Here in America, we live in the “Land of the free and the home of the brave.” When one thinks of the ideal America, he/she thinks of freedom, the American dream, and equality for all. In our great country, we have all these freedoms and chances that make citizens of other countries want to come here. From an outsider’s point of view, we are perfect, the dream-like place to grow. In a country undoubtedly filled with strong nationalism, there are still categories where we fall short. There are innocent men of color having their lives threatened by the unjust treatment of police officers, getting pulled over because of the color of their skin, and getting discriminated against because of how they were born. We do not live in a perfect society and over the last two years, players in the NFL have brought that to light in a movement started by former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick. He has started a coalition involving protesting racial injustice during the playing of the national anthem and has taken intense criticism along the way. Although he could have chosen a better, and less controversial place to voice his dissent, any man of color, specifically NFL players, should be able to protest as he pleases and exercise his First Amendment Right for a cause he believes in.

As opposed to making signs, contacting relevant authorities, or speaking to the media, Kaepernick chose to spread his word by sitting, which eventually shifted to kneeling, during the National Anthem played prior to every football game. He was framed as being unpatriotic, ungrateful, arrogant, and an opportunist (Boyce). When asked for a response on why he went through with his actions, Kaepernick responded by saying “I am not going to stand to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color” (The Undefeated). Following this, the movement officially began. Other NFL players chose to participate and certain media outlets began to voice their discontent over the recent events. One year later, the movement is still going strong, but Kaepernick is unemployed with his next contract offer not in sight. Even without their leader, the protests continue, but they gained one powerful, important critic along the way: President Donald Trump. After calling the protesters “Sons of bitches” and insisting they should be “Fired” at an Alabama rally, the players and owners of the NFL fought back. In response to the comments, entire NFL teams, owners included, participated in the protests for this week only and certain teams refused to even take the field as the anthem was being played. This week caused massive confusion as it wasn’t to protest racial inequality, it was to protest President Trump’s comments. The following week, Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, and Adam Gase, head coach of the Miami Dolphins, reiterated their rule that if any player kneels for the national anthem, they will be benched. Given this, Kaepernick still having yet to be signed to an NFL roster after expressing his want to play, and even saying he will stand during the anthem if signed, Kaepernick’s team decided to go ahead and sue the NFL in accusing them of “blackballing” him. So if there is a place where protest is not accepted, it is definitely in a place filled with 32 non African American owners and one white commissioner controlling the league like hand puppets.

Beyond Kaepernick, others have stepped up including most notably safety for the Philadelphia Eagles, Malcolm Jenkins, wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks, Doug Baldwin, and defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks, Michael Bennett. Jenkins has been with the movement since week three of the 2016 NFL season when he demonstrated by throwing his fist in the air when the national anthem was being played. Baldwin was more on the outside looking in until he got confronted by the media following Trump’s comments in which he responded by saying, “He acts like a child craving attention and any attention will do… For all the hate and negativity that has come from Trump’s presidency, I am still hopeful for justice and love to win out” (Wisniewski). Bennett’s opinions were backed more by personal experience. When in Las Vegas attending the Floyd Mayweather – Conor McGregor fight, he was confronted and detained by the Las Vegas Police Department. When complying with the officer’s commands not to move, the officer allegedly placed his gun near his head and warned him that if he moved, he would “Blow (his) fucking head off” (Pierce). Having first hand experienced what Kaepernick was kneeling for in the first place, Bennett is now a big voice in the protest movement. 

Just as recently stated, one of the biggest roadblocks in the kneeling saga has been President of the United States, Donald Trump. With everything he says carrying the weight of his office, Trump has been one of the most vocal opponents to the kneeling, with the thought process of “Kneeling in sorrow is both a sign of disrespect for the rules of the game and a desecration of the American flag” (Williams). That is the most popular form of disagreement among the opposition whether it be from heavily right-leaning Republicans or the guy with the matching red, white, and blue tank top and shorts. When the average person sees someone not stand for our country’s national anthem, a social norm, people who do not know much about the topic or cause tend to react negatively, attacking the protestors by connecting the protests to when it is going down, during the national anthem. Usually when asked, one of the players involved will give you an answer similar to Brandon Marshall, linebacker for the Denver Broncos: “I’m not against the military. I’m not against the police or America. I’m against social injustice” (Thomas). At a time when people lock arms and come together for a time of honor, seeing some not participate can come off as disrespectful to the common eye and on a stage as big as the NFL’s, expecting people not to notice or comment on it is a wish one cannot expect to be granted.

Another significant counterargument, brought more in depth by Robert Tracinski, a writer for The Federalist, is that it is not what is being said but how it is coming across. He believes it is an “Ill-conceived form of protest” and it is “bound to backfire” (Tracinski). He associates most of the backlash the movement has gotten to incorrect symbolism, not being about police brutality to many and coming off as a protest against the national anthem. Many people, myself included, can agree that protesting like this on the NFL stage may have been the wrong move to make, giving the players an incorrect image that they do not deserve. Many see their weekly demonstrations the way they are supposed to be taken, as a way to bring awareness to an ongoing issue, but others take it as an attack on America, which was not their intention.

One of the biggest issues in this nationwide debate is that many who choose to have a say do not know the full scope of what is actually happening. While one can say, “they are kneeling to protest America” or “they are just doing all of this for attention”, some do not know what the players are actually kneeling for. What Eric Reid, a safety for the San Francisco 49ers and Colin Kaepernick’s former teammate, wrote in The New York Times about a year ago on the issue perfectly clarifies that ambiguity: “We spoke at length about many of the issues that face our community, including systematic oppression against people of color, police brutality and the criminal justice system … We chose to kneel because it’s a respectful gesture. I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy” (Williams). So, if an opponent thought they were being “disrespectful” by sitting, which was how it was when the movement started, they responded by starting to kneel instead, attempting to get the message across in a respectful manner. Also, if someone on the other side of the spectrum said that protesting was “disrespecting our flag,” what the players were trying to do was actually the opposite. They were kneeling as a way to resemble a flag flown at half-mast. Despite being in a country where everyone promotes equality and justice for all, protesting discrimination and trying to make that dream a reality is being disrespected and not met with open arms. In a group with no bad blood, no hatred, and no disrespect, being able to protest should not even be a question. If the average critic is able to talk about the course of events free of consequence, a perk of the country we live in, so should every player.

Even with the bad press, there is no better way than to spread awareness than through one of the biggest businesses in the world. Despite the incorrect image of protesting during our country’s national anthem, it brings unending publicity to their cause. It creates headlines, albeit not all positive headlines, but it gets people talking more than if the players had not used their platform to their advantage. Although the demonstrations could have occurred at a time with less controversy, like how some basketball players used their image and platform to their advantage by talking about a similar issue at the 2016 ESPYs, it was successful in bringing awareness for weeks in comparison to a couple of days had it been on a smaller scale. 

Looking toward the future, all there is to do is spread awareness. As much as I would like to not believe it, racism will never cease to exist. Although the contrary may be in writing now and enforced in the work place and in pay, just because discrimination is illegal does not mean it is invisible from society. Even the people trying to protect and enforce the law are some of the victims to this cause. There was the shooting of Amadou Diallo, forty-one times, by NYPD officers, the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, and the death of Eric Garner after being put in an illegal chokehold by an NYPD officer (Gafney). Instances like these are why Kaepernick started this movement in the first place. To say these events will go away is unrealistic. We do not live in a perfect world. Saying that they can be reduced, though, is what these players look towards. They are kneeling for equality and are not trying to destroy the image of America in the process. One stride got hit recently when the NFL owners and the Players Coalition tentatively agreed to contribute up to $100 million to social causes focused on black communities (BET). After two years of protesting, this is concrete proof that they actually got somewhere. The players finally got the league to contribute toward social justice change to help Black communities and to some, that is a win. Whether it was because the league did not want to risk their ratings dropping any more or because they actually have a heart, no one knows for certain except the people themselves, but this was definitely what some players had in mind, at least as a start, when the protests began. Some players even went as far as to say they will no longer protest and that they were satisfied. At least to myself, money does not buy change. The only proof that the protests have gone somewhere will be in the declining of police brutality instances, for example. 

Just as previously mentioned, the league has come a long way in the last two years, but things are not done. The next step is to debunk the supposed “blackballing” in the NFL and sign Kaepernick to an NFL contract, but this will not happen until the coming months as the season is starting to come to a close. NFL teams have signed more than thirty quarterbacks not named Colin Kaepernick to contracts since he opted out of his contract last March and putting him on an NFL roster would be living evidence that the owners have the backs of the players and will deal with the possible distractions in order to win (Gregory). As Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors, put it, “The NBA is more urban, the NFL is more conservative, and I think a lot of NFL fans are truly angry at Kaepernick, and I think owners are worried what it’s going to do to business” (Chiari). Once Kaepernick gets signed, it will be the next big step in the right direction because it would show that the owners are willing to take his talents along with his baggage and they will take a little heat in order to win. The NFL is in a better position even since the class started, but this is one of these issues where things will never be perfect and we will have to admit that. The only major victories that will be made are moral victories.
