Recently there have been some controversy where athletes refuse to stand for the national anthem but instead they kneel. Questions that are lingering in my mind and to other people is should they stand or can they kneel?

In my opinion I feel like you are representing the United States no matter what team you are on or wether you're playing football, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, etc. You still need to stand and respect the flag and for the people that fought for our country and ultimately sacrificed their lives so that we can live safely. State Representative David Nangle of Massachusetts expressed his disgust about players such as Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers to the NFL. He stated in his letter “ I was disgusted then, and am now, at the blatant lack of respect shown by Mr. (Colin) Kaepernick during the playing of our national anthem," Nangle said. "How disrespectful it has been for him to thumb his nose at our flag and anthem. At the very least he should stand at proper attention for a minute and a half, as should all players, before they play the game.”

I believe that when you kneel it is like you are sitting so the rest of your teammates are standing respecting the national and what? You are sitting/kneeling? Why? So you can suspend someone like Tom Brady for deflating footballs but you can’t be suspended for kneeling during the national anthem? Colin Kaepernick and other fellow NFL football players that are kneeling during the National Anthem: you are setting a bad example for younger kids. In elementary, middle, and high school you have been taught to always stand for the pledge of allegiance. You are suppose to be role models for these kids not setting bad example for them and then they think that it is ok to kneel for the national anthem.

Yes, we are a free country where you can do whatever but is it that hard to stand for just 5 minutes while the national anthem is being played? To those like Colin Kaepernick when you were a kid and you watched a football game on TV, did you see anyone kneel during the National Anthem? No? I didn’t think so. Whether you are trying to be cool or something it is not something to be proud of. You are in a way disrespecting our country and you can keep doing what you are doing but just remember you will be criticized for it and I think that you deserve it. You put yourself in this situation. Stop disrespecting our country.