The Importance Of Athletes In Sports

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 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

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.

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.

Players in the NFL must hate America, or at least that’s what some would say when talking about the issue of what players do during the national anthem. Early last year in 2016 a NFL player for the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kapernick, decided to take a stand by sitting on the bench during the national anthem. His reason was to bring awareness to police brutality, specifically with African Americans, in the United States. As you know, most people stand during the national anthem to show respect for the flag, our country, and the people who fight for it. In realization of what it meant to sit during the national anthem, Colin Kapernick decided to make a compromise by kneeling instead of sitting. His point on awareness to police brutality was clear by kneeling, but it also shows more respect to the women and men in the military, than sitting. Many players, not just African American players, have followed this movement. NFL players have the right to peacefully protest in this form and should not be penalized. This movement is a peaceful protest to bring awareness to police brutality, a practical way to grab the attention of people, and is a movement spreading further than the NFL.

In addition, recently a National Football League player took a knee during the national anthem at a game to alert people of the unjust treatment police officers apprehend on African Americans. In "The Whitewashing Of #TakingAKnee," Prescod-Weinstein wrote: "Rather than celebrate America, Colin Kaepernick sat down and demanded that people watching pay attention to police brutality and more broadly the anti-blackness which is fundamental to the fabric of America." ( Weinstein, 2). This demonstrates a NFL player exercising his right to speak out on police brutality toward African Americans in the United

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.

Colin Kaepernick feels that minorities are not being heard, so he used his higher status to draw attention to the racial inequality by not standing during the national anthem, instead he took a knee. The author of this article feels that the playing of the national anthem has brought politics into the NFL as opposed to Kaepernick as some people feel. However, this article also touches on the fact that his teammate at one point had also taken a knee in support of Kaepernick’s efforts. The way he chose to express his feelings has caused him to be viewed in a negative spotlight by many people all over the country. There are people even outside of the United States who have heard about this controversial situation Kaepernick has been going through.

NFL players across the league have launched a new protest to take a stand against police brutality against unarmed African Americans. This protest takes place during the national anthem of the United States of America when players take a knee rather than standing at attention with hand over heart. Colin Kaepernick started this movement in 2016 when he felt that he did not want to honor a country that allows such violence on minorities. While police brutality is a serious problem in America, taking a knee during the national anthem is not the proper way to protest this issue. This protest is a disrespectful and a waste of effort protesting at the wrong times and offending countless people.

Protest of the national anthem in sports started in the 2016 National Football League season (NFL) when San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, kneeled during the anthem. In an article written by sports enterprise reporter Nancy Armour, Kaepernick gave an explanation for his protest “Racism. Discrimination. Police brutality. Economic inequality.”(Armour). Kaepernick started a trend within the NFL causing multiple teams to either kneel or sit down during the national anthem; in response to this, President Donald Trump according to Erik Brady a sports reporter for USA Today stated “NFL owners to fire players who don't stand for the national anthem”(Brady). Every NFL team protested by locking arms, sitting or kneeling during the national anthem due to what Trump said about the protesters.

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.

In 2016, Kaepernick gained national attention when he began protesting the alleged oppression of black people by not standing while the United States national anthem was being performed before the start of games. His actions prompted a wide variety of responses, including additional athletes in the NFL and other U.S. sports leagues protesting in various ways during the

In today’s society, Colin Kaepernick has made a stand in which what he believes in and what others think it is doing wrong for not standing up for the National Anthem. Kaepernick’s stand has made an impact to the NFL and all over U.S, his kneeling during the National Anthem cost him a fine of millions of dollars. The 49ers have lost a tremendous amount of fans for what Colin has done, but many other NFL Players have starting backing up with Kaepernick’s action like the linebacker for the Miami Dolphins Jelani Jenkins, Free safety for the 49ers Eric Reid also believes the same way as Kaepernick. I believe in Kaepernick’s action even though it might lack the allegiance to the flag but it still means something to the ones who believe in what