Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started a movement when he first took a knee in Aug. 2016 during the national anthem, that has now sparked debate about the mixture of sports and politics.
“He did it silently, and wasn’t trying to draw attention to himself,” sociology professor Tim Delaney said. “He started this in preseason NFL and it wasn’t until the third game when the announcers noticed and said he wasn’t standing with everyone.”
After a few games of Kaepernick continuing to not stand, he was asked about his actions and told reporters it was done to protest the oppression of black people and other people of color. It was then that Kaepernick’s protest got national attention, causing debates about whether his actions were right or wrong, as well as other NFL players following his protest and taking a knee as well.
Many people, NFL fans and non-NFL fans, have shown their support for Kaepernick and his protest, while others publicly condemn his actions. President Donald Trump has publicly stated his disagreement for the protests after tweeting that players should be fired for not standing for the anthem. Following his tweet however, more NFL players decided to kneel during the anthem, further sparking debate about the issue.
“I was moved when they all took a knee,” said SUNY Oswego assistant professor of broadcasting and journalism Brian Moritz. “I was almost in tears to see players taking a stand for something.
Moritz, a sports fan and writer, felt that media coverage has ‘misframed’ the message behind the protests.
“It’s a lot of coverage saying they’re protesting the national anthem when they aren’t protesting the national anthem,” Moritz said. “They are protesting other stuff and they’re using the national anthem as a platform for that. It’s become more of a discussion on the means of protest instead of focusing on the bigger issue.”“The message has been completely lost,” Delaney said. “Now it’s just a matter of people saying that they [NFL players] are spoiled millionaires protesting, why are they protesting, as if their protests are legitimate based on what others have gone through.”
Another concern both Moritz and Delaney had was that president Trump’s involvement has also taken away from the message of what Kaepernick started. Saying that players are seemingly just protesting Trump and his comment instead of the original issue.
SUNY Oswego senior and biology major Louis Spagnola does not agree with the way players are deciding to protest, calling it “disrespectful to the national anthem.”
“I support what they’re doing because they have the right to act within the frames of the law and there is no law against protesting but that doesn’t mean I agree with it,” Spagnola said. “I would prefer to stand for the national anthem but I’m part of the majority and I can’t fully understand their kneeling for the inequality.”
Spagnola feels that because he is a white male, he can’t empathize with the players and other people of color who support the protests but he does not believe in infringing their rights to protest the inequality they face.
Along with debates about whether the players are justified in their want to protest and whether their platform is right, many have argued that sports and politics should not be intersected.
“I think it’s a good way to use a platform to spread awareness and have open discussions,” senior marketing major Roger Greenidge said.
“I love it!” Moritz said. “I’m not a stick to sports guy. When you have so many black athletes, you’re going to have issues with politics and sports it’s unavoidable.”
Spagnola believes sports and politics should remain separate.
“It’s good advice for players to just stick to sports because it’s super dangerous to bring controversy to the way you make a living,” Spagnola said. “You are absolutely not the boss and if you encourage controversy like Kaepernick did, you may end up like him. He’ll never work for an NFL team again.”
The effectiveness of the knee protests has also been an element of debate.
“I think it’s effective because people are talking about it,” Greenidge said. “More discussion leads to more thoughts so I think it is effective.”
Delaney feels differently about the protest’s effectiveness.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think it is effective,” Delaney said. “I don’t think it is because people are not really talking about the issues that Kaepernick was protesting.”
Kaepernick’s protest has gained support from athletes in the NBA as well and with the NBA season less than a week away, Moritz feels that it will be interesting to see how the NBA responds to this issue.
“The NBA has always been more socially liberal than the NFL so it will be cool to see what the players do during the national anthem,” Moritz said.
He does feel that in the NFL, the protests will subside after a while.
“I think it’s going to lose it’s hype because it won’t be new anymore because the media will let it slip under the radar after a while,” Moritz said. “If protests become expected then they aren’t effective anymore but I will be interested if there are any other means that players choose to protest.”