We must respect Colin Kaepernick's protest against the national anthem, we are told, because the right to protest is sacred and never to be questioned, and the last thing we should ever do is turn some inanimate piece of cloth into an idol that's more important than our right to express our true feelings.
Remember: American flag = mere piece of cloth. Not sacred. Not entitled to respect. In fact, the refusal to stand for it is entitled to the ultimate in respect. Get it straight.
So then, if the American flag is a mere piece of cloth and nothing is more sacred than the right to disrespect a piece of cloth as a way of making your protest of whatever known to all the world, surely we would apply the same logic to, say, a Colin Kaepernick jersey, no?