SIDELINING THE NFL ANTHEM RULE

By Freddie Coudret

            Protesting in the National Football League (NFL) has been an extremely polarizing subject ever since Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid of the San Francisco 49ers first took a knee during the national anthem on September 1^st, 2017. Kaepernick responded to criticism by revealing that his reasoning for kneeling during the anthem was to shine a light on police brutality against minorities and social inequality. When I stated that this has been a polarizing issue since its inception- I meant it. People from all walks of life; sports fans, people who have never watched a game of football in their lives, white people, black people, and President Trump have all put their two cents in about the issue.

As a result, the NFL began working on a new rule that would require all players to stand on the field for the anthem, the alternative being a fine. Owners around the NFL, mostly older, white men, quickly voted to pass the rule in May. The rule was to be enforced beginning in the 2018-2019 season. However, back in July, the NFL player’s union filed a grievance to the NFL refuting this rule. In response, the NFL decided to table discussion of the new anthem policy for players, stating that the issue would be resolved later.

A fact that seems all too obvious these days, President Trump has been very vocal about the protests since the beginning, all the way through the tabling of the rule. The day that the players’ union filed a grievance, Trump tweeted, “The NFL national anthem debate is alive and well again - can't believe it. Isn't it in contract that players must stand at attention, hand on heart? The $40 million commissioner, meaning Roger Goodell, must now make a stand - first time kneeling, out for game; second time kneeling, out for season, no pay,” (Garcia-Navarro & Davis, 2018). It is easy to take a few quick minutes out of your day to search “NFL anthem rule,” or “NFL anthem protest,” and you’ll find hundreds of results. It ranges from major news outlets tweeting out articles about the NFL’s struggle to find a rule that can bridge the divide between everyone, celebrities and politicians weighing in on the situation, and the average American stating their opinion. Twitter is the most useful social media outlet in terms of a movement such as the one we see almost every Thursday, Sunday, and Monday nights. Major news outlets, more specifically sports media, tweet out articles for their masses of followers to see. In addition, these followers, average Americans, are very engrossed in professional football while it’s in-season. Football is what us Americans watch and talk about. When we see the protests happening right in front of us on live television and read about many celebrities and politicians responding to the protests in real time, the “tweets and the streets,” (Kidd, 2018), to pin a name to a two-faceted movement that is present in real-life and a presence on Twitter- is happening in real time. This simple act of kneeling during the national anthem, bravely started by Colin Kaepernick (whom has since been unofficially banned from the league for his actions, meaning he is doing something right), has multiplied in attention and effectiveness due to social media.

Word Count: 546

References

Garcia-Navarro, L., & Davis, W. (2018, May 27). How The NFL's New Rule On Protesting Is Being Perceived By Players. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/05/27/614810127/the-nfls-rule-new-on-kneeling

Kidd, Dustin. (2017). Social Media Freaks: Digital identity in the network society. Boulder, CO.: Westview Press.