Lauren Walinski
Staff Writer
This past Sunday, a number of players on various NFL teams decided to kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality and the unfair treatment of Black people and people of color in the United States by following in the footsteps of Colin Kaepernick. Players from the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and the Miami Dolphins decided to kneel.
The players on the Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, and all but one player on the Pittsburgh Steelers did not even take to the field until the anthem had already played. Players on a few teams locked arms, with or without kneeling, as a show of solidarity and in support of the right of players to protest. Even Meghan Linsey and Rico Lavelle, two singers performing at two of the games, kneeled at the end of their renditions of the anthem.
Though President Trump praised the “great solidarity” shown by locking arms, he was less favorable of kneeling. He called for NFL owners to suspend or fire any “son of a b****” who kneeled during the national anthem, believing it to be a sign of disrespect for the flag. However, the players are well within their first amendment rights to protest peacefully in the way they did and, love or hate the protest, Trump punishing them for it would be unconstitutional.
Many teams made statements in support of people of color in America, such as the players of the Seahawks, who made the following statement on not taking the field during the anthem: "We will not stand for the injustice that has plagued people of color in this country. Out of love for our country and in honor of the sacrifices made on our behalf, we unite to oppose those that would deny our most basic freedoms." Vernon Davis, tight end with the Redskins and 12-year war veteran, said he would love to be invited to the White House so he could tell the president that "we love the flag. Let's focus on solutions rather than attack those protesting."
