Skip to main content

A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION


By: Joshua Mundell
In the past few years, the professional sports world, specifically the National Football League, (NFL) has been experiencing a vast amount of protests. Sports protests have been around for decades, but thanks to a man named Colin Kaepernick, a NFL quarterback, a new wave of protests have begun. These protests all began when Kaepernick decided to take a knee during the playing of the national anthem. The backlash that Kaepernick received ranged from him being hated to him being praised (Matthew, 2016). What I often find ironic is that so many Americans today refuse to step in Kaepernick's shoes and fail to see the message he is attempting to convey. I hope to shine some light on why the anthem's kneeling is being supported, and why hatred should not be associated with the protests.

Believe it or not, the NFL protests have garnered support from many veteran members of the U.S. military. One man, Michael Sand, former Army Green Beret and son of an Army veteran wholeheartedly supports Kaepernick's efforts. Sand said, "It is precisely for me like Colin Kaepernick, and his right to peacefully protest injustice, that we were willing to serve" (Jacobs, 2017). Sand goes on to say that he and Kaepernick are very alike. Sand, a veteran, fought against terrorism. Kaepernick, an NFL player, put himself in the minority and protested police brutality and race inequality. Sand views both of these acts, his own and Kaepernick's, as fights for free speech (Jacobs, 2017). I believe it is very noteworthy, that a veteran that already comes from a military family has decided to support Kaepernick's protests, and I also believe this is a great way for those that do not support the NFL protests to put things into perspective.

An obscured belief of the NFL protest non-supporters is that the players are kneeling out of hatred for the United States. I say it is the complete opposite. I say that players are kneeling out of love for their country, and I do not happen to be alone when I make that statement. In an article from "The Washington Post", there is a quote from Barack Obama that says, "dissent in the service of a better union can be one of the truest expressions of patriotism" (Quiros, 2018). This quote from our former President applies directly to the situation in the NFL today. The men that are kneeling are showing love for their country, in other words, patriotism. When us Americans begin to realize this, then we can truly come together as a country.



I would like to think that more Americans are supporting the anthem protests every day. Whether this be true or not, I can only speak on what I know. What I know is that many American people are misinformed. Whether it be them not knowing that there are people like Michael Sand supporting these protests, that they think the kneeling is a sign of hatred, or because our current President, Donald Trump, has openly criticized Kaepernick and the protests due to what is most likely racial bias, there is something off. I urge Americans to open their minds and see things from both sides of the spectrum. What America as a whole may come to find is that these are in fact peaceful protests that are fighting against an unfortunate truth that exists in America, and that is racial inequality. If we come together though, change can truly be had.

References:

Jacobs, P. (2017, September 25). A former Green Beret who comes from a military family lays out why he supports football players kneeling during the national anthem. Business Insider. 
Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/army-veteran-nfl-players-kneeling-during-national-anthem-trump-2017-9 

Matthew, R. (2016, October 10). By Taking A Knee, Is Colin Kaepernick Standing Up For First Amendment Rights?

Quiros, A. (2018, May 29). Kneeling during the national anthem isn't disrespectful. It's a protest steeped in religion. Washington Post. 
Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/05/29/kneeling-during-the-national-anthem-isnt-disrespectful-its-a-protest-steeped-in-religion/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fa1ffc29a103 

Word Count: 575
Labels:

Comments

  1. KHSeptember 19, 2018 at 6:39 AM

    Joshua,

    Like some of your classmates, you've chosen to write about a current controversy in sports. That's cool. And it's certainly relevant. But I'd like to see a clearer focus on the role media plays in all of this.

    You hint at this with the quote from the WaPo. Likewise, your suggestion that many people don't know about Sand and his position indicates that some facets of the controversy receive less media attention than others. This is a potentially productive line of thought.

    Moving forward, be certain to foreground the media in these posts.

    Finally, several typographical and referencing errors undermine your efforts here. For instance, it's "an NFL quarterback." You have it "a NFL quarterback." That may be a minor error, but others throughout your post suggest poor quality control on your part.

    For instance, check your use of punctuation around quotations. Most critically, you haven't used any scholarly sources – a major requirement for this assignment.

    This is a real problem of individual and group oversight.

    22/30 pts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2018 at 12:13 PM

    I really like how you connect Kaepernick to a U.S. Military veteran in Sand. I think this comparison and your analysis of how the two men are similar shines light on the positive reception of anthem protests in the NFL. Often times we only hear about how athletes should just “shut up and play” but it is nice to hear about patriotic Americans supporting Kaepernick’s protest.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DO THESE CELEBRITIES ACTUALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

By Maggie Wagenbrenner Over the past few years, we have seen some big changes in the political world of the United States.  With the advancement of technology and the rising popularity of social media, many people are able to voice their opinions for the world to see and reflect on, some of those people are celebrities. We are constantly hearing and seeing celebrities endorsing politicians of their liking, but the question must be asked: do these celebrities actually make a difference? I argue that the rise of social media has led to celebrities having a far reaching effect on voters  due to the social identification theory and the parasocial relationship construct. Social identification theory is defined as “people adopt[ing] attitude or behavior from another person because they associate it with a satisfying, self-defining relationship with that person” (Um, 2018). A similar concept is touched on in Dustin Kidd’s book, Social Media Freaks: Digital Identity in t...
4 comments
Read more

SNLS POLITICAL PARODIES: IRONICALLY FUEL FOR THE FAR RIGHT?

By Natalie Raskas The American public seems to have a problem with discernment, confusing entertainment with the reality of the real-world consequences of politics more and more and Saturday Night Live (SNL) may be to blame. Nickie Michaud Wild writes in his research article, “Dumb vs. Fake: Representations of Bush and Palin on Saturday Night Live and Their Effects on the journalistic Public Sphere,” that “The observation that news and entertainment are becoming more alike has been met with derision or with acceptance.” This “infotainment” element became popular in American media starting in the 1980s with the advent of cable news and only has grown to be a stronger and more polarizing feature in today’s political climate (Wild, 2015, p.495). To most Americans supporting the political left, Donald Trump, the presidential candidate, now President, became a joke – thanks in part to SNL ’s spot on political satire sketches. We laughed until we cried on election night when the unima...
5 comments
Read more

SOCIAL CLASS IN THE HUNGER GAMES: THE STRUGGLES OF THE POOR

By Griffin Spurgin The Hunger Games is an action-packed fiction book that was also turned into a movie. Throughout the series, main characters, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are fighting for their lives in a tournament where they battle to the death of all but one tribute. They don't have much to lose as they are from District 12, the poorest district of Panem. The winners of the game get showered in riches from the Capitol and live the rest of their lives as if they were kings. A constant theme throughout the film is how the wealthy don't have to work as hard as the lower class to maintain their status. The upper and middle class are more prepared for the games just like their respected classes are in life. Class representation in film is a popular category among filmmakers. The Hunger Games portrays class in a way that resembles a lot of social systems in the world. The Hunger Games was published in 2008, at the very moment that the financial crisis was p...
3 comments
Read more