The flag of the United States represents respect and freedom and the many soldiers who fought for this country. It is important to the county and the people because it’s a symbol of liberty. The respect this country has for the flag is represented through the national anthem. It is a custom for citizens to stand at attention at the first note, to remove hoodies/hats, stay quiet, or sing along with it through the last note.

However, on August 14th, during the first week of NFL’s pre-season, San Francisco backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick was seen kneeling while the national anthem was playing.   

People saw this as disrespectful and unpatriotic to the American flag, the country, and the soldiers who fought and died for this country in order to protect the rights we all enjoy. After the game, Kaepernick said,”I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color, to me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Reactions from the sports world were immediate. Minnesota Vikings guard, and former 49er, Alex Boone said in an interview with ESPN, “You should have some f—ing respect for people who served, especially people that lost their life to protect our freedom.” Boone’s brother J.J. served with the Marines in Iraq. “We’re out here playing a game, making millions of dollars. People are losing their life, and you don’t have the common courtesy to do that. That just drove me nuts,” he told ESPN in an interview.

Dorian Majied, an Army Ranger and veteran who served in Iraq also disagreed with Kaepernick’s actions. In an interview with the Independent Journal Review, Majied said, “To refuse to stand for the National Anthem is his right as an American, and I support that right; however, I do not agree with that action,” said Majied. “He could join the service and actually fight for the rights he seems to think are not offered to him; his sitting through the National Anthem was a lazy lack of will and brain power.”

However, in weeks that followed, more athletes and veterans started supporting him. Seahawks’ cornerback Jeremy Lane was the only player seen kneeling, during the playing of national anthem in the first preseason game against the Raiders in support of Kaepernick.  He said in an interview with ESPN, “It’s something I plan on keep on doing, until I feel like justice is being served. Yeah, I am prepared for it. And I don’t mean no disrespect to anybody, but I’m just standing behind what I believe in.”

Marcus Newsome who served in the U.S. army from 2000 to 2011 is standing with Kaepernick’s protest. He told the Huffington Post he was tired of seeing Kaepernick bashed for “exercising his 1st Amendment right.” According to the First Amendment, we all have freedom of speech and Kaepernick isn’t breaking any rule in the constitution, all he is doing is giving his opinion. “Too much focus was given to the symbol of [Kaepernick] sitting rather than the message,”Newsome said.

Kaepernick’s protest has been growing with time. In an interview on CNN, President Barack Obama said,  “Well, as I’ve said before, I believe that us honoring our flag and our anthem is part of what binds us together as a nation. But I also always try to remind folks that part of what makes this country special is that we respect people’s rights to have a different opinion.”

The protest has gone beyond the NFL and more athletes have taken their stand and have shown they stand with Kaepernick’s protest – college soccer players and football players, as well as high school athletes.

My opinion is that Kaepernick should keep being heard. This movement is bringing awareness to making a change to the violence that happens on the street. If society took more time and paid attention to the message of how violence is growing in our streets, rather than the action of kneeling, we could make a positive change.