The old verbiage of “Tebowing” took America by force in early 2011 when Tim Tebow led the Denver Broncos to several 4th quarter comeback victories against top-flight opponents. After those victories Tebow knelt down on one knee and held a clenched fist against his forehead, a pose which would later become a national phenomenon thanks to several Broncos fans. Regardless of his actions, Tebow made a religious and political statement about his persona and endured the fanfare, both positive and negative, following his act. In spite of his downfall in the NFL, he set an example for other NFL players to stand up for what they believe in.
From “Tebowing” to “Kaepernicking” NFL players have found that Sundays are for more than just football, they are for political, personal and religious statements. In case you haven’t heard a few thousand times already, Colin Kaepernick decided to kneel during the national anthem as a form of protest to racial inequalities and injustices in the San Francisco 49ers third preseason game. His protest has not only received criticism and praise but several other athletes have followed his lead. But one place where you will not see players kneeling during the national anthem is on a team coached by John Tortorella.
Tortorella is currently the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the United States team that will travel to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. With coaching two professional teams comes a lot of responsibility and he recently stated that, "If any of my players sit on the bench for the national anthem, they will sit there the rest of the game,” or be thrown out entirely.
Of course, the World Cup is huge multinational stage for hockey and Tortorella does not want his players “misrepresenting” America, as blasphemous as that sounds. Regardless, it’s pretty clear that Tortorella didn’t receive Kaepernick’s message. In case you were wondering, Kaepernick is taking a stand against racial oppression in America today, there is nothing more American than that. Although he may not be spoon feeding the media quotes, his actions speak far louder than words. Furthermore, I hope all athletes receive Kaepernick’s message and speak out against societal problems instead of hiding behind their coaches and their million-dollar image.
