Skip to main content

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 1st, 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.

Labels:

Comments

  1. KHSeptember 20, 2018 at 1:55 PM

    Freddie,

    In terms of formatting, this is a vast improvement. Nonetheless, your post still doesn't conform to our "house style." Issues with spacing and far too much white space between the end of your post and your reference list further undermine this effort.

    Please review this document carefully and make certain your team members review your post as well.

    More substantively, I don't see an "outside" academic source here. As mentioned several times, you are welcome to use our textbooks, but you must make use of at least one academic paper, article or book chapter you've found on your own.

    Likewise, your citation for the NPR story is incomplete. And there's no real need to cite this story if you don't mention the source in your essay. Simply cite POTUS tweet and leave it at that.

    A few other issues to consider. First, check you use of the semi-colon toward the end of the first paragraph. Second, check your use of pronouns. You write, "What us Americans do..." That should be, "What we Americans do." Again, closer proof reading on your part and quality control from your group helps avoid these errors.

    In sum, this is a timely and relevant post. Still, you would do well to follow directions more closely, proof read your work, and focus your remarks more squarely on the role that (social) media plays in this ongoing struggle between players, owners, and politicians.

    PS. As I recall, the initial NFL policy gave players another option: remain off the field while the anthem plays.

    22/30 pts.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NOT AS PRIVATE AS YOU THINK   By Emmanuel  Koutsouras   Say you are browsing the internet, maybe reading a movie review , looking through amazon to find a video game you want .  Then you decide to go on  Instagram sometime later and see an  ad   for something closely related to that movie review or video game.  Social media is arguably the largest collective platform of information that the world has ever seen. There probably is not a single person who is completely off the grid.  Social media brings people, ideas, thoughts, facts, and opinions together, in a way that nothing else  can  do. People put so much of their personal information on the various social media platforms, assuming safety as a given. As is the case with most things in life, nothing is a guarantee,  though.  The  power of  surveillance , which when you think about it is truly disturbing is  “ that people whose personal data are ...
1 comment
Read more

HOW WE GOT HERE

By Daniel Scotto For decades now, sports have played a crucial role in American culture. Out of all sports played in America, it can be argued that American Football, specifically professional football, receives the most viewership. Before the start of each game in the National Football League (NFL), it is tradition that an American flag is presented, and everyone stands in respect for our nation’s anthem. Citizens and fans embrace their patriotism as they proudly embrace what their country stands for. What does our country stand for? This is a good question that many are left pondering.  In the NFL, when the national anthem is being played, it is common for television providers to zoom in on the players to showcase their reactions. The emotions often vary among players, as some often shed tears, sing along to the anthem, or even embrace one another. One player in the NFL completely changed the way Americans view the anthem today. In 2016, Collin Kaepernick, the quarterback...
4 comments
Read more

MEN DON'T CRY......RIGHT?

By: Caleb Baue     In the early studio days, masculinity looks like what is now referred to as Traditional Masculinity, where men are the dominant gender, working, providing for, and protecting the woman that are in their lives. Anything that goes against this understanding of what it means to be a man is automatically deemed as feminine. (Benshoff   & Griffin, 2009)   In the 1928 silent film Steamboat Bill Jr. , the main character played by Buster Keaton is an obvious let down to his father who is a successful, rich, business man. He then spends the entire film attempting to reach his fathers standards of Manhood. He finally accomplishes this through heroic acts of physical amazement and saves the damsel in distress. Keaton’s character makes the transition from a young college boy, with a sloppy sense of dress, no woman, no job, and no respect, to a man who is now the town hero, has a pretty girl, and shops at Men’s warehouse.(Keaton, Sheneck ...
3 comments
Read more