Much has been written about Colin Kaepernick. And yes, he will be sitting down during Sunday’s game, most likely. And I mean the ENTIRE game, as he is no longer a starting quarterback.

But now the rumor is going around that the Seattle Seahawks are planning a larger scale “thing,” whatever that is. Jeremy Lane of the Seahawks sat in support of Kaepernick (so he said) during the last preseason game.

Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin says he and other Seahawks have considered joining cornerback Jeremy Lane in protesting during the national anthem.

Lane sat during the anthem before Seattle’s final preseason game last Thursday against Oakland and said earlier this week that he will continue to do so. Lane was following the lead of 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who sat and then took a knee during the anthem the past two weeks in protest of discrimination against African Americans and minorities in America.

“I have,” Baldwin said Wednesday when asked if he’s considered joining Lane. “I want to make sure that I get all of my ducks in a row before I do so.”

Asked if any other Seahawks teammates are considering doing the same, Baldwin said, “Our locker room has discussed it, so we’ll see.”

Lest anyone has forgotten, this coming Sunday, the first Sunday of the NFL season, is September 11th.

And Doug Baldwin knows that.

The Seahawks open their regular season against Miami on Sunday, which will be the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Baldwin was asked if the significance of that date should be taken into account by players thinking about joining the national-anthem protest.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I think that anybody should be thinking about that, even if it wasn’t Sept. 11. The point of the protest is to get people to think. I think it’s very ironic to me that 15 years ago on Sept. 11, one of the most devastating times in US history, and after that day, we were probably the most unified that we’ve ever been. And today, you struggle to see the unity. It’s very ironic to me that this date is coming up, so it’s going to be a special day, a very significant day.”

It’s not ironic. It’s tragic.

African Americans died on 9/11. African American CHILDREN died on 9/11. Police officers died on 9/11. And once upon a time, the NFL knew how to remember that day.

And even five years ago, the memories and remembrances were equally poignant.

But now – only just now – the oppression has become so hard and too much for these elite athletes – some of them multimillionaires – that they just have to take a knee. While this is supposed to signify that they are skipping out, taking a knee usually means something else – submission.

I wonder if Doug Baldwin has contemplated the irony in how kneeling before the flag looks on national television.

Regardless, the NFL has a problem. They are letting Kaepernick and company “express themselves” and protest on one hand, and then telling the Dallas Cowboys that they cannot express themselves with a decal on their helmet to honor the fallen Dallas police officers. Hypocrisy much, Roger Goodell? Either all free expression is allowed, or none of it is.

I would seriously hope that NFL brass starts getting on the phone to all NFL teams, reminding them what Sunday this is. This is a day that the flag that these rich players are protesting will be flown at half mast. If there cannot be unity in mourning those who died 15 years ago on Sunday, with at least a modicum of respect for the death and sacrifice of that day, then we will never have unity at all ever again.

UPDATE 2:40 PM PDT
It looks like something is planned for the Seahawks, but no one is going to know what it is until it happens.

To express a desire to bring people together, our team will honor the country and flag in a pregame demonstration of unity.

— Doug Baldwin Jr (@DougBaldwinJr) September 8, 2016

And whatever happens was run by former Seahawks walk-on Nate Boyer.

Whatever the Seahawks have planned for Sunday has the approval of Nate Boyer, a former U.S. Army Green Beret who spent time with Seattle last offseason as an undrafted rookie long-snapper. Boyer and Kaepernick have become a symbol of the potential for unity by coming together in the wake of Kaepernick’s protest.

Talked to the @Seahawks What the team will do is a powerful sign of unification + respect for the Anthem + those that fight for our Freedom!

— Nate Boyer (@NateBoyer37) September 8, 2016

Fingers crossed.