Antest In A Nonviolent Protests

In 2017 controversy struck when the NFL tried “taking a stance” and protesting the National Anthem. In this protest, many NFL players one by one knelt down while the National Anthem played at their sporting event. The National Anthem is a song for our country and symbol to represent all of the men and women who have fought in our military. This song is not played just for our entertainment, it is to honor the flag and what it stands for. The protesting was started by Colin Kaepernick, last season, when he was the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. He was the first player to take a knee during the playing of the National Anthem, now many other NFL players this season are following in his path and doing the same thing. Many players and viewers claim it is for police brutality and the injustice that is being served, while other viewers see it as entitled millionaires disrespecting the flag and the military. Everyone has different opinions on the issue, but no matter what the country needs to respect one another as humans and be united; the American Flag is a symbol of our freedom and the NFL needs to recognize the National Anthem rather than kneeling and disrespecting what it stands for.

Protesting in the National Football League has been going on, as some of the country’s most beloved and highly recognized athletes are seen disrespecting the United States of America on national TV every weekend. The players’ reason for the protesting is police brutality, you can see them kneeling, raising their fist in the air, or even sit in the locker room while the national anthem is being played. Although I do understand what they are trying to do, I believe that there definitely better ways to go about their protest. The protests started in 2016 when Colin Kaepernick, quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, took a knee during the national anthem. When question about his actions he responded by saying, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour”(Lake). While some people sided with Kaepernick most people took offense to his decision to kneel. In him doing this it has caused a league wide outbreak in protest; as players and sometimes even whole teams take a knee or show some type of protest during our country's anthem.

Kneeling during the national anthem is not just wrong it is also disrespectful to the multitudes in our country who have served or or presently serving this great nation-- the United States of America. The national anthem represents many things. One of them is the fortitude of our country’s flag. In the anthem it declares that the United States of America is “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” The flag represents the very core and essence of our nation as the only land on the continent that offers its citizens the freedoms it has at the price paid for ultimately by the brave. It is in no way oppressive nor racist. It is the theme song for every American. The intended audience of this paper is an appeal to all Americans. The quarterback of the 49ers football team, Colin Kaepernick, first began a protest to draw attention to a series of incidents against African Americans by remaining seated during the national anthem, “the Star Spangled Banner.” After the great stir Kaepernick caused in the media during September 2016, Kaepernick switched up his protest by taking a knee as a nod or gesture of showing more respect to current and former military after receiving an in-depth letter from Nate Boyer a former NFL player and US military veteran. Boyer served our country as a Green Beret. Over a decade ago, Boyer witnessed genocide while working in Sudan. He met numerous African men who were smitten with America and longed to have the

Ever since September of last year, the NFL National Anthem Protest has been one of the most controversial topics across social-media, alongside with other protests against police brutality. Many have criticized for such an action for being disrespectful to the National Anthem and Flag. Those, who have supported it, claim to protest against the nationwide police brutalities against the Black people. Looking back to the history of the United States, such sports protests are not a unique incident. During 1968 Olympic game, which are hold in Mexico City, African American Athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists to speak for black civil rights. Yet, back then both the U.S. government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not show support for such an action, though today the IOC claimed that the black American athletes has made names for themselves for doing such protests.

“Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave. O'er the land and of the free, and the home of the brave.” These words from our beloved national anthem, are words that this country chooses to live by. Ladies and gentlemen will remove their caps, and then all rise for the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. Most Americans have become comfortable about this right and pleasure that we have. To be able to show respect for the ones who aren’t here, and can’t even stand to do so. One professional American football player had another agenda for this time. He decided to kneel instead of stand like we have all become accustomed to. In my generation, we take our freedom and rights for granted. We do this, because we never had

A present day crucible in today’s world that has been occurring more and more is kneeling to the national anthem and how people that kneel don’t like our country, are only focused on helping one group/race of people, and people are being kicked off teams because of them making protests.The Anthem protests started last year in August when Colin Kaepernick sat on the bench at an NFL game during the National Anthem. After the game reporters asked him why he sat and he said, “I am not going to stand up and show pride in a flag for a country that opposes black people and people of color” (Wyche ). Since this first incident it’s spread across all of the NFL, high school sports, NHL, women's professional soccer, and even in the MLB. This protest has even been caught in the eyes of the president and there is no sign of this protest slowing down.

For many, speaking up for what you believe in can be difficult and risky, but ultimately worth the risk. Colin Kaepernick took this risk, by kneeling during the national anthem to stand up against “ police brutality and the inequality that people of color”(NFL). With many unjust shootings and police beatings of African Americans, Kaepernick’s teammate Eric Reid couldn’t stand the violence anymore after “the killing of Alton Sterling in my hometown Baton Rouge, La”(Reid). Reid joined Kaepernick in taking a knee during the national anthem, in doing this Kaepernick and Reid inspired other players to raise awareness and help those in need. This decision caused huge impacts on the nation, the NFL, and the youth who look up to the players of the NFL.

1. Attention grabber: At any sporting event, whether a little league soccer game or a NFL football game it is the automatic response for the audience, players and all who are watching, is to stand, remove their hats and place their right hand on their heart at the first note of the national anthem. However, in the latest news, this has not been the case. Instead of displaying the routine gesture of patriotism, by placing a hand over your heart, football players all across the country have begun to take a knee and linking arms in protest against police brutality and demonstrate defiance against the views of our current President.

In a demonstration of solidarity, more than one hundred and thirty NFL players have chosen to sit, kneel, or raise a fist during the national anthem. This is a movement that began last season when 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick chose to take a knee to protest police brutality against people of color. Although Kaepernick didn’t have much support from fellow players at the time, a recent turn of events has changed things. President Donald Trump’s recent commentary calling out those who chose to protest created contempt for him in the NFL community. In Megan Garber’s 2017 article entitled “They Took a Knee,” she examines exactly what Trump said and considers the impact of his words. It is indisputable that both the NFL players and our President

Kneeling during the National Anthem began as a protest about police brutality and racial injustice but exploded into many other subcategories and arguments. Many people have begun to question the integrity and beliefs of many players who have used kneeling or sitting during the National Anthem as a form of protest. One of the more frequents interpretations of the protest has been that the protestors don’t support our military or government. Although an article recently released quickly ended those misinterpretation, “Kaepernick announced afterward that he would donate the first million of his $11.9 million salary

Recently, the National Football League has been under fire for its players kneeling through the national anthem. The league has received complaints, accusations and insults from fans, news and sports broadcasts, and our president himself. As a response to the negative attention, Eric Reid wrote an article where he explained that he went directly to a U.S Army Special forces veteran, Nate Boyer, and asked advice on the most respectful way to protest police brutality. They came to the conclusion that kneeling was a more respectful and peaceful form of protest. The NFL player’s “Take a Knee” protest is being misinterpreted as disrespect of the flag, the soldiers, and the anthem.

The “Sports Fans Have Never Seemed So Divided” is an article written by Bill Plaschke on 26th September. This article was published in the LA Times Newspaper. In this article Bill explains the various reasons behind the NFL players kneeling during the national anthem. He explains the views of both the people who support the decision and the people who condemn. He gives the views of the president Donald Trump on this issue and how the line-backers thought that it was an assault on the people who kneeled. The people are now fighting for the rights of the Black Americans to be the same as the ones of the white Americans. The people who kneel during the NFL games are just not the Black Americans but also the White Americans who want to make America

Due to racial injustices and a great loss of African American lives at the hands of police officers, various athletes have decided to peacefully protest by kneeling during the National Anthem before sporting events. However, some commentators have argued that this method of protest is offensive or disrespectful, and very unpatriotic. This form of protest has been a popular topic of conversation and nearly splits the country into two...for, and against. However, every U.S. citizen is granted a right to the 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution, which includes freedom of speech and protest.

Boren’s article gives one example of the personality of professional athletes that have protested by taking a knee during the national anthem. By writing for the Washington Post she reaches out to a nationwide audience. This article is important because critics say that the athletes that kneel during the anthem can be criminals and/or uneducated. Oakland A’s catcher, Bruce Maxwell, was arrested on a gun charge shortly after he was the only player that knelt during the anthem. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct after he threatened a woman delivering food he had ordered at his home. Maxwell was the first Major League Baseball player to take a knee protesting police brutality and injustice. Maxwell was quoted in the article, “My decision had been coming for a long time…The only way we can come together is by informing…To single out NFL players for doing this isn’t something we should be doing-I felt it should be a little more broad.” Maxwell was refused service during a banquet by Trump supporter, Matt Henry. Huntsville city councilman Devyn Keith, also at the banquet, witnessed the occurrence, complained to Henry’s superior and removed Henry from waiting on that particular table. I plan to use this article as one example of what a

Football; America’s sport, the game that gathers everyone around the TV during Thanksgiving. This game that consists of 22 players on the field, trying to score touchdowns, has caused citizens across the nation to be distraught by the actions some of the players have taken during the National Anthem. The National Anthem is thought to be a time where citizens can unite and take pride in being a part of the United States and all it stands for but as of late it has changed to a time where players feel they can voice their opinion toward the oppression minorities face in the U.S. Football players have initiated the #TakeAKnee Movement, in order to illuminate the oppression of colored people in America, especially Black Americans. However, some feel this action is disrespectful to the National Anthem and the U.S. Military because the traditional way to conform to the Anthem is too stand, loud and proud and praise the flag. Football players should be able to exercise their constitutional right to protest the racism directed toward citizens of color during the National Anthem because the American government has yet to show support to those impacted by this oppression.