Chiefs FB Anthony Sherman Laments on NFL's Desire to Be Woke Rather Than Awake

The development of the coronavirus vaccine and the NFL's restrictions on vaccinated vs. unvaccinated individuals have stirred up quite a storm among the athletes that make up the league. Cole Beasley, for example, has waged a personal war on the idea that he should be required to get the vaccine to do his job. It has been very revealing for all sorts of reasons.
On Saturday afternoon, Kansas City Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman expressed his views on the matter. He took issue, specifically, with the fact that the league is requiring any athletes who are unvaccinated to wear a wristband of a certain color when within team facilities, while vaccinated athletes wear a different colored wristband. He compared that to racial segregation of the '60s.
The @NFL is making players wear colored wrist bands now based on vaccination status. Funny, I thought we all agreed on the evils of segregation back in the 60s. Here we are again- only this time it’s based on personal health choices instead of skin color.
— Anthony Sherman (@Shermanator_42) July 31, 2021
Sherman then expressed his regret that the NFL is more interested in being woke than... awake?
The league clearly values being woke, not awake. What a shame. And what a sham.
— Anthony Sherman (@Shermanator_42) July 31, 2021
Yeah. I dunno. He clearly thought that was some clever wordplay. Not sure how it holds up. Maybe I'm simply a dummy but I also don't understand even a little bit what the woke/awake thing is about.
Perhaps someone more enlightened can inform me on the high-minded concepts Sherman is employing here. Until then, like many others, I am just confused.