Opinions on the NFL National Anthem Protests

Personally, I think they have every right to peacefully protest by "taking a knee" if they choose, and I don't see it as spitting in the face of veterans. Most veterans I know personally are in full support of their Contitutional right to protest, and don't feel disrespected at all.

Some people have said that they should "protest on their own time" And "keep their politics off the field," but in my opinion, if you are asking someone to stand in honor with their hand over their heart and sing a song of devotion to this country, you're bringing politics onto the field, and they should have the right to decline to participate in that action, if they choose. It seems incredibly coercive to me to say that they should be fired for taking a knee, and they shouldn't be making a "political statement" in that setting. But the thing is, whether you are standing OR kneeling, you're making a political statement. And it should be up to the individual to choose which one they want to make. Too many people, in my opinion, are acting as if standing and putting your hand over your heart is a neutral position, and kneeling is making a statement. But to me, the former seems like a pretty dang big statement as well.

Anyway, that's my opinion. Thoughts?

 

nfl teams being fully present during the anthem is actually a fairly new thing, so I'm not sure why kneeling would be considered unpatriotic, especially since standing for the anthem isn't even required for nfl players (per the nfl's spokesperson). Also, a recent document produced my John McCain and Jeff flake exposed the department of defense for actually paying nfl teams for their patriotic displays of the national anthem -- which the national guard responded by saying that the displays are "a useful recruiting tool". Yikes

sooo it seems unreasonable to assume that the players should stay out of politics when politics hasn't stayed out of the nfl

Source
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/us-defense-department-paid-14-nfl-teams-54m-to-honor-soldiers/
http://www.snopes.com/nfl-sideline-anthem/

 

Totally agree!

It seems insane to me for someone, such as our President, to suggest that players should be fired for not participating. I mean, name one other job in America in which it would be acceptable for an employer to fire an employee because they have different political beliefs. That's totally inappropriate.

 

I'm not American but I also think that it's inappropriate to fire someone from a job because of their political preference.

 

It's inappropriate in like every job ever, but for some reason with this particular issue, it's okay somehow.

 

I kind of disagree about the Tebow thing. I mean don't get me wrong, I think he should have the right to kneel as well, if he wants to, but I think there's a difference between saying "keep your religion off the field" And "keep your political beliefs off the field." The difference is, nobody is asking all the NFL players to hail Satan before the game. If so, it would be completely natural for someone like Tebow to decline to do that. But the difference with politics is that they ARE being asked to make a political statement when they walk out on that field. Standing for the anthem and putting your hand over your chest is a political statement. So I think it's completely natural for people who disagree with that statement to decline to participate.

To be clear though, I am not at all dissing Tebow or defending anyone who said that he shouldn't be kneeling. He can kneel all he wants, and they can take their opinion and shove it. These are real people, not just goons running around for our entertainment. They're allowed to have religious and political opinions, and I think they should be allowed to express them. I mean the anthem is like a couple minutes at the beginning of the game... if it bugs someone that much, just don't watch that part.

 

To be clear, I totally agree with these statements. Of course anyone has the right to disagree with it or to not watch. Personally I think it's a silly reason to not watch if you otherwise would have, but that's just my opinion.

The fact of the matter is, we don't get to choose who gets freedom and who doesnt. They have the right to protest... someone else has the right to call them assholes for doing so. But when it comes to firing them or taking legal action to ban members from not participating in the anthem, I think that's completely un-American and unconstitutional.

 

I'm probably the odd man here but I don't care because I find football, soccer, basketball, golf, baseball, and pretty much all of it to be boring ass shit.

 

I find it extremely disrespectful. Although I have kind of tuned out with all sports in general now this had made me realise I made the right choice.

Nothing worse and more disrespectful to me then seeing all these rich millionaires whining and showing so much disrespect to the American anthem. This is just ridicules and is making it harder and harder to take these athletes seriously.

 

I like to play but I can't watch anymore lol. I geuss I just try to find more productive things to do.

 

Exactly.

Too many hits to the head will do that to you.

 

I agree that they don't hate America, but I disagree that they're unintelligent. I think they just have a different opinion of what the Anthem and the flag represents, and they aren't comfortable showing their support for it.

Anyone who is saying they're spitting in the face of vets, though, is just dumb and doesn't know what they're talking about. I don't really agree with a lot of the wars we've been a part of, but I have the utmost respect for veterans. I have friends in the army, navy, marines, and I believe I know some people in the air force as well. I might not always choose to stand for the Anthem, but that doesn't mean that I hate veterans and don't respect them.

I think, like most issues, thus us an issue of miscommunication. People see these individuals kneeling and they assume it's because they hate America or they're making a statement against veterans. But that's based on their interpretation of what standing for the Anthem means. I agree, personally, that standing for the Anthem is a symbol of respect for America, the Constitution, and veterans, but I don't judge other people for having a different perspective. If they believe that standing for the flag is endorsing police brutality against people of color, then i see why they wouldn't feel comfortable with that.

I think people need to just stop attributing their own definitions to things and making the false assumption that everyone else feels the same.

 

I totallt agree that everyone has the right to take their money and viewership elsewhere, but I, personally, don't think it's the right thing to do.

I feel like it's coercive for everyone to boycott because they disagree with the politics of the players. I mean boycotting some company for discriminating against gay people or something, I get that... because discriminating against gay people is not right and it's unconstitutional. But what these players are doing, whether you personally agree with it or not, IS constitutional. So what are people trying to do by boycotting? Get them to stop kneeling? Wouldn't that be considered trying to shut down their rifht to freedom of speech and peaceful protest? I just don't really understand someone's view when they say "they have every right to take a knee, and I have every right to not watch because of it and try to get everyone else to boycott the NFL so they make no money and the players are basically forced to stop taking a knee or be fired." That seems like a hypocritical statement to me.