From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

Sports, politics, and patriotism.

Hello again, I'm Arminolny, and this is To the Point.

Colin Kaepernick took a knee instead of saluting the flag. Will he ever play again

in the National Football League? Greg Popovich has called the president a soulless coward. Will he still be

coaching an NBA basketball? It's often claimed that sports are separate from politics, but that's a

far cry from reality, especially in this era of hyper-partisanship.

Men and women athletes, fans, and owners from sold-out stadiums to high school fields and gymnasiums

are all getting into the action.

Later on today's talking point, Moshegesen brings Americans a warning from Moscow.

First, here's the news.

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Hello again, Warren. I'll be back with To The Point. National Football League team owners are meeting today to craft a unified message about political protest. Men and women athletes in other sports are protesting too. We'll hear how Colin Kaepernick's refusal to stand for the flag

has demonstrated the inseparable relationship between sports and politics.

Today's talking point, the Soviet Union may have collapsed

but without enough economic or political reform to make Russia a new and different country.

Russian American journalist Masha Gessen says Vladimir Putin has used

leftover institutions to increase his power and that Americans should be paying attention.

First is news update with the backing of American power.

Kurdish and Arab forces may have destroyed the city of Raqa in order to save it.

...