A Protest Filled NFL Sunday

One of the biggest subjects trending this weekend has been the uproar between the NFL and respect for the National Anthem. If you have not heard, various players have been protesting standing for the playing of the national anthem, either staying in the locker room all together, taking a knee on the field, raising their fist, or locking arms with their fellow players to raise awareness with race and discrimination in the United States. This all started last season with Colin Kaepernick and has spread this season on Sunday to every single team in the NFL participating. President Donald Trump made a statement at a rally in Alabama stating that, NFL players who do not observe the flag should be fired. This was the catalyst for every NFL team to participate in protests on Sunday.

Many Americans take this protest as disrespect for our military and our nation, but is that truly the message our NFL players are trying to send? I believe that NFL players are spreading awareness of racial inequality, the problem is they are not being clear enough to our United States citizens if that is truly their message. With Trumps heavy involvement in all of this, there is skewed confusion as to the reasons this protest is happening and what message the NFL players want to send. Yes, they are expressing their freedom to protest, but I believe they could send their message in a more appropriate manner than making our military and nation feel disrespected. I applaud the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, Minnesota Vikings, and New York Jets, for standing, arms locked to show that they stand together, respecting the United States and our military, but also recognizing that we need to stand together and change the racial inequalities that are so prevalent in today's world. Being from a family of veterans, I feel that completely ignoring the National Anthem, either stretching, sitting, or staying in the locker room is disrespectful to the men and women that made it possible for us to have freedoms. I feel there are ways that this situation can be brought to light and a message can be sent without disrespecting our Country we call home.

With all this being said, all of these players do have freedoms and can express their protest in any nonviolent way they choose. Another point I would like to bring to light is that NFL players did not observe the National Anthem until 2009 when the government paid the NFL to have the players stand. Although I feel as an American, it is my duty to stand and observe the flag when the Anthem is played; it is not required.

The message these players are trying to send is an important one, and we need to recognize that racial inequality does still exist, and it is up to us to evoke a change. With that said, we need to ask ourselves if there are more ways we can encourage these changes without making another population (like our military) feel disrespected.