Ray Lewis Theoretical Analysis

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 president of the United States who is also the commander in chief for the United States military, Obama, has stated that everyone is strongly encouraged to stand during the playing of the countries national anthem. However he continued to say in a press conference with Cable News Network that Colin Kaepernick is exercising his constitutional rights of freedom of speech to do as he wishes during this time (Diaz, 2016). Although the nation is now divided upon whether this act of Colin’s is considered morally ethical or not, everyone has their very own personal preference to what is right.

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

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.

Sports, particularly football, has became a political debate in September. The author of the article, CNN Sophie Tatum, called “Athletes, activists spar on kneeling National Anthem protests”. She explained that President Donald Trump began to criticize players on his twitter account who would kneel during the national anthem to protest against police brutality. Sophie Tatum writes that Trump and his aides are arguing that the protests are unpatriotic and disrespectful to the flag. Trump also adds that it is disrespectful to the people who fought to protect our country. Although players argue that they are just exercising free speech. In the beginning of the article Sophie Tatum adds an interview, Spike Lee, who is speaking out for the players who take a knee. He defends the players that they are simply protesting against law enforcement and want to be heard on the issues at hand. Reading the title of the article before I read the rest and

"It's an oxymoron that you're sitting down, disrespecting that flag that has given you the freedom to speak out" (Brees). Many athletes have expressed what they believe in by taking action. Some are disrespectful actions and others are meaningful in spreading their cause. A big representation, especially across the NFL, is kneeling while our country’s anthem is played. The movement across the league of kneeling was introduced by Colin Kaepernick, QB of the 49ers. Many people think that what he and other players are doing is the wrong way to represent a cause and that it needs to be fixed.

Picture this, an NFL player getting on the field and warming up. Then, as the game gets closer to starting the field clears so they could get the flag on the field to do the national anthem. This is when something tragically happens. This is when some NFL players kneel during the national anthem. Many people think that protesting the national anthem by kneeling is a bad thing. However, it’s what the players feel like doing even though it is a little disrespectful. Many players kneeled on one day and that was when president Trump made a comment about football.

In between these protest and meetings, President Donald Trump has been bashed the protest and ordering NFL to suspend the players that have knelt during

Right now in the NFL the football teams are kneeling for the National Anthem. This all started with Colin Kaepernick protesting the police and the inequality that people of color in the United States in August of 2016. The players are protesting the injustices people of color still face in America today. The message that the players are trying to send has been misunderstood. Some have said that the players are attempting to disrespect the country, national anthem, flag, and military by taking a knee this is incorrect. Part of this confusion came from initial misunderstanding, then it grew even greater when Trump spoke at his rally in Alabama. The players are protesting systematic oppression against people of color, police brutality, and the

In the past weekend in the NFL, players, coaches and team owners alike took a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice in the United States. The first person to bring this topic in to the limelight was 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. There were waves of exalt and hate storming towards Kaepernick but what did it mean for the NFL almost a year after that incident it seems as if the whole league has caught on. Yet this peaceful protest has been under scrutiny especially by President Trump who exclaimed that athletes taking a knee should be fired. There are also, certain folks who believe that the flag is sacred and should be respected as such and anything others id disrespectful towards the country and the people who die

The NFL protests started back in 2016 with Colin Kaepernick. He quietly started sitting during the anthem, and eventually kneeling, to protest police brutality. He said that “he would not stand to show pride for a flag that oppresses black people.” Other players soon joined the movement, and fans criticized them because they said that they were disrespecting the United States. The protests really blew up this year after President Donald Trump said that NFL players that are kneeling should be fired, and he even called them “sons of b*****s.” After this, many NFL players and teams started to kneel and lock arms during the National Anthem, and some even stayed in their locker rooms during the National Anthem. Protests have continued for weeks, and this has divided fans. Many fans support the players’ decisions, but many also do not support them, and have threatened to boycott the NFL. This led to Roger Goodell, the League Commissioner, to send a letter to all the NFL teams asking them to stand for the National Anthem.

In a demonstration of solidarity, more than one hundred and thirty NFL players have chosen to sit, kneel, or raise a fist during the national anthem. This is a movement that began last season when 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick chose to take a knee to protest police brutality against people of color. Although Kaepernick didn’t have much support from fellow players at the time, a recent turn of events has changed things. President Donald Trump’s recent commentary calling out those who chose to protest created contempt for him in the NFL community. In Megan Garber’s 2017 article entitled “They Took a Knee,” she examines exactly what Trump said and considers the impact of his words. It is indisputable that both the NFL players and our President

Roger Goodell,the NFL commissioner, was immediately interviewed after saying, "Well my personal thoughts are... I support our players when they want to see change in society, and we don't live in a perfect society. We live in an imperfect society. On the other hand, we believe very strongly in patriotism in the NFL. I personally believe very strongly in that. I think it's important to have respect for our country, for our flag, for the people who make our country better; for law enforcement, and for our military who are out fighting for our freedoms and our ideals."These are all important things for us, and that moment is a very important moment. So, I don't necessarily agree with what he is doing. We encourage our players to be respectful in that time and I like to think of it as a moment where we can unite as a country. And that's what we need more, and that's what I think football does - it unites our country. So I would like to see us focusing on our similarities and trying to bring people together.” after all this Kaepernick protests, players the Denver Broncos middle linebacker, and other players around the league, protested with

In addition, people have the right to show support for something they believe without the use of violence. I personally believe the football player’s protests expand after president Trump speech on Friday, September 22, 17 “wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespect our flag, you’d say, get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired” (4-5). He refers to a previous game where a few NFL players, according to Trump they disrespect the flag by kneeling during the national anthem. In addition, on Sunday Sept 24, 2017, some NFL Players protest without inciting the public participation; other players from The National Basketball Association add to the protest. Everyone interprets anything as they

Last August in 2016, little did we know something happened that was the start of a huge controversy leading to problems right now. Before the start of a NFL 49ers football game, someone was singing the famous national anthem and a player by the name of Colin Kaepernick chose to sit down instead of stand. Continuing to sit down or kneel has led to many arguments and discussions over the past year. President Trump looked into it and has chipped in his opinion. Trump has said many ‘insulting’ words making most other football players want to stand behind Kaepernick. Many see the idea of kneeling during the national anthem as a sign of disrespect to our nation’s flag, troops, people, and ideas, while many others see the protest as freedom of speech.