Mr. Kaepernick, the activist-athlete being analogized to Muhammad “Louisville Lip” Ali, has remained strangely silent for months. He communicates through tweets, Instagram posts and leaked bits of information to his vast array of media and celebrity surrogates. ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter reported in February that sources close to Mr. Kaepernick say he’ll end his national-anthem protest in the coming season. If his goal is to raise awareness around the issue of unfair policing involving black men, he is using a silence tactic no other activist has ever used and, at this point, it’s fair to question the effectiveness of his strategy.

But what if his goal is to drive a discussion focused on NFL ownership treating him in a racist manner? In that case, Mr. Kaepernick is serving as a Trojan Horse for the progressive media’s attack on an iconic institution. The NFL is the highest-rated show on NBC, FOX, CBS , ESPN and the NFL Network. It’s an important cultural force, and a conservative one. Mr. Kaepernick is a pretense to change the way football is discussed. It’s working this NFL offseason.