Featured image by Wikimedia Commons

I always loved going to sports games when I was younger and I still do. I went down to Iowa to watch a Twins minor league team play as a fun father and son trip. It was cool to see the players that were up and coming at the time and what they could become. We walked into the stadium the first day, we were there to watch two games, we saw these people standing near the gate advertising a kids program and thought nothing of it then headed to our seats. The next day when we came back, they were there again. We were curious about what they were doing, so we went and asked. It turns out that they allowed you to go out onto the field with players and meet them. All you had to do was ask! So, we waited for a few minutes and then they took the other kids and I down to the dugout and talked with us. After that, we went out to our spots next to the players and they signed autographs for us. I even met one of the players who starts for the Twins now while I was there. After that, they began playing the national anthem and everyone was standing. That was 5 years ago.

The final announcement before the game started was, “Please rise and remove your hats for the singing of our national anthem.” My dad would always tell me to stand up and take my hat off because it was respectful.

Apparently, Colin Kaepernick was never told the same.

Colin Kaepernick’s actions are disrespectful to many and the way he is using his fame is 100% wrong.

The Problem

Colin Kaepernick has taken a knee for the national anthem multiple times. Each and every time that he does it, he is acting like an ill-behaved child that didn’t get what he wants even though he makes millions of dollars. Despite the money he has, he claims that he is “oppressed.”

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the national anthem is the American flag. The flag stands for many things in this country. It stands for the rights that every American has. It stands for the fact that we are a free country and we are able to do what we want with our lives, but that doesn’t mean that everything that we can do is right. ProCon.org lists a quote from NFL quarterback Drew Brees, “[I]t’s an oxymoron that you’re sitting down, disrespecting that flag that has given you the freedom to speak out.” This quote very much accurately represents what the current situation with these poor forms of protests that in many eyes is wrong. The whole situation is wrong. Paul Wells of the Baltimore Sun states “We, of course, all have the right to express our opinions peacefully, but it should be at the right time and place. Our place of employment shouldn’t be that time or place.” The way that he is portraying himself in his position of great influence is poor for his “workplace.” This now can tell the more common people that they can do what they want just like him. That’s the problem that is currently going on with his actions.

Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned, but spirit of his protest persists one year later https://t.co/yIKj4AqGib pic.twitter.com/AVkB5swKxV

— National Post Sports (@npsport) August 20, 2017

Why People Think That He Can Kneel

Some people are okay with the fact that Kaepernick is kneeling for the anthem. They believe that his reasons are completely justified. One reason is that he thinks that there is a great oppression towards him in this country because of his skin color. He says that life is unfair because he is black. He says this as he was making millions of dollars a year and living a very comfortable lifestyle. There is a point where being an activist is okay, but the way in which you convey your message and conduct yourself needs to be appropriate. Some say that he is a great hero for the things that he did and put everything on the line for what he believed in. Many agree that you should fight for what you believe in. There are also plenty of people that think that it should be done is a proper manner with the right circumstances. Zito Madu claims in an SBNation article: “What Colin Kaepernick does by refusing to stand for the national anthem is simple: He has seen an injustice and he’s calling it out. He has compromised by taking a knee rather than sitting down, but he refuses to abandon his cause.” It is great that he is fighting for something that he believes in. His methods are why people think that he is so great. It is, in fact, the very reason that this is all an issue.

The beliefs in popular culture that all police are brutal are fueling the public’s the approval of Kaepernick and his actions. The media blows the numbers way out of proportion. Articles and stories put out by some news sources are taking a very small percentage of those numbers and turns them into what gets them the best ratings.

People also say he can exercise his right to free speech. There is public agreement that he should be able to use his rights but in the proper form.

Despite all of the criticism, NFL players still carry on what Kaepernick was trying to accomplish with their pre-game actions. Some of his former teammates pictured below followed in his footsteps and kneeled together before multiple games this year. Eric Reid (front left kneeling) has an interesting take on what the president said about their protest, he said in a Q & A with The New York Times on 247 Sports: “I don’t know what his goal was when he said that. I was angry, but then I also realized this was an opportunity, that despite something that was said that was unbecoming of the president, we could use this as an opportunity to be positive. I think we’ve done that across the NFL, across other sports and across America. Again, it’s so important to say that we want equality for everybody. We love everybody, and we are pushing for a positive change through this process.” This is somewhat of a general idea present in the minds of those who are on his side.

Image by Wikimedia Commons

Why He Needs To Stand

Kaepernick has ignorantly said ”F you” and put up a middle finger to all the people who have worked to keep this country safe and the ones who still do.

To those who are defending our country, I would like to say thank you. It is a very important task that many overlook and don’t give it the appreciation that is needed. The soldiers and police are the ones who do the hardest and most dangerous work, and there is no way that they are getting the respect that they need. Standing for the national anthem is a way to show them that respect. Veteran Brian Kolfage states in an Allen B.West article:

“Colin Kaepernick I lost my legs and arm fighting in the US military, the same military that I took an oath to defend our nation and flag from enemies foreign and domestic. Next time I hear the national anthem I’ll be sure to stand for the both of us since you feel that you’ve been oppressed.We live in America, the land where no one is truly oppressed in the grand scheme of things. If you want to see the real meaning of oppressed I suggest you enlist in the military and travel abroad to the Middle East where you will witness what oppression is. Where women are beaten and killed in honor if they are raped, where 6-year-old little girls are forced to marry men in their 60’s, that’s just a little taste of what oppression is. You Know NOTHING of what oppression is. Every American has a choice and every opportunity to better their lives, this is America the greatest country on this planet.” 

Kaepernick’s disrespect is followed up by the fact that he is protesting something that is very miniscule compared to some of the other things that are related. He is against the fact that the police are harassing and brutally attacking black people. In reality, they are not at all. In an article by National Review author Philippe Lemoine, he cites a study by the Police Public Contact Survey that explains the comparison between the likelyhood of black and white men encountering police: “black men are less likely than white men to have contact with the police in any given year, this includes situations where the respondent called the cops himself: 17.5 percent versus 20.7 percent.” This statistic reveals that black men are less likely to make contact with police than white men. He is protesting for the percent of the issue that isn’t even the most important.

He needs to stand to represent what is happening in actuality in the United States, not just a few isolated moments that seem to dominate the media. He needs to stand for the people who risk their lives and do their job the right way. Kaepernick also needs to stand because of what the American flag represents and stands for. President Donald Trump had strong words for those who were kneeling and the owners who allowed it, this coming from a CNN article that normally supports what the NFL players who kneel are doing.

He is taking his right to free speech that was given to him and using it to desecrate the very country from which it is allowed.

In conclusion of everything that stated, Colin Kaepernick is completely wrong for what he is doing and it all needs to change immediately so the respect is given and sports are out of politics.

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