Regardless of whether or not you're a football fan, you probably have had no choice but to be aware of what has been going on in the football community. Majority of American's have taken to social media to express their outrage- or approval- of the events going on in the NFL. I will recap everything for you, just in case you've missed it.
Colin Kaepernick:
As quarterback for the San Francisco 49'ers, Kaep is a very well known athletic figure. His actions arguably sparked the most recent events. During a preseason game, Kaepernick decided to sit during the national anthem- A silent protest to show support for people of color who are being oppressed in the United States, and to take a stand against police brutality. His sitting went unnoticed for two games (not in uniform and not playing). It was his third pre-season game, on August 26th, when someone finally noticed. On September 1st teammate Eric Reid (safety) expressed support to Kaepernick before the game, and joined his efforts by taking a knee during the national anthem himself. Then, Kaepernick wore a pair of police pig socks (seen below) to a practice. Completely outraging the law enforcement officials. 
Other teams and players decide to stand behind Kaepernick:
Jeremy Lane (cornerback) of the Seattle Seahawks, and Brandon Marshall (linebacker) of the Denver Broncos sit during the national anthem to show their support for Kaepernick's actions.
NFL won't allow Dallas Cowboys to wear a decal supporting the police:
The Dallas Cowboys had been wearing the Arm in Arm decal (seen below) on their helmets during training camp, to show their support for the incident in Dallas, causing the death of an officer. The team announced that they will need to remove the decals when they started the preseason schedule. The decal was said a violation of NFL uniform policy and they wouldn't allow it.
The first Sunday Night Football of the regular season:
The first Sunday night football game of the regular season fell on the 15 year anniversary of September 11th. And boy oh boy did it bring a lot of controversy. First, the Seattle Seahawks were planning on sitting for the national anthem, as a whole TEAM, for their game against the Miami Dolphins. I am very very happy to say, that Russell Wilson posted a photo to his Instagram (seen below) on Saturday night, with a caption stating they changed their mind. His caption reads "CHANGE can Only happen TOGETHER. Unity. Love. Forgiveness. Change. We are linking arms and standing to Stand Up for Social Justice, Love & Peace for All. #BuildABridge. The Question is... Will you?" I commend him for that.
Now while I wish I could happily report that all athletes were respectful this 9/11, I cannot. Four Miami Dolphins players, Kenny Stills (wide receiver), Michael Thomas (wide receiver), Arian foster (running back), and Jelani Jenkins (linebacker), took a knee during the national anthem.
Also on 9/11, a few athletes wanted to wear special cleats designed to remember those who had fallen. Titans linebacker, Avery Williamson, was threatened to be fined to the maximum ability if he wore his special cleats during his game. The Police Union offered to pay any reasonable fine so that him as well as other athletes could wear them. Avery Williamson of the Tennessee Titans, as well as Victor Cruz and Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants, all proudly wore these cleats (seen below) to their games.
**If you would like all players to have to stand for the national anthem, a petition can be found here: http://www.standunited.org/petition/require-all-pl...
