On August 26, 2016, Colin Kaepernick, the San Francisco 49er Quarterback, gained worldwide attention by kneeling during the national anthem and so started a huge controversy across the United States over his “anti-American” behaviour. “I am not going to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour,” Kaepernick said. “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.”
Kaepernick began kneeling for the anthem as a silent protest against the rampant police brutality towards people of colour that is occurring almost every day in the United States. The 49ers organization released…show more content… His teammate, Eric Reid, joined him by expressing support and taking a knee during the anthem. Many Americans have been outraged by this behaviour, saying that it is un-American and disrespectful towards troops and veterans. By mid-September 2016, many players across the NFL were taking the knee during the anthem as a show of support for Kaepernick and the stance he had taken. Dolphins running back, Arian Foster, tweeted, “Don’t let the love for a symbol overrule the love for your fellow human.” This silent protest has spread across the NFL with many players raising their fists or linking arms during the anthem to protest the treatment and oppression of people of colour in…show more content… They also use patriotism and the military to discredit him. “There’s a lot of racism disguised as patriotism in this country,” Kaepernick said, “and people don’t like to address that and they don’t like to address what the root of this protest is.” Other Americans have complained that an NFL game is not the proper place for a protest of this sort, that it takes away from the game. Kaepernick states that he is protesting in this manner to speak out for people who don’t have a voice.
However, Kaepernick is not the first in taking such a stance. For example, athletes such as LeBron James and Kyrie Irving wore “I Can’t Breathe” shirts in December 2014 to protest the death of Eric Garner after the police officer who killed him was not indicted. Later, that same month, five St. Louis Rams players entered the field with their arms raised in support of the protesters in Ferguson,
