We have a new year upon us in the NFL and only heightened debate on whether we should keep our national anthem in place before every game.
This year many teams are competing to join the elite teams such as the Cleveland Browns with new quarterback Baker Mayfield who they hope will lead them to there first playoff appearance in over fifteen years when they made the playoffs only to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Other teams like the Los Angeles Rams are trying to break through the playoffs and into the Super Bowl for the first time in over two decades. The New England Patriots are trying to stay on top as Super Bowl Champions with the all-time great quarterback Tom Brady at the helm.
The Steelers are trying to make it back to the super bowl with Ben Roethlisberger at QB with Le'Veon Bell at running back and Antonio Brown and Martavious Bryant at wide receiver. They also have a better defense with another selection of a defensive lineman and defensive back on defense with the leadership of T.J. Watt the Steelers are looking to make it back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2010.
Many teams like the Washington Redskins are looking to catch up and have a winning season with the trade of Kirk Cousins and the implementation of Alex Smith into the lineup as QB. However, there is one main question that still lurks behind all these main headlines in the National Football League and that is how will the league and the players handle the national anthem and what comes with it this 2018 season.
Last year the players began to protest what the president said at a political rally in Alabama had said about Colin Kaepernick and others protesting the national anthem. Trump was on camera referencing Kaepernick by saying, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could get all these NFL owners to say, "Get that son of an (expletive) off the field right now." While this is disturbing at many levels it is only one of the many controversial things the President of The United States has said throughout his first two years of his presidency.
The players started to kneel after the president had said this and they continue to kneel in the preseason of this year's professional football preseason games. Many players still feel like the score has not been settled on what to do with the national anthem. Many want the anthem to be taken away from NFL games for good.
Players and media personalities alike all say that the National Anthem just adds to the divisions of different players on the field rather than adding something that is beneficial and that could bring all the players together. Many agree that the National Anthem will never bring all the players together because many black athletes believe that they are still being suppressed by a government and society who still won't accept them fully as equals. White players and Caucasian people, in general, tend to think otherwise.
White players tend to believe that our national anthem should be respected because of the service members in our military and the sacrifices they make on a daily basis to keep the American people safe. They tend to give the respect to our armed forces and past generations of war heroes that deserve all Americans recognition rather than think about concerns that the black community has about how they are being treated by police forces on a daily basis.
To many, the Anthem is supposed to represent the strength, power, and loyalty all Americans should have in our country. They think that it shows how great the United States is and how the freedoms we have to create the opportunities that ensure the success and comfortable living for every person who lives in America.
These people tend to believe that the flag and the anthem give the players the opportunity in and of itself to train and play the game that they love football. They believe that the freedom that African Americans already have to give them the freedom to do what they want and work for who they want. Many say that they have to follow the rules of their organization and that in some cases means not kneeling for the pledge which many organizations such as the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers have already decided upon before the 2018 season starts.
The most fascinating aspect of this is not if the league ends it because undoubtedly they will, it's if the players decide to end it. When and how they decide to finally say we are done protesting and we feel as though are needs are met, the protests will unfortunately continue. At this point, there are no NFL officials who know exactly when this spectacle around the anthem will end.
This is why the anthem protests are so interesting. No one knows when the players will decide that they are finally being treated fairly both on and off the field. It is still an open question that may or may not be answered this year. Caucasian players want the controversy to end because they chose to respect the anthem as it currently is as they view as more of scandal rather than a protest.
Until players can find a common ground and understanding of each other on this issue the league will only continue to have these same problems. Scuffles on the field, in practice, and in the locker room sometimes are related to this issue. The open dialogue has been passionate and at time heated over the past year on what the NFL should do about the anthem.
One can only debate on whether the league will implement measures to take out the national anthem completely. This upcoming season will not only determine the new champion of the national football league, it will determine the future of our traditions at large sporting events and how the game of football transcends into our government structure and society overall.
Only time will tell how this issue will turn out. All I know is that all of us sports fans will be there watching.
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