In today’s society, we have former National Football League(NFL) quarterback Collin Kapernick who’s no longer in the NFL because of his protest against racial inequality. However, many people believe he is no longer in the NFL because of his talent. Kapernick led the 49ers to Super Bowl 47. Although they didn’t win, he threw for 302 yards with a touchdown and rushed for 62 yards. Therefore, he didn’t get kicked out of the league because he wasn’t good enough, but for sitting down during the national anthem. In today’s modern NFL, many players take a knee during the national anthem. My question is why didn’t they get kicked out of the league like Collin Kapernick? Our president, Donald Trump states that, “NFL owners should fire players who
Hellen Keller overcame her disabilities to become a great author and a lead example to all people with disabilities to show that nothing is impossible. Having no way to communicate or see my surroundings is impossible to imagine and is a great obstacle to overcome especially more than 100 years ago. I would imagine that my life would be completely different with two major disabilities such as Hellen Keller and would be very difficult without a great teacher like Anne Sullivan. I would feel trapped if I were to lose my ability to use language later in life and would not know what to do. I would not be able to talk, see, read or write and that leaves me with no form of communication.
“Free Speech, Football, and Freedom: Why the NFL Should Not Compel Its Players to Speak to the Media”, by Sohil Shah, with his J.D for Emory University of Law and his B.A, from Northwestern University. This article was written and published in the fall of 2014, in the Texas Review of Entertainment & Sports Laws. In Shah’s article he argues how the NFL forces players to talk to the media are a due-process violations of the First Amendment right of freedom of speech and how he does not believe that the NFL should make players talk to the media if they do not want to. Therefore, with his article being an argumentative essay, Shah also provides actual court cases to support his. One case which involved Seattle Seahawk’s running back, Marshawn Lynch,
A controversial topic currently circulating throughout the media and society, is professional athletes kneeling during the National Anthem. In my opinion, this is a completely useless, unnecessary action done just for attention. The theory behind the action is supposed to represent unity. Unity is not achieved by causing controversy, but it’s achieved by coming together and supporting each other when times get tough.
The article, The Perilous Fight, by Sean Gregory, discusses the recent protests that have been occurring at sporting events. The article focuses on Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit when the national anthem was being played at the football games and how this act of protest has begun to spread throughout the entire country. This form of protest is no longer just in NFL games, but also in college football, volleyball games, high school football, and children’s leagues. Many responses were very critical calling the protesters disrespectful and unpatriotic towards the military for kneeling during the national anthem. Despite all the harsh critiques, I fully support and agree with the protestors for trying to raise awareness for the many injustices
I believe that the owners of professional sports teams should not require their players to stand for the National Anthem, but rather that NFL players should be allowed to take a knee or unite arms because this medium of protest is safer than others. These protests are bound to happen either way because of the social forum integrated into the U.S. that encourages the diffusion of these certain mindsets. Recently, there was a protest in Saint Louis regarding the acquittal of Jason Stockley who shot unarmed Anthony Lamar Smith. In the protest, objects, including bricks and broken clay pots, were thrown and resulted in the injury of police officers. Both of these protests plead the same argument, yet the way they are protested lead to totally different
Many NFL players have started taking a knee during the National Anthem before their games as a way of protesting. Some teams haven’t even come out onto the field during the anthem. These protests were started and lead by former pro quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The players are protesting mostly because of social and racial issues, they aren’t proud of a country that doesn’t treat people of color fairly.
This would in turn allow the NFL to support Kaepernick in his decision to peacefully protests issues that do not reflect poorly on Kaepernick or the NFL as an organization that makes certain demographics of people very wealthy and successful in America. Colin Kaepernick is not effectively protesting to raise awareness on a racial issue because people are more focused on the way he is choosing to protest, rather than why he is protesting. This is an important issue because he is indirectly disrespecting our armed forces, causing major controversy, which is dividing our country. If Kaepernick can figure out a way to peacefully protest in a respectful manner it will set a precedent for many people who have celebrity status on how they should address issues they feel to be brought to light in our current society. Kaepernick continuing to kneel will ultimately result in a national race war with people arguing over issues that were never meant to be brought to light over Kaepernick 's kneeling.
“I’m not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people,” stated former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Are NFL players such as Colin Kaepernick rudely disrespecting the country they live in by kneeling during the national anthem or are they simply protesting injustices? Some people firmly believe kneeling and protesting during the national anthem is the players right, while others insist that it is disrespectful to America. NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s actions of kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice have resulted in a intense chain of events. Hundreds of sports players are kneeling along with Kaepernick.
A balance must be reached between the NFL and the public, which can only be done by creating strict guidelines for punishing each type of infraction and strictly adhering to these guidelines when enforcing the punishment. Tom Brady and Greg Hardy are only two examples of players being subjectively punished for their actions, and many more will likely fall victim to this disciplinary process if a change is not made. The NFL has the power to convict players without proof, as in the case of Brady, as well as the ability to choose for how many games a player will be suspended, with little to no precedents as for how to deal with the severity of the infraction, as in the case of Hardy. A large portion of the NFL’s popularity lies with how it handles punishing its players that have committed wrongdoings. In the past year alone, numerous decisions have greatly upset the public, which has tarnished the NFL’s brand, and overall damaged its popularity in the eyes of the
Any sport figures have the right to exercise their right, therefore a punishment for not standing for the anthem would be unfair. Overall, athletes should be able to choose to stand for the anthem without punishment. Every American citizen has the right of freedom of speech regardless if others disagree. Not standing for the anthem is not being disrespectful to those who serve the country. Also, making the choice of remaining seated during the National Anthem is not against the law.
Chris McCandless was in his early 20’s, he was the kind of that guy that wanted to learn and experience life without all of the material things. He wanted to be independent from his parents and friends so Chris did something that would be insane for most of us humans but to him, it wasn’t. He went into the wild of Alaska for months, in fact, McCandless even thought he could make it out alive at the end of his journey. As a matter of fact, he was known as being a risk taker and enjoyed being out and about in the nature side of the world. Many would believe that Chris McCandless went into the wild to purposely kill himself; however, I myself believe that McCandless did not do it purposely.
Research shows that the NFL bylaws do lack provisions that prohibit hazing and bullying (Johnson, 2011). Conversely, the NFL’s Standard on Conduct clearly states “violent or threatening behavior among employees, whether in or outside the workplace, is prohibited” (NFL History, 2015). It also bars any conduct that dangers the safety and well-being of another person. With the most famous cases of NFL hazing that were formerly described, it is shown that there are flaws and key elements that the National Football League bylaws are lacking.
The United States is not living up to its ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice for all no matter their race. Athletes are bringing awareness by a peaceful protest, which is protected under the first amendment for those who are oppressed. My cousin, a veteran, has also influenced my view on this situation. Seeing my own family member put their life in danger to save millions of others does not add up to someone kneeling on the sideline during the National Anthem.
“The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race,” President trump says. “It is about respect for our country, flag and National Anthem” With that understanding, many veterans support NFL players who Neal during the National Anthem. Take John Middlemas, the 97 year old World War 2 veterans from Missouri who knelt on Sunday in solidarity with players. His photo went viral with a quote: “Those kids have every right to protest.
The networks suddenly playing the national anthem before games suggest Americans are trying to undermine the political players against the anthem. Many Americans care deeply about what their favorite sports players represent and want the players’ political opinion to be like their own. Therefore, when a popular player’s opinion does not agree with their American fans, many Americans will try to separate sports and