The Freedom Of Rights : Colin Kaepernick And The First Amendment

First Amendment rights are like an antique; they have been around for a while, and people will treasure them for years to come. Americans have valued First Amendment rights since the constitution was written, and still do to this day. As well as valuing them, Americans are also willing to fight for their rights; whether it is by going to court, picketing, or protesting. As a result of this willingness to fight, we have seen many court cases and protests about First Amendment rights, and will likely continue to see these for a long time.

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

After all the talk, some have determined Colin Kaepernick has rights, but that does not make him right for not standing during the national anthem. For some who may not know, Colin Kaepernick is a famous football player for the San Francisco 49ers. He recently refused to stand for the national anthem before his game in protest of what he deems are wrongdoings against African American in the United States.

Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers quarterback, started much controversy against America when he remained seated for the national anthem during a preseason game against the San Diego Chargers. Kaepernick seems to had developed an enmity against America. He feels that he and fellow African American athletes should not show patriotism to their country because of the unfair treatment their ancestors went through throughout history. Although Kaepernick does have a point about the racial discrimination colored people went through throughout American history, he still has no right to disrespect his country. Kaepernick himself is not black, he is white, but he is just drawing attention to himself.

Colin Kaepernick sat on the bench while the national anthem played during a preseason game for the San Francisco 49ers. It went unnoticed at first for two games before a photo from Jennifer Lee Chan of Niners Nation showed the quarterback sitting on the bench during the anthem in the 49ers’ third preseason game of 2016. The reasoning behind taking a Knee, Kaepernick told the media he chose to sit to protest the oppression of people of color in the United States and ongoing issues with police brutality. Kaepernick become aware of many of the challenges facing African American males seemed to be growing to an almost daily occurrence, Kaepernick decided to protest social injustice, particularly the killing of unarmed black men by law enforcement agencies. He started

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.

“Civil Disobedience,” by Henry David Thoreau is similar to the point the NFL star Colin Kaepernick is trying to get across. Henry says at the end of his writing The Civil Disobedience “Let Every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it,” he is saying if people will start speaking up they will start to take notice what people is actually saying and wanting. NFL star Colin Kaepernick doing national anthem he will take a knee and not stand because of all the Black African Americans that's getting killed. Not just Black African American, but all the innocent that's getting served no justice. Both had spoke out against the governor and that's how Thoreau and Kaepernick are

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.

What do you think about professional athletes protesting? It shouldn’t matter there people too, just like you and me. Although did you ever think that once their professionals things are different? Take in consideration how coaches or their team looks after a player protest. It looks horrific but as a free country the people are titled to their own opinion. Overall, professional athletes should be able to protest against current events in the world even with their athletic status.

Over a year ago, Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick made the first major protest. Surprisingly, it was not immediately noticed by the media. He simply sat on the benches during the national anthem. Kaepernick made headlines when he sat during the 49ers third preseason game, but he aslo sat during the first two as well, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

The San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback, Colin Kaepernick has been at the center of attention for quite a while now. He is now known for his infamous kneeling or sitting during the National Anthem. He has received both positive and negative feedback regarding his actions. Some may view his actions as right and justifiable, but his actions show nothing but disrespect and a lack of patriotism.

It all began with Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick, a well known quarterback for the San Fransisco 49ers, failed to stand during the National Anthem in August of 2016. His failure to stand was a form of protest. Colin felt that the country was not protecting all of the

This national anthem protest started when Colin Kaepernick decided to take a seat during the anthem, as opposed to the tradition of standing, before one his preseason NFL games in 2016. This act by the famous 49ers quarterback (Kaepernick) did not go unnoticed as he is a big name in

caught on and interviewed him, he told them his reasoning was to protest oppression of people of

Former 49ners player and Twenty-nine-year-old Colin Kaepernick has started one of the utmost controversial movements of this year. These events started in August of 2016 when Kaepernick first sat out during the national anthem at a preseason game. Taking a knee to protest the events where systemic oppression against people of color, police brutality, and the criminal justice system violently were all being projected, he didn’t want to stand for something he didn’t agree with. Kaepernick has received so much hate for this one action and has even lost his job and became a free agent. Although these negatives have come upon him in the end the effect he has on America will be even greater.