Photo By Nathan Shively
One year ago former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and current NFL free agent, Colin Kaepernick, protested the unjust treatment of minorities at the hands of the United States by not standing for the National Anthem.
On Sept. 25, 2017 there was an NFL wide protest during the National Anthem by each team that played that day. Everyone that took part in this protest was not protesting the targeting or unjust killing of minorities, some were doing it in protest of remarks made by Donald Trump on Sept. 22.
At a rally in Huntsville, Alabama, Trump voiced his opinion on how NFL team owners should punish players who kneel during the anthem by saying, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b*tch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired. He’s fired!”
Team owners such as Shahid Khan, who donated $1 million to Trump’s campaign and players like LeSean McCoy, who went so far as to stretch during the anthem, did not use their platforms to protest anything until the Commander-in-Chief said something that offended or challenged them.
The current NFL protests should not be confused with the one that Colin Kaepernick’s career suffered for. The protest that was and still is for the people.