Persuasive Essay On Police Brutality

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

Professional athletes making political statements and sharing thoughts on their viewed social issues has been around since games were first being broadcasted and gave these athletes a stage to make a stand. Along with those actions entered debate for sports fans who are stuck between whether athletes should or should not share their views on things “bigger than sports”.This has been missing from professional sports in recent decades but is now slowly once again becoming relevant. The presidency of Donald Trump along with Colin Kaepernick’s taking a knee to protest the national anthem are the two main reasons for the

Since the signing of the First Amendment in 1787, Americans have protested, utilizing their right of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Protesting comes in many forms. Most protests are peaceful; however, some others involve violence. Protests have shaped the United States of America, and without them, the United States wouldn’t exist. One protest that has become a major controversy involves San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He has refused to stand during the National Anthem of a “country that oppresses black people and people of color” (Gajanan). While many are saying that Kaepernick is disrespecting the troops and must stand for his country, we must remember the First Amendment, which gives us the right of free speech, allowing all of us, regardless of our race or religion, the right to express ourselves without interference from the government. Time.com’s Mahita Gajanan recently wrote an article titled: “Colin Kaepernick and a Brief History of Protest in Sports”. The main idea of the article is that throughout history, many athletes have used their fame to convey their ideas. This purpose of the article is to open the eyes of sports fans, veterans, those who are uninformed, and critics of Kaepernick. In the midst of

Although, the football players were standing up for what they believed in kneeling was disrespectful, created political conversations, and irritated the fans. According to the article “Opinion: The Athlete as Agent of Change,” it states, “People respond with angry taunts of traitor, you’re a disgrace, and leave our country!” (Bunch, Skorton). This statement corresponds with the irritation of fans with the matter of athletes kneeling to the National Anthem. ] The author also proves how fans felt that it was disrespectful protest and it was intolerable.

Before every National Football League game, the national anthem reverberates throughout the huge stadiums. Spectators rise from their seats, remain quiet, and when the tune finishes, they get raucous. However, Colin Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, shattered this ritual two months ago. Before their season opener, Kaepernick elected to remain seated for the national anthem. Importantly, it took three successive weeks of this silent protest for anyone to notice. However, when audiences did notice, every form of media exploded with a myriad of headlines and opinions on the situation. With the nation impatiently waiting for answers, Kaepernick asserted that standing for the anthem implied that he was proud of the country,

This Paper will go over kneeling for protest in the NFL with views from both liberals and conservatives. On August fourteenth and twentieth, in 2016 a man named Colin Kaepernick became the first person to protest during the pledge of allegiance during a football game, however, he mostly went unnoticed while he sat. On August twenty-sixth, 2016, Colin Kaepernick's sitting during the national anthem attracted a lot of attention and his team, the San Francisco 49ers released a statement saying Colin Kaepernick was sitting during the anthem. Colin Kaepernick said he was protesting not because of the military, but because he wanted to bring more attention to the suffering of colored people and issues with police violence. On September first, 2016

If Colin Kaepernick’s main objective was to start a conversation, he succeeded in his mission. Over the past 15 months “players from across the league joined Kaepernick sitting, kneeling, and raising their fists, in acts of protest that generated mixed reactions from fans, current and former players, coaches, general managers and owners, and even the president.”

Black families are watching as the protest continues in the NFL. Robert Siegal says how many black players have been in the spotlight because of them protesting for the national anthem. Either some are standing, kneeling or players all together are locking arms with their teammates. Because of this silent protest, there has been a huge turn off for fans. One person named Rob Hughes talks about himself being a devoted fan to football. But how things have been different this season, now when he watches the games, he pays close attention to the players who stand and kneel. He says how he believes on the right to protest and how police brutality is wrong.

A major problem in the National Football League(NFL) today isn’t occurring in the game itself, rather in the pre-game National Anthem. Players are deciding to take a knee or even sit on the bench during the anthem as a form of protest. Free agent quarterback, Colin Kaepernick began the protest and has since, created a movement among many other players in the NFL; a movement that has caused a lot of controversy amidst United States’ citizens.  Martin Luther King Jr. said in his letter from the Birmingham Jail, “whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.” I believe that this applies to this situation in that racial injustice has directly affected Kaepernick; Kaepernick then expressed his feelings by protesting the anthem before his games on national television. In doing so, he attracted the likes of other NFL athletes and viewers of the games to agree with him and join the protest. As more and more NFL players and coaches continue protesting the National Anthem by kneeling/sitting, they should take into account what exactly they are protesting, what does kneeling demonstrate, and what does standing for the flag mean?

The NFL represents “The National Football League,” which is a professional American football league containing thirty-two teams. Over the past year to present time, there has been quite a lot of controversy within the league. There has been a major political issue with select NFL players kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before kickoff. The kneeling of players is executed to represent a form of silent protest. The NFL players kneeling believe that there are prevailing issues in our nation that need to be brought to the public’s attention. According to the philosopher, Boxill, protest is meant to not only stop the injustice happening, but show self-respect. The injustice that the NFL players are silently protesting against during the playing of the national anthem, is police brutality and racial inequalities occurring in the United States. The issue behind the protest should be addressed, but the way the NFL is allowing players to kneel during a time which celebrates patriotism and the symbolic representation of our country, should not be allowed.

The NFL has become increasingly political since former San Francisco Forty Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick captured the mainstream media’s attention by sitting during the national anthem. Kaepernick publicly spoke about the occurrence, saying he would not show respect for a nation of racial prejudice. Other NFL football players have joined Kaepernick which has recently caught the attention of President Donald Trump. Trump recited a speech responding to the NFL, telling NFL coaches they should fire any football player who disrespects the American flag by kneeling.

After Trump's tweet on Twitter about players of the National Football League disrespecting the country and the veterans that fought for it because they did not kneel for the American flag during the national anthem, people have become defensive over the FNL. Arguments have been made about how the players have not been disrespecting the country and are in support of Colin Kaepernick's stance of kneeling during the flag. What they fail to remember, however, is why Kaepernick was kneeling during the national anthem last year. He was kneeling to protest against the poor treatment of people of color in the U.S., not against the military. His original argument for taking a knee during the national anthem has been nearly forgotten after Trump's tweet, but it also raises an important question about the original reasoning. How political are Kaepernick’s actions when he was performing a civil right to peacefully protest? Some people might disagree with this idea, but others would point out that Kaepernick did was allowed as it was peaceful. Despite having the right to protest, many people would point out on how Kaepernick has been treated unfairly in the NFL since this ordeal has started.

On August 26, 2016, Colin Kaepernick sat on a sideline bench during the anthem, thus throwing American into an abyss of identity politics and divisive rhetoric. In the previous weeks, after comments made by President Trump regarding the anthem protests, 12% of NFL players have kneeled in unity with Kaepernick. In response, the Left chose to grab onto kneeling as a symbol of protest against Trump, and here we see the evolution from protesting police brutality to outright denial of President Trump. This evolution is not good for the Left or the Right. At this point, you are either kneeling with Kaepernick or supporting President Trump. However, America should be standing for free speech and the First Amendment. Identity politics has led to a breakdown in American democracy, demonizes its opponents, and stifles important discussion on hot-button issues, including the issue of Kaepernick.

For the most part of 2016 and throughout the 2017 National Football League’s season viewers have seen many protests from players demonstrated by kneeling or holding a fist up during our country’s national anthem. The players are protesting because of African American discrimination and police brutality which has become a very strong subject politically. There is a large debate whether the players should be forced to stand to show respect to our country’s flag and the military personnel that have fought for it. The other side of the debate would argue that players are peacefully protesting and therefore they are protected by the 1st amendment. These two contradicting viewpoints have ignited tension within the nation sparking a separation between either being patriotic for their country, or opposing its values and foundation due to racial injustices within the African American community.

Police brutality, the killings of Alton Sterling, Philando Castille, and many other innocent and unarmed black people are all examples of racial injustice within our own country. Racial injustice has become a very large issue and too many people are dying for reasons unknown. National Football League players are correctly utilizing their right to peacefully protest by taking a knee during the National Anthem. There are people in the world who do not have a large enough audience to effectively speak on the issue with numerous people noticing. The players are using their unique stage to give people a voice who do not have one.