It is evident that protesting at athletic events has become a common trend over the past fifty years, and now with the National Football League’s constant turmoil, protesting is now more common than ever before.  Along with the current protests, there have also been past instances where athletes have protested the National Anthem, but none have garnished more popularity and criticism than those taking place right now in the world of sports.  The NFL is the clear platform where the major protests are occurring and being broadcasted in the mainstream news, but now with the NBA season starting, basketball players are just as willing to make a stance.  Sports entertainment is one of the top most consumed businesses on the planet and with the NFL having billions of views per season, this is a problem that can continue to affect the United States population as a whole.  In order to achieve respect from the fans of the NFL there needs to be rules implemented to gain back the respect some of the protests have tarnished and establish rules and guidelines so the players know the consequences.

Although the media portrays specific protests as bad-mannered, athletes protest for two main reasons: the disunity between races in America and police brutality against African Americans.  There have been a thorough amount of instances throughout this year that show how players of different races have come together to shed light on the lack of unity and police brutality going on in the world.  Equality within teams is a prominent theme as seen through Eagles player Chris Long, “putting his arm behind Malcolm Jenkins, African American, while Jenkins raised his fist in the air” (Mather).  This simple gesture by both players shows different communities and different races uniting and coming together.  It takes a lot for some of these athletes to muster up the courage and have the guts to perform these protests in front of tens of thousands of people on the field and knowing millions more off the field are watching.  These athletes “show guts knowing that they are going to get judged by the public” for the protests that they do, but yet they still “stand up for what they believe in” (Mower).  Athletes are willing to take the chance, on the hope that that these protests will be worth it in the long run if police brutality drastically changes and people start to come together regardless of race.

This trend of protests is not new at all, this being said, one of the most famous instances of protesting occurred years ago at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.  These protests occurred to challenge the civil rights at the time.  The athletes tried to boycott the Olympics due to the racial injustices going on in America in the sixties.  African American athletes were willing to give up the chance for an Olympic title and fame, claiming they “would not participate for the United States” (Hartmann).  The African American athletes were going to withdraw themselves from competing, but instead decided to protests on one of the biggest athletic stages in the world.  They attended and competed in the Olympics and when they got on the podium to receive their medals they used that time to protest to bring to light the injustices that were occurring back in the United States.  These protests are seen as an inspiration to many of the players that are protesting in the NFL today, because of the message the Olympic athletes were carrying. 

 Many athletes have claimed that they are not disrespecting the flag, but rather drawing attention to the racial inequality and police brutality in the United States.  The Cleveland Browns came out one game this year arm in arm with the Cleveland Police Department.  This protest made sense to fans, because by coming out with the Cleveland police force it shows the unity between them and it is an obvious protest to the police brutality that is going on.  Protests like this should set the guideline for protests that athletes can make in the future.  It is a simple protest that is reflective of the problem all while being respectful of the flag and United States.   Also, referencing back to the Chris Long and Malcolm Jenkins protest, it is clear that this is also another protest that has a clear goal behind it and there is “no sign of disrespect to the flag or country” (Tatum).  The Eagles players are protesting the racial injustice by having two players of different races coming together and showing unity.  This is another protest that makes sense and can help the NFL set a guideline for future protests.  

The protests in sports can be seen as not just a means to stop racial injustice or police brutality, but a jab at what this country has become.  The NFL for example isn’t the only league that participates in protests, although they are a major force behind it.  Excluding the playoffs and Super Bowl there is on average sixteen and a half million viewers per game, with each team playing sixteen games there are two hundred fifty six regular season games played each year.  That is equivalent to four and a quarter billion views each year, so the protests are on a platform that reaches a lot of people.  Along with the viewership of the games there are also the tens of thousands of people at each game and the people who watch the news since this has become such a broadcasted ordeal.  At the last Super Bowl there were not any protests, but you can bet that at this years’ Super Bowl there will be players protesting the National Anthem on one of the biggest stages in sports.  The players will do this to try and make a statement to the country that there needs to be change, I just hope that it is in a respectful manner.  With the media getting involved in the protests, fans and citizens of the United States have started to take sides on whether or not the protests are respectful or not.  A video of fans being interviewed about the protests makes it seem like the majority of fans have distaste for the protests.  There were twelve fans from different NFL teams that were interviewed and ten of the twelve said they opposed the idea of the protests.  They said the protests were “disrespectful” and were “taking the fun out of the game of football” (Rohan, ESPN).  What was most interesting about this video was how people of different races responded.  The two that didn’t think the protests were disrespectful were African American.  It seems that since the athletes say they are protesting for racial injustice and police brutality and that is a fear in many African Americans lives, it would make since thatpppppppppppppppppppppppp the African Americans that were interviewed side with them because they feel they are fighting for their problems.  

Another entity about the protests is the loss of television views.  In 2016 there was an average of sixteen and a half million views per game, this seems like a big number, but the views are actually down eight percent this year.  There used to be nearly eighteen million people watching each regular season game and this change in views can be attributed to the protests.  Mike Ozanian from Forbes says that this is due to the increase in protests that have been taking place in the NFL. Ozanian explains this in his article with graphs that shows the viewership declining since the protests,  “The millions of fewer views can be directly attributed to the protests since the views started declining in 2016, the year the protesting started” (Ozanian).  The protests that began with former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling has carried across the NFL and has affected the NFL’s viewership.  Mollie Hemingway wrote about five problems with the National Anthem protests in the NFL that ranges from the vague and unclear protest goals to the part the media has played in broadcasting the protests.  The unclear and vague protest goals was her first point and is a point a lot of people who are disgruntled with the protests make.  If the NFL players are trying to protest the racial injustice and police brutality in America than what does kneeling show besides disrespect?  The national anthem is paying respect to the people that have risked their lives or even died defending the United States and when you kneel instead of stand you are being disrespectful.  There are a handful of games that are played on foreign soil usually in London or Mexico.  A couple weeks ago there was a game that was being played in London where the players kneeled in protest to the National Anthem, yet when the song “God Save the Queen”, the British equivalent to the National Anthem, was played the players rose to their feet and showed their respect (Hemingway).  This is saddening that people go to a different country and disrespect their own country.  This means that players think there is a major problem in the United States that isn’t close to being resolved.  This is another reason there needs to be a standard for these protests that the league needs to implement. 

There have been a handful of NFL players that have spoken out on the protests such as superstars Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady along with other players that have weighed in.  (Kelley).  Kelley strategically thought about putting Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady in his title because of the influence they have on the fans and the game.  The fans have a lot of respect and admiration for both of these players who seemingly had similar views on the protests.  Rodgers and Brady both did not want to protest, but they would support their teammate’s decision even if it did not align with their beliefs.  Brady said, “I just want to support my teammates. I am never one to say, ‘Oh that is wrong. That is right.’ I do believe in what I believe in. I believe in bringing people together and respect and love and trust. Those are the values that my parents instilled in me. That is how I try and live every day” (Kelley).  After seeing their views it was obvious they were going to say whatever they felt was right to help their team stay united and win games, because if there is tension in the locker room from disagreement on the protests it will hinder the chances they win.  On the other hand Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints has come out to the media voicing his displeasure with the protests.  Brees was one of the few NFL players that demonstrated his feeling about the protests and how much he despised them.  He hated the idea that players were disrespecting something as sacred as the flag of the United States.  Brees said that he “disagrees wholeheartedly against the protests” and thought of it as “an oxymoron that you’re sitting down, disrespecting that flag that has given you the freedom to speak out”.  His comments were referring to the 2016 incident when Colin Kaepernick first started his protests.  “Brees came from a military background where both of his grandfathers had served in World War II” (Tripplett).  This is the reason he is not fond of the protests and is an activist against the protests.  Even the President of the United States, Donald Trump, articulated his stance on the National Anthem protests and saw them as being disrespectful.  Samantha Raphelson of NPR found out that more and more Americans are siding with Donald Trump rather than the NFL players.  Diane Hessan founder of C-Space, a market research company, conducted a study and found that, “Among the four hundred voters participating in a study she began last December, more than 40 percent supported the President on the NFL protests” (Raphelson).  Trumps views of the protests being disrespectful have certainly resonated with a lot of Americans, especially veterans and people with ties to the military.  With there being so many people that agree with Trumps view the NFL should implement rules so the players know how they can protest.  

There have been some sports leagues that have strayed away from the National Anthem protests such as NASCAR and the MLS.  Although the NFL has had their fair share of protests they are not the only sports leagues that have had to deal with protests such as the MLB, NCAA, and most importantly NBA who have all had athletes that have protested.  The NBA is the second biggest sport and league in the United States behind the NFL and it fits the criteria and has the potential to have the same effect as the NFL if they were to protest.  So far there have been minute protests going on throughout the NBA and Corey Kelly is studying the NBA’s reaction to the National Anthem protests throughout sports.  Kelly looks into how protests in the NFL have changed the way basketball players in the NBA are treating the National Anthem.  NBA players have not had any disrespectful protests in a league that is filled with predominantly African Americans; the most linkable protest to the NFL was when the players linked arms.  Along with the linking of arms NBA players have also worn shirts in warmups that have sayings and slogans on them that support the Black Lives Matter movement, for example back in 2014 Lebron James, the number one basketball player on the planet, wore a shirt that said I can’t breathe, the last words of Eric Garner before he was killed by the police in an act of police brutality.  This is an instance where the NBA is ahead of the NFL because there protests have meaning behind them and they are not being seen as disrespectful.  It seems that the NFL players that are protesting the National Anthem should take a page out of the NBA’s book on how to protest.  

Despite whatever side fans may stand for, one thing is clear. National Anthem protests have taken this country by storm, forcing the population to open up their eyes to racial injustice and police brutality in America.  Protests at NFL games have translated to fans at Buffalo Wild Wings kneeling while the National Anthem is being played over the TV before a game.  Within the last year and a half, the NFL as a brand has been tarnished by these protests, while there has been little change in the police brutality and racial injustice in America.  Colin Kaepernick, the football player who began the trend, is still not back on the field.  Despite his Super Bowl appearance and the lack of capable quarterbacks in the league he still cannot find his way onto and NFL roster.  With there being ninety six quarterbacks in the NFL, it is not hard to believe that his absence from the league is due to his protests.  Everyone’s stance on the protests can be directed back to either their race or background.  The majority of people who agree that the protests aren’t being disrespectful tend to be African American, and on the other hand, the people who see the protests as disrespectful are other ethnicities. This can be related to the racial injustice and police brutality that African Americans struggle with on a day to day basis and these players are acting as their voice.  The people that view the protests as disrespectful should hope to see the NFL implement rules that help improve their brand and change the way the players protest.  If the players’ main goal is to demonstrate racial unity and fight against police brutality, then link arms with a police force or unite with different races like Chris Long and Malcolm Jenkins, but do not kneel and disrespect our country.  
