The 2017 NFL season will go down as one of the most influential sports seasons in the history of racial equality. Along with 1936 when Jesse Owens competed in the Summer Olympics in Nazi Germany and in 1947 when Jackie Robinson played in his first MLB game, this protest today is making headlines worldwide, outside of just the sports community. Although the 2017 season is making major news of the protest today, this protest began back in 2016 when Colin Kaepernick first took a knee during the national anthem. However, between the initial protest Kaepernick took part in to present day, the protest has lost a lot of its initial purpose and true intentions. Colin Kaepernick decided in 2016 that he would take a knee during the national anthem because of the racial injustice African Americans are receiving. Although most people believe the main reason is because of the police brutality, people are not getting the whole story. In a locker room interview with Kaepernick, he stated to reporters that one of his main motives for not standing is because of how poorly our soldiers are treated. He believes that no one…show more content… soldiers fight for the freedom of the American people, so that we can live in a country that doesn't persecute you for believing a certain way or feeling a certain way about something. Our first amendment gives the power of freedom of speech, so that we may express our beliefs. But how is that when one man takes a knee for something he believes in, he is persecuted against and looked upon as a disgrace? In every sports game, when a player is injured, everyone takes a knee. What if the protesters intent for kneeling is simply because our country is hurt, so we are going to take a knee for it? People are also asking what good is this doing towards the effort to stop the problems. However in the month of October people wear pink for breast cancer, the two have the same effect. They are simply bringing awareness and attention to the problem and
