Race Class And Violence In Sports

Athletes all over the U.S have made their decision and have taken a stance on what they believe is right. Colin Kaepernick, a football player who used to play for the San Francisco Forty-Niners back in 2016, has made headlines for kneeling during the national anthem. For him, kneeling during the anthem was a gesture of protesting police brutality and social injustice. Although many people claimed that Kaepernick was being anti-american, he was just practicing his first amendment rights. The New York Times has quoted Kaepernick during a post-game conference where he said,- “Once again, I’m not

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.

Players are encouraged to stand during the National Anthem for the special ceremony of the pre-game. However, Colin Kaepernick decided to stay seated through the ceremony, in protest of unequal treatment by police on the blacks in the United States. Colin did not violate any law or disrespect the American flag. He justified given his right by under the constitution. Colin stood up for the Constitutional Right, along standing up for what he believes in. Kaepernick stood up from the mistreatment from the police to his kind and didn’t do any type of harm.

The NFL’s, San Francisco 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick is the ringleader of the National Anthem protesters. There’s been hundreds of articles published both supportive and unsupportive of this form of protest, and seemingly more people people are starting to jump on board with either side the more this topic gets discussed. Police brutality is an obvious problem in this nation, but the “justice” (paid

Colin Kaepernick is an NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Over the past season he decided to voice his opinion on injustice in the United States by taking a knee during the national anthem. He believes there is still a racial divide throughout the nation. His goal by taking a knee was to make people aware of the situation in the most peaceful way possible. Even though many people criticized him for what he was doing, many others were very happy to see someone in a position like his trying to voice his opinions. There were numerous other NFL players that sided with Kaepernick, and also took a knee during the national anthem.

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

As a rising star for the 49ers, Colin Kaepernick led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in the 2012-2013 season. His stardom began to peak there and he began to decline. At the start of the 2016-2017 season, two African Americans were killed in traffic stops and they were not a threat to the police. Kaepernick, a fellow African American, knew that blacks were being treated unequally by law enforcement and they were not being punished for their actions. During the first two preseason game, he sat during the national anthem but he didn't have a uniform because he was injured. It was until the third game were a photographer captured a picture of Kaepernick sitting during the national anthem. After the game, Kaepernick stated “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color”. (Branch) His actions did not create attention but it was the beginning steps of his silent protest. In the 4th preseason game, he took a knee with fellow player Eric Reid. Many players from around the league began to follow. This began sparking the protest that left a big impact in sports history.

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 Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the “Star Spangled Banner” a mass dispute over race, patriotism and football broke out across the United States. Many people who were opposed to Kaepernick's protest believed he was disrespecting our military by not standing with his hand over his

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

On August 14, 2016 Kaepernick decided not to stand for the national anthem before the game and went unnoticed. Social media bashed him, but he didn’t take it to heart he spoke to social media and stated "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." The next week he did it again this time with a teammate, the hate on him continued but he wouldn’t stop. Later he was joined by athletes around the world. Megan Rapinoe, Arian Foster, Kenny Stills to name a few all joined the movement that is known as “black lives matter”. Holding your hand over your heart during the national anthem is considered a civic duty of every single American. Kaepernick and the rest of the athletes that joined him showed a great amount of courage, they disobeyed for the greater cause and impacted society in a good way.

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

As time goes on, the people of America continue to discover and create more issues that have affect on each person in the country. Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers took a knee during the playing of the “Star Spangled Banner” in protest of police brutality and racial injustice in America. Since then, NFL players from all over the country have joined in on this silent protest.

In the article, “Colin Kaepernick protest has 49ers fans burning their jerseys,” Cindy Boren describes Colin Kaepernick stirring up conversations within the National Football League. Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the national anthem in order to show that he does not stand up for a country that oppresses people of color. Fans of the NFL responded with very intense reactions such as burning jerseys and explicit words. People were disgusted with what Kaepernick did. However, a former teammate of Colin Kaepernick, Anquan Boldin, supported Kaepernick’s right to make a statement but did not do the same despite his cousin being shot to death by a police officer. The National Football League said players are encouraged to stand during the national anthem; however, it is not required.

All the news full of discussions about Colin Kaepernick, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, that he didn't stand up during the National Anthem. However, he refuse to show his pride, to country which abuse black people. In the past months, a lot of issues happened with unfair behavior towards the black people. Therefore, Kaepernick by using his status, wanted to point this out. In my opinion, Colin justify his action, and it would bring more attention to the Civil Rights issues that happen nowadays. A lot of people think, that Colin's action shows disrespect to USA. On the other hand, he just want to help, this is show how Colin cares about issues that happened in his country.