Racism In Racism

Although NFL athletes are a huge figure in America today, they still choose to disrespect their country by kneeling during the National Anthem. I believe kneeling during the National Anthem is unpatriotic, separate’s teammates and the community, and is also bad publicity. This has caused people to protest the NFL by doing things such as burning their season tickets. Kneeling during the anthem has caused a huge controversial issue that is impacting many. This has not only caught the attention of adults but also children. The NFL is now losing its focus on football and putting more focus on politics.

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.

“Taking a knee during the National Anthem these days screams disrespect for our flag,our country and troops.” People are seeing the message that the players are trying to send as disrespectful for our country and troops.”My son and the entire armed forces deserve better than that.” In response,people who are against the kneeling for the National Anthem are going to try to protest in a peaceful manner by not watching the NFL games and not going to the games.The big issue is that the National Anthem has nothing to do with the inequality in our country nor is it raced based.The National Anthem stands for more than what some people are making it out to be. The players are unaware of the true meaning of the National Anthem.

The current debate over kneeling or sitting in protest during the national anthem to protest police brutality was ignited by Kaepernick in 2016, and later adopted by many other professional football players, high school athletes, and professional athletes in other sports, all who have refused to stand for the national anthem. These protests have created disagreement and sparked a public conversation race, police brutality, the flag and if the NFL is the best forum for to protest such issue. Colin Kaepernick has since said “he’s not protesting the flag but police brutality against African Americans. www.Procon.org

A big problem protesters like Colin Kaepernick and others are facing is that since they don’t participate in the National Anthem people think that they don’t like our country and are unpatriotic. For example Donald Trump and his aides took the situation into their own hands when calling out the protesters by saying, “protests are unpatriotic and disrespectful to the flag and those who have fought to protect the United States”(Tatum). After these comments players fire back by saying they’re exercising free speech by not participating in the National Anthem while standing with their hands over their hearts. Protesting is a

This act of kneeling down should be considered as an act of patriotic criticism, rather than a betrayal of the nation. After all, patriotism does not mean that we should love and support everything that the government conducts, but rather we should criticize for the greater good of the government, so that it could improve. Government could only improve, if they can hear the voice from the people. Only after accepting the criticism can one improve. Therefore, the focus of such protest in the NFL should be why they protested, instead of the act of protesting. After all,

Many players and their coaches have been protesting police brutality by ‘taking-a-knee’ during the Pledge of Allegiance. The media has been sharing and it has now become a bigger deal since the president has addressed it by saying "Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b---h off the field right now. Out. He's fired. He's fired!" This riled up many Trump supports, secially when later on he tweeted that it had nothing to do with race and that it was about respecting the country. This leads many people to believe that the NFL players are just disrespecting their country. The stereotype about African Americans, that they are often disrespectful, is also being used to ‘justify’ what a lot of the media has to say. But, the real reason many NFL players are protesting is because they think that they shouldn't have to stand if they don't have pride for their country, and they have the right to do so, according to their first amendment. They don't lose the right to protest when they go on the field like some of the media thinks so. Many people, often white believe they live in a just- world because they have never had to deal with the racism many African Americans are dealing with so they do not think it is a big deal and that they are protesting to be disrespectful. The illusory correlation can also

Situations such as the Michael Brown one, Freddie gray one and Tamir rice are all reasons NFL players such as Colin Kaepernick have been kneeling. The Alton Sterling incident is on camera which is heartbreaking to even think about. Police kill black African-Americans and then try to stand behind self-defense and the law. That isn`t right that families especially moms have to bury their son and live with not never ever seeing their son again. A lot of people say it`s disrespecting the flag which is wrong. African- Americans go through things other races could never. I am in pro of players kneeling because of the injustice inequality and the lack of respect we simply just don`t get. Kneeling brought attention to all of the issues that America is going through also. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks didn`t do things like they did for the world to be at the place it is now. One of the first amendments is freedom of speech and to peacefully assemble. People like white

Taking a knee during the National Anthem began 13 months ago with Colin Kaepernick. He started to protest just by sitting on the bench, then when he was asked why he is doing this he responded saying that he is doing this to show more respect for the military veterans. However, a few months later when Kaepernick’s protest became more known to society he said “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag or country that oppresses black people, and to

Have you ever watched a football game and wondered why some of the athletes were kneeling during the national anthem. Well if you didn't know they are kneeling to protest racism and injustice in this country. They are getting a mix of support and persecution at the same time which shows the country is at a complete divide. In this case persecution is just not the right way handle the situation.This country was set up and built upon a core value such as freedom of speech so why take that away now. Athletes have the same right to freedom of speech as an other normal paid person so they should be able to use it. Athletes should be allowed to peacefully protest the national anthem because the first amendment says so and guarantees free speech to all americans no matter who they are football players included, They have a voice on a national stage a should be able to utilize it, and just because their salary is higher than most people their opinion still.

Firstly, a lot of people are talking about African American and Caucasian NFL players, or entire teams, kneeling or not even coming out onto the field during the national anthem. Former NFL player Colin Kaepernick first started the protest in 2016. He used to sit during the anthem. In “The #TakeAKnee protests have always been about race. Period.” post made on the CNN website, the author, AJ Willingham wrote, “…their jerseys used as doormats and bonfire fodder. They were called unpatriotic, ungrateful, and disrespectful of the flag, military, and country.” In this post, the author seemed to be against Donald Trump’s speech he made not too much long after.

I think that the players in the NFL need to stand for the Anthem. America keeps us safe and we all need to respect our country. Some of these sports players have the biggest influence on us and there are many kids that may look up to them. These kids are influenced spin these players actions. But then I think I can see why some people kneel during the Anthem. Let’s use African Americans for example, they haven’t always had their rights in the U.S and sometimes aren’t always treated fairly because of racism. Maybe they don’t respect the flag because they feel like America has disrespected them. But here’s what I think should happen to the people who kneel. Each player that kneels should either have a two game suspension or be fined. For

Living in a country where there is no police brutality, racial injustice, and inequality is what most Americans hope for. Protesting for justice and equality is something athletes have done for decades. Famous athletes such as Muhammad Ali and Jackie Robinson have protested in the past because of injustice. Despite the civil rights movement, people are still being discriminated and judged based on their race. If a NFL player believes the United States is not living up to its ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice for all, they should be able to kneel for the anthem because it is a peaceful form of protesting, they are not trying to disrespect our flag or country, and NFL players raise the question of why citizens of color still live as lesser Americans.

Many National Football League players started kneeling during the National Anthem to protest the injustices against African Americans, police brutality, respect, unity, and equal opportunity. They are protesting with untrue statements, such as police brutality. In 2016, 233 African Americans were shot by police, but the vast majority were armed and dangerous. Only 16 African American male victims of police shootings were unarmed. In 2015, a police officer was 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male was to be killed by a police officer. Many African American National Football League players believe they are being treated unequally. Kneeling during the National Anthem is disrespectful to the flag, the soldiers, and the people of the United States.