In the last couple of weeks, we have seen many different athletes either kneeling or sitting for when the national anthem has been played at sporting events. It has drawn a variety of reactions: from aghast to supportive for the athletes exercising their First Amendment rights.
The one who started it all, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, has been especially getting a lot more attention than since his rookie season when he took the 49ers to the Super Bowl as a backup quarterback.
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Ever since he sat for the national anthem during the Niners’ preseason game against Green Bay, which he has done in protest of the, as he calls it, “oppression of people of color,” Kaepernick has been a polarizing figure; many have criticized him while others have shown support of his protest.
Since then, many others have joined him in protest; such as Jeremy Lane of the Seattle Seahawks, Brandon Marshall, the linebacker for the Denver Broncos, and even the entire Seahawks team has planned a protest. I personally would not do something like this but our First Amendment right of freedom of speech allows us to do something like this. The NFL even said that they “encourage, but don’t require” their players to stand for the national anthem.
I think it is time we start looking at the issues that the protestors are protesting instead of criticizing the protestors for taking a stand in something they believe in. If we didn’t take a stand against something, our country would not exist in the first place.
Now that it's caught on, I don't think we need an update every time someone decides to take a knee when the national anthem plays, especially with Kaepernick because we know he's going to do it until "things change" and the flag "stands for what it represents."
I understand this issue is very sensitive to some people but this is why we have freedom of speech: to voice our opinions on topics that some may be too afraid to talk about. We can all change the world with one simple action because actions speak louder than any words that can be said.
