News Review: Colin Kaepernick

The Story:

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refuses to stand for the national anthem at his NFL games to protest racial injustice in the United States. The Atlantic reporter Matt Vasilogambros comments on Kaepernick’s actions, linked here.

Why This Story:

I chose this story because I wanted to find a current story in the news with lots of social media reaction. Also, I find this story interesting to start a debate on how we should protest in this country. I personally believe that kneeling on Sept. 11 during the national anthem when 2,996 of your fellow citizens died 15 years earlier is just disrespectful and will not get your point across effectively.

Social Media Reaction:

The story by Vasilogambros on the 49ers quarterback received 88 comments and many more replies to those comments. Most people were saying that they disagree with the way Kaepernick went about protesting, but not necessarily issue at hand. One anonymous commenter said, “If you want respect, act respectful.” The Atlantic did not tweet this exact story on its official page, but it did tweet two articles written about Kaepernick on the same date that Vasilogambros wrote his story, Aug. 30.