OH SAY CAN YOU SEE(Background)Over two years ago, a San Franscisco 49ers quarterback named Colin Kaepernick protested social injustice by sitting on the bench during the rendition of the national anthem while many of his teammates and football fans stood. In a post interview, he told reporters that he would not stand for the American flag because America oppresses African Americans and people of color (Wyche, 2016).After viewing Kaepernick sitting, Nate Boyer, an ex-Green Beret and former Seahawks player wrote an open letter to Kaepernick regarding how he was angry about Kaepernicks protest, but he was willing to listen to what Kaepernick had to say about why he sat on the bench (Boyer, 2016). The open letter caused the two of them to meet and discuss how Kaepernick could protest, but still respect the American flag. After finding a middle ground, Boyer suggests that Kaepernick should kneel so that he could be alongside his teammates. He told Kaepernick, Soldiers kneel before their fallen brothers grave, you know, to show respect (Brinson, 2016).After their exclusive meeting, Kaepernick, along with his teammate Eric Reid, then kneeled at the next 49ers game. And at the next game. And the next game after that, influencing more and more NFL players and teams to kneel. Many individuals from the NFL, sports fans, and even President Trump has voiced their opinions over this controversial topic. The debate of the lack of patriotism and being able to express freedom of speech were the highlight of many discussions. However, despite all of its controversy, the NFL national anthem protests are considered to be the most groundbreaking, revolutionary movement in U.S. sports history.
