It's been close to a year since Colin Kaepernick decided to sit for the National Anthem. Since then there has been public outrage and various debates on whether or not NFL players should be allowed to kneel during the National Anthem. The NFL should allow the players to protest during the National Anthem because not doing so would be unconstitutional and they would be restricting the rights of the athletes.
People can disagree with the government, and some people express that disagreement by burning the flag. At one point, it was not allowed in this country. Gregory Lee Johnson set an American flag on fire at the 1984 Republican National Convention and he broke a state law for desecrating a flag. Gregory was fined and served some time in jail for his actions. He appealed the decisions and the case went to the Supreme Court. They ruled in favor of Johnson in a 5-to-4 vote, saying that a person has the right to disagree with the government by burning the flag (Brennan). The actions of both Kaepernick and Johnson’s can be seen as disrespectful of the flag, but they are protected by the constitution and they have the right to express their stance. The irony is that people who say that NFL players shouldn’t stand are using their free speech to tell others not to use theirs.
Amanda Orlando Kesterson wrote an article for the Boston Globe on why NFL players shouldn’t be allowed to kneel. She claimed that NFL players shouldn’t be allowed to kneel because their actions represent the league and the team that they play for and once they put on their jersey they are an employee representing the team (Kesterson). Admittedly, their actions do represent the league and the team that they play for, but their actions off the field have more of a negative impact then what they do on the field. The NFL has an incredibly high number of players who encounter the law off the field and are ruining the image of their team and league. According to USA today since 2000, 870 players have encountered the law (Schrotenboer). To put that into perspective that is enough players to fill out 16 professional teams. The player’s actions will always represent them, the NFL, and the teams that they play for on and off the field, there is no denying that. The player’s actions off the field tarnish the NFL’s brand more than peacefully protesting. The NFL should worry more about the player’s arrest record instead of whether or not they kneel right before games.
Another reason why people don’t support NFL players who kneel during the national anthem is that they disrespect the brave men and women who go overseas and fight for our country. Without a doubt, we should respect the men and women who fight and died for our country and treat them as the heroes that they are. However, the soldiers fight for our freedoms and one of those is the freedom of speech and the right to protest. Eric Ried is one of the first players to kneel alongside Colin Kaepernick. In an article on why Colin and he kneeled he said ,"It has always been my understanding that the brave men and women who fought and died for our country did so to ensure that we could live in a fair and free society, which includes the right to speak out in protest" (Reid).
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| Eric Ried and Colin Kaepernick (Ried on the left and Kapernick on the right) |
The NFL should allow players to kneel during the national anthem because they’re protected by the first amendment and their intentions aren’t to offend any people who have served in the military. In addition, their actions off the field have a more of a negative effect towards the NFL and the team that they play for then peacefully protesting. Lastly, Roger Goodell the NFL commissioner has recently stated that he will allow players to kneel during the national anthem without any repercussions (Thomas). Kneeling during the national anthem is becoming a part of football and it is becoming more of a norm each Sunday all because of Colin Kaepernick. When Colin started to protest, he jeopardized his career and millions of dollars because he “stood up” for what he believed is right. He should be praised for his actions becuase he ignored the criticism sent his way and continued to protest. Would you be patriotic enough to do the same?
Works Cited
Brennan, William J. Collections . Vol. 11, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Kesterson, Amanda Orlando . “Should NFL players be punished for kneeling during the national anthem? - The Boston Globe.” BostonGlobe.com, 27 Oct. 2017, www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2017/10/27/should-nfl-players-punished-for-kneeling-during-national-anthem/eLgCiNsJD2KdlLT2c8cunL/story.html.
Reid, Eric . “Opinion | Eric Reid: Why Colin Kaepernick and I Decided to Take a Knee.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Sept. 2017, mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/opinion/colin-kaepernick-football-protests.html?_r=0&referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F.
Schrotenboer, Brent . “NFL Arrest-Database - NFL Football.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, www.usatoday.com/sports/nfl/arrests/all/all/all/.
Thomas, Jeanna. “NFL rejects rule change that would force players to stand for the national anthem.” SBNation.com, SBNation.com, 17 Oct. 2017, www.sbnation.com/2017/10/17/16465366/nfl-rule-change-stand-national-anthem-player-protests.
