Colin Kaepernick's Protesting Controversy

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.

A big controversial topic going around in the news over the past few weeks has been Colin Kaepernick and his stand to end the hardship for people of color and police brutality in the United States. This silent stand started early this preseason when a number of different events involving people of color and police officers around the United States not getting along. However, this has started to become more publicized as more and more people in the National Football League have been joining in with Colin Kaepernick and taking a knee or sitting during the national anthem. This stand has become way more than a simple silent stand as many people around the nation are starting to voice their opinions on this subject. Even though everyone argues their thoughts on this subject.

Colin Kaepernick, a San Francisco 49er quarterback but also a daring black man that has decided to speak for the voices that can’t, has made his voice heard by kneeling during America’s beloved ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’. Jaweed Kaleem writes in the article “In the ‘land of the free,’ are you free to sit out the national anthem?” about the controversial topic in which he showcases the two sides of how it deems to be disrespectful to sit out the national anthem vs how Kaepernick has the freedom of expression to sit out what he believes does not benefit him.

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.

Colin Kaepernick’s protest gained national attention due to his position in the NFL. Realizing that his protest would reach a much wider audience than any regular citizen, he chose to demonstrate that something needed to be done about the

Before reading the article I assumed it would show Kaepernick in a more negative light. Throughout the article though it proved to be different. They explained how many people were joining him in the protest and showing him respect. In another article about the same topic, NBC News shares the story a little differently. They begin the article by explaining how Kaepernick’s protesting has really caught on, but quickly switches to sharing pictures of other NFL athletes standing in unity on the anniversary of September 11th. Following the photos are quotes from different public figures about their opinions on the situation. They first highlight Kate Upton’s Instagram post about NFL players who protested on 9/11 as horrific. As the article continues quotes from presidential candidate, Donald Trump are

This week’s article, “In the ‘land of the free,’ are you free to sit out the national anthem?” by Jaweed Kaleem, discussed the controversy of quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s choice to sit during the national anthem. Not only did the football star “remain seated while teammates stood with hands over their hearts,” but he also “kneeled when the patriotic music started” during Salute to the Military night at a preseason game. Kaepernick's reasoning behind his actions were that he wants to speak up for “those who don't have a voice,” like the black men who were shot by police. His protest has stirred up controversy across the nation. Many people are against Kaepernick’s actions. Politician Donald Trump felt his actions were out of line and

The trend of standing up for what others believe has stormed across the nation for diverse reasons. One of many examples of this situation includes the National Football League(NFL). Approximately two years ago, quarterback Colin Kaepernick began to protest the national anthem due to his belief that his rights and the rights of other african-americans were being violated. Shortly after many other professional athletes followed his lead and protested the national anthem by kneeling down, locking

A football player with the NFL, named Colin Kaepernick decided to stop standing for the national anthem as of means of protesting that the fact unarmed African Americans are killed by police in disproportionate number, usually without any repercussions for the officers who engaged in the killings. The fact that Colin Kaepernick protest is being a sign of disrespect, even though kneeling has long been considered a sign of respect, it has much more to do what he is protesting than how he is protesting.

When you think of protests what do you think of? Most of the protests that people see on television are a group of people marching in the streets. These protests can either be peaceful or harmful. San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a different approach. His protest was not in the streets, it was on the football field. He kneels during the national anthem before games. Everyone has their own thoughts on his protest, some agree, some do not agree with his protest. Colin Kaepernick’s form of protest is a very ineffective way of protest while disrespecting the people that represent and angering many.

Our national anthem is a symbol of unity and liberty within our country. However, would a person who does not stand for the anthem be considered a person whom does not respect America? Recently in the preseason of the commonly viewed game of football, the quarterback from the 49ers- Colin Kaepernick- sat down during the national anthem. According to Sandriter, Kaepernick’s protest represents “support for people of color who are being oppressed in the United States, and to take a stand against police brutality” (Sandriter 1). When Kaepernick first started protesting, not many viewers noticed until more NFL players begun to join the bandwagon of protest. As interviews of Kaepernick begin to take place, Sandriter mentions how this quarterback

I chose to make a propaganda poster for a movement that is dominating the recent news, Colin Kaepernick. Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to highlight the issues he saw facing 2017 United States, the unjust treatment of minorities, especially by the police. Kapernick noted this saying “ We have a lot of people that are oppressed. We have a lot of people that aren’t given equal oppurtunities. Police brutality is a huge thing that needs to be addressed.There are a lot of issues that need to be talked about, need to be brought to life, and we need to fix those.” Kaepernick taking a knee has led to others joining him by also taking a knee, ultimately leading to a movement. However, Kaepernicks movement, despite making waves across the nation and witnessed by non-football fans joining (and the NFL joining him), it has been perceived as a male dominated movement in the news.

Many believe that when Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers quarterback , refused to stand with his hand over his heart, he abused his duty for his country. In “ O’er the ramparts we watched as athletes were kneeling”, Merrill Matthews, a resident scholar with the Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas, says he at some point this is going to get out of hand and will not be able to be stopped or fixed. “ If athletes can kneel during the national anthem, can they turn their back? Can they stand on the U.S. flag or even burn it?” ( Matthews 3). In other words, this needs to be stopped before things get out of hand. It is understandable why the opposition argues that Kaepernick was wrong for his doings. However, Colin Kaepernick is a U.S. citizen

It has led to division in our nation and has not helped improve the situation of those individuals whom they are protesting for. Clearly, there are more effective things these athletes could have done to make a difference. In order to understand why and how Kaepernick's actions have been very counterproductive we must consider what he stated and what was the response to it. “"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder". Kaepernick stated this in response to the controversial shootings of African American individuals by police men. There has been an extraordinary debate about the social and racial issues in America but Colin Kaepernick-NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers-started a very controversial debate with a simple act sitting or kneeling during the National

To begin, Colin Kaepernick’s choice of protesting during NFL games proves to be an improper location for