Racism Vs Football Racism

On one side of the controversy are the people who agree with the protesting and kneeling for the National Anthem. Both the players and viewers agree with the message they think is getting across. They are kneeling against police brutality and the injustice they think is being served. In

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.

The NFL benefits from having football being a common conversation point in schools and workplaces. From fantasy football leagues to highly intricate betting in Las Vegas. There is not just passion, but dollars and time being invested by the end consumer. The NFL saturates Thanksgiving television, it’s players are often celebrities, its story lines are on the tip the American male. Knowing the game of football is often a rite of passage. Football is American tradition. The NFL clearly has it’s place in American culture. It is evident in the outpouring of corporate sponsors into the league. Companies recognize the visibility NFL players offer to their products and the NFL leverages that back into its brand. All aspects surrounding the sport are sponsored. From the sports drink the players slurp then dump on their coaches after victories—to the on-the-field tablets branded with the iconic window for drawing up plays. The jerseys, cleats, gloves, hats, helmets, pads—and that is just on the field. There’s food, cars, watches, headphones—it seems everything that scrapes past the NFL becomes sponsored in some way. Backing from the NFL appears to currently have exponential upside increasing brand awareness.

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.

On August 14 and 20 of 2016 Colin Kaepernick made headlines by sitting on the bench during the 49ers first two regular season games. He wasn`t in uniform so he wasn`t expected to play in those games anyways. There was no grand unveiling of Kaepernick’s sitting protest. Instead, on August 26 of 2016 Jennifer Lee

Colin Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, has created much controversy in the nation over his latest protest. During a preseason football game Kaepernick was photographed sitting during the national anthem (McKirdy). When asked about the action later, Kaepernick explained, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” (Wyche). The nation exploded. Many showed their support for the quarterback, expressing pride in him for “standing up” for the things he believes in. Others displayed their anger with him for disrespecting the flag and all the things the flag represents. After seeing what a backlash his action received, Kaepernick decided to kneel instead of sitting, claiming that his new way of protesting would show more respect for those in the line of duty (Anthem uproar). Although he has the right to protest, sitting during the national anthem is the wrong way to draw attention to a specific cause.

At the start of the 2016 NFL preseason, Colin Kaepernick, quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, decided to take a seat during the National Anthem. His gesture during the first preseason game went unnoticed until the third preseason game. Many Americans disapproved and were very angry with him because America thinks sitting during the National Anthem is disrespectful to our military and our Nation. In an interview,32 Kaepernick said he was doing this because there is too much racial discrimination and police brutality against blacks. By the last preseason game, Kaepernick was kneeling instead of sitting because he respects the former and current military and he thought sitting was too disrespectful against the military. As the NFL season continues, so does Kaepernick's protest. Americans should be for the National Anthem Protest because the protest is fighting racial discrimination and police brutality.

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams. It is the most popular sports league in the United States. While the NFL mainly consists of football, some players find the need to bring politics into the league. These politics include racial discrimination and police brutality. Even though these issues need to be taken care of in this country, the National Football League is not the place to deal with these political problems.

The NFl is a place where fans can go and forget about their worries but, the NFL has now been corrupted with political opinion and many fans are unhappy about it. The recent stunt is proving nothing to change the causes that is” supposedly” trying to stop. In the blog “Now I have had enough” by Brandon

People are starting to boycott the NFL do to NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem. If people don’t watch the games the players don’t get money. The players who are kneeling are causing the cable company to not get as much money because people aren't watching on tv. The players could get fired because they’re kneeling and the NFL teams won’t get paid. The players also might not get to play as much because

Our country is not much different in that regard as division seems to be the overarching theme. This controversy must end before the NFL and our country as a whole can

On August 26, 2016 Colin Kaepernick “Took a stand” by not standing during the National Anthem before the preseason game. This angered many fans, including African American fans. Many videos have gone viral, of fans burning Kaepernick's jersey. In one video the man was recorded saying, “if you don't love our country, get the [] out of it. You should never play another down in the NFL. Move to Canada." Although, Kaepernick broke no rules, Officials are still thinking about penalizing him. Kaepernick says that he will not honor a flag for a country that oppresses people of color. Many people wonder how he knows what it is like to be oppressed making 126 million dollars a year.” Another fact that has angered fans is that Kaepernick was adopted

The NFL (National Football League) had revenue of roughly 9 billion dollars last year, and according to commissioner Roger Goodell by 2027 revenue will reach $25 billion [3]. Although the plan Goodell laid out may be feasible with expansions and TV rights, he may be overlooking a huge roadblock in his path. To build such a castle, you must make sure every brick is taken care off and handled properly, and in the case of the NFL the bricks are the players.

Trump and the NFL both feel that their views are valid, however, his comments and tweets have only caused more players to take a stand and protest. The players do not see things in the same way as the President. While he considers them to be disrespectful to their country, the players feel that they are exercising their freedoms. When they take a knee, or link arms, they are taking advantage of the freedoms that those in the military have found so hard to give them.

Have you ever sat down on Thursday, Monday, or Sunday to watch some espn NFL Football? Well I certainly have, Have you ever just looked at the players and realized they're getting paid millions to represent our country? Then they just start kneeling at games, That makes me disappointed in them for millions they still don’t respect the flag. Whenever I see a player kneel I always think, why are you kneeling, who even started this, and when was this started.