By: Taylor Hires-Caulk
Recently sports and politics have been trying to show who is the strongest and who’s going to win the fight. As one football player, Colin Kaepernick taking a seat and then kneeling during the national anthem has been controversy that has many Americans up in arms and choosing sides.
What started as a protest by one player for racial injustice took on other demonstrations against police brutality and pride for our nation. Many football players followed Kaepernick protest and soon other sports and youth started taking a knee. For some it was just a show in favor of Kaepernick without any meaning for why they are doing it. But for many African Americans, they feel they have cause and reason to fight for equality. The president did not agree with protesting during the national anthem and publicly called those doing it out as a disgrace to the country for those who have defended it. Soon coaches as well as players were kneeling leading to controversies in favor and against the kneeling.
Kneeling during the national anthem has caused the ratings for the NFL to go down. While some believe that the kneeling is okay some believe that this is disrespectful to the military and is very unpatriotic. NFL players claim unity, while others believe it shouldn’t be done during the anthem.
Many believe that this is a first amendment right to protest. They feel that they’re not doing anything vulgar with symbolic expression. The kneelers are using a big audience to show their beliefs. But for many it’s the way they interpret it as a disrespect to the soldiers who fought to give them their freedom. The players are using the national anthem to convey a political message. Has the true message of racial injustice become a fight to show that they have their right to do as they want and the president can’t stop them, or are they truly fighting for injustice. In the end, it’s our choosing to take whatever side we agree with.
