Page 32 - Oct Nov 2017

NFL Players Kneeling During National Anthem: How Colin Kaepernick Started a Movement and Why

“We chose to kneel be- and others spoke out in to speak out in protest,”

cause it’s a respectful ges- support of his message, he wrote. Kaepernick’s
ture. I remember thinking Kaepernick was crowned kneeling had further polar-
our posture was like a flag the least liked player in ized a league that holds

flown at half-mast to mark the league in a survey strong team allegiances. P
a tragedy,” Reid wrote in by E-Poll Marketing Re- While those who dis- O

the Times op-ed. search released in Septem- agreed with the protest L
Backlash against Kaeper- ber 2016, ESPN reported. burned the quarterback’s I
nick as more NFL players Reid had lamented in the jersey and professed to C

join protest Times that the protest boycott the NFL, others E
touched off by Kaepernick shouted words of encour-

Following that first Aug. was – and still is – mis- agement from the side- B
26, 2016, game R
when people took U

notice of Kaepe- T
rnick sitting, the A

49ers and the NFL L
issued statements, I
both of which ac- T

knowledged that Y
NFL players had a

choice on whether
to participate in Photo Courtesy of google.com
standing for the national construed as disrespectful lines and on social media.

anthem. to the flag, military veter-
ans and the country as a Kaepernick ended the

“Players are encouraged whole. season by opting out of his
but not required to stand contract with the 49ers.
during the playing of the “It has always been my He remains unsigned by

national anthem,” the NFL understanding that the another team, even as
had said in a statement. brave men and women injuries to other quarter-

But the backlash from who fought and died for backs created job open-
the American public was our country did so to en- ings. On Oct. 15, 2017,
swift. Even as more play- sure that we could live Kaepernick filed a griev-

ers joined in kneeling in a fair and free society, ance against the NFL,
during the national anthem which includes the right accusing the league’s 32

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