A recent controversy in popular media has been focused on whether kneeling during the national anthem is disrespectful or not to America. Colin Kaepernick, a former football player for the 49ers, knelt during the national anthem before a game last year in peaceful protest against police brutality. Many people were upset that he was using his platform to bring politics into sports, while some supported his decision and several of his teammates even joined him.
The first thing anyone should know is why Colin Kaepernick and other athletes started kneeling during the national anthem last year.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder… This is not something that I am going to run by anybody,” Kaepernick said in an exclusive after-game interview with the NFL.
“I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. … If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.1” Kaepernick said.
Kaepernick is a martyr in the sense that he practically lost his job due to his peaceful protest and most likely will not be able to get another involved with professional sports, but we’ll see. A lot of the people against him are doing whatever they can to ruin him and his support.
Eric Reid, friend and one of Kaepernick’s former team mates, wrote an article for the New York Times just this past month, explaining why he and his friend decided to kneel during the anthem.
“In early 2016, I began paying attention to reports about the incredible number of unarmed black people being killed by the police. The posts on social media deeply disturbed me, but one in particular brought me to tears: the killing of Alton Sterling in my hometown Baton Rouge, La. This could have happened to any of my family members who still live in the area. I felt furious, hurt and hopeless. I wanted to do something, but didn’t know what or how to do it. All I knew for sure is that I wanted it to be as respectful as possible… We chose to kneel because it’s a respectful gesture. I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy… It baffles me that our protest is still being misconstrued as disrespectful to the country, flag and military personnel. We chose it because it’s exactly the opposite. 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.”
With these statements in mind, we can determine that what the athletes are doing was never intended to be disrespectful to anyone – the United States, the army, veterans, people who have died for our rights to protest and play football on this soil. The reason these players have been protesting is police brutality towards African American people. “Nearly 8 in 10 African Americans believe the criminal justice system is biased against them, up from 61 percent in 2013” according to a recent CBS News poll. Rightfully so, if you haven’t been living under a rock for the past, well, forever.
So you’re probably wondering – well, then why are people mad? These players aren’t disrespecting or hurting anyone. These players are using their right to protest as Americans. What’s the big deal? Well I’ll tell you – white people are mad that black people want to be treated equally. As per usual when a minority tries to rise up and say “hey, we’re done with your bullshit,” certain white people paint them as “Terrorists! America-haters! Treasonists! Traitors!” because they threaten the social structure that benefits white people and allows them to feel “superior.” People are mad, claiming these athletes should not be using their platforms to bring politics into sports – they aren’t politicians, they’re athletes. They aren’t paid to shove their beliefs down viewers’ throats.
To the people who are mad, black people are only here and paid to entertain. But when they want civil rights and equality? They’re treated as a joke. But seriously, white people take a lot from black people. But when the time comes to be black, they no longer want anything to do with it. It’s right in front of our faces. Look at Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry… and most white celebrities. They try to “be black,” using slang and other parts of African American identity, exaggerate it beyond belief, and claim it as their own… But when have they ever tried to bring attention to the injustices going on in our country to black people? White people, particularly among conservatives, tend to see black people as just… entertainment. And it’s disgusting.
Note that I, the writer, am a white woman, so I don’t know oppression in the same sense of any black person in America and I acknowledge this completely. Even though I can’t feel the oppression of being an African American, I can still investigate the history of how white men have treated the African American people. I can still pay attention to the news and witness the current day violence that occurs between the police force and black people. I can still tell you that America needs to change – and the only way to make it change is to stand up for what is right and protest. African American people are dying unjustifiably “under the law” and their killers get off with paid-leave. Unfortunately, racism plays a huge role in what is happening. What Kaepernick and co. are doing is perfectly legal and within their rights as Americans and I believe that if they keep pushing for their beliefs, they can overcome and change America for the better.