By John L. Micek

You don’t need to agree with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit down during the singing of “The Star Spangled Banner” during a pre-season game against the Green Bay Packers last week.

But you should understand and respect it because it was an act of protest as fundamentally American as Muhammad Ali’s refusal in 1967 to be inducted into the Army for service in Vietnam or runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their...