Colin's Controversy

On September 1st 2016, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, made a bold move. Him and his team were about to verse the San Diego Chargers in a preseason game. Just like any other game, the National Anthem was being played right before kick off. Instead of standing like the rest of the team was, Kaepernick decided to take a knee during the anthem. He claimed "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." This decision caused controversy throughout the National Football League (NFL) and the country. People were supportive of his decision, while others thought it was just wrong. Was it the right thing to do? When is it appropriate to take a stand for what you believe in?

Colin Kaepernick kneeling for the National Anthem

I feel Kaepernick chose the wrong time and place to display how he feels politically. Kaepernick's job is to play football for the San Francisco 49ers. That's it. Plain and simple. His job is not to display how he feels politically on the field. As stated in the article, The Perilous Fight, "Say little and offend no one. Be grateful for the opportunities you have" (Gregdry, 40). However he feels is his business, and on his own time if he wants to take a stance on issues or show support to a cause, by all means he can. He should not bring politics to work. They are two very different things. They should not be mixed.

I also find it disrespectful to kneel for your country's National Anthem. Our country's anthem represents who are as a nation. Regardless of not agreeing with everything our country does, the songs purpose is to bring all of us together despite our differences. Another problem I have with kneeling to the National Anthem regards the military. Everyday there are people fighting and risking their lives for our country. Out of respect for them, everyone should always stand for the National Anthem. A retired Marine, Jeffery Powers, wrote a letter to the NFL commissioners saying, "I watch multi-millionaire athletes who never did anything in their lives but play a game, disrespect what brave Americans fought and died for. They are essentially spitting in the faces and on the graves of real men, men who have actually done something for this country beside playing with a ball and believing they're something special. They're not. My marines and soldiers were." This may be a bit harsh, but I believe it's true. Football players make disgusting amounts of money a year to throw a football around. The least they can do is show some respect for the military.

Although I don't agree with what Colin Kaepernick did, others support him. Other NFL players began to kneel or sit with him. An example of a player who began to sit for the National Anthem is Michael Bennett. Bennett is a defensive end on the Seattle Seahawks. He claims, "With everything that's been going on the last couple of months, and especially after the last couple of days in Virginia, seeing everything that's going on out there, (...) I just wanted to be able to use my platform to be able to continuously speak on injustice." I agree that Bennett should use his platform to speak on injustice, or speak on anything he feels, but not on the football field.

Michael Bennett sitting for the National Anthem

Dale Barnett, Former American Legion National Commander says it best. I'll end with his quote. "The freedoms that Mr. Kaepernick has been able to enjoy were provided by veterans who made tremendous sacrifices. Instead of focusing on all that is negative about our country, he should remember what's great about America and be an example to young people who may aspire to the same success that he has had."

Do The Right Thing

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an advocate for non-violent protests. He claimed ".....Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys a community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers." In the script, Do The Right Thing, everyone has a different opinion regarding violence and "doing the right thing." Da Mayor, a citizen in the Brooklyn neighborhood this script takes place, is an advocate of non-violence just as MLK (Martin Luther King, Jr.) was. The town was getting angry with the way things were ran. Racism was on the move. Violence was on the rise. Da Mayor approached the violent mob and said "Good people, let's all go home. Somebody's gonna get hurt. (...) If we don't stop this now, we'll all regret it. Sal and his two boys had nothing to do with what the police did" (Lee, 81). Da Mayor believed he was "doing the right thing" by protecting his people from violence and destruction to their community. Both MLK and Da Mayor believed violence was not the answer. They believed they were "doing the right thing" by supporting non-violence in their communities.