaepernick as their backup QB for the start of the 2017 season. Kaepernick is statistically a far better QB than the team’s current backup Ryan Mallett.
But last season, Kaepernick stood on his principles and took a knee during the national anthem at the beginning of all of his NFL games. This subtle, non-violent and perfectly legal protest was Kaepernick’s way to bring attention to the state of race relations in America, and the continued unaddressed shooting deaths of Black men and women by law enforcement. It caused an onslaught of hate-filled rhetoric, threats and economic and professional consequences aimed at throwing Colin Kaepernick out of the NFL or severely limiting his access to pursue other teams and his livelihood as a professional football player. No matter that the Ravens fans never protested, nor did ownership consult fans before signing Donte Stallworth, who served time for manslaughter in a DUI, or Ray Lewis who pled guilty to 
obstruction of justice after being charged with 2 counts of murder? The outrage is selective, to say the least, a Double Standard for sure.