Furor over NFL protests obscures original intent
National anthem etiquette
What began more than a year ago with an NFL quarterback protesting police brutality against minorities by kneeling silently during the national anthem before games has grown into a roar with hundreds of players sitting, kneeling, locking arms or remaining in locker rooms — their reasons for demonstrating as varied as their methods.
Yet people rallying to defend players or decry the protests aren’t talking about police brutality, or the fact that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is no longer employed by an NFL team. Especially after President Donald Trump weighed in repeatedly to say that players should stand for the anthem or be fired.
Before NFL games began Sunday, the discourse had morphed into a debate over the First Amendment, Trump’s insults, how much the NFL has been paid by the U.S. government for its displays of patriotism and the overall state of race relations in America. Support and criticism came from fields well beyond the gridiron, including NASCAR, the NBA, MLB, activists, journalists, entertainers and politicians.
Some worry that the expanded reasoning for the protests could dilute the passion and the permanence of its original cause, drawing attention to interactions between police and minorities.
More than 200 NFL players and owners found ways to show dissent during pro football games over the weekend. Raised fists and other gestures came after Trump’s comments at a Friday night rally in Huntsville, Ala., where he mused to the crowd: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b---- off the field right now! Out! He’s fired. Fired!’”
Congressional Black Caucus chair Cedric Richmond noted that while some NFL owners, coaches and officials put out statements rebuking Trump, they didn’t address why players originally felt the need to protest.
“They are taking a knee to protest police officers who kill unarmed African-Americans — men and women, adults and children, parents and grandparents — with impunity,” the Democrat from Louisiana said. “They are taking a knee to protest a justice system that says that being black is enough reason for a police officer to fear for his or her life.”