Should NFL Players Have to Stand for the National Anthem?

Parallax News presents big issues broken down into multiple perspectives. This brief looks at 3 different perspectives on recent protests in professional football.

Across the country, athletes are staging protests during traditional pre-game renditions of the national anthem. The demonstrations began in the National Football League (NFL), with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick choosing to stay seated for the anthem before pre-season games. In the league’s first regular season match-ups last weekend, players on multiple teams joined the protest, sitting, kneeling, linking arms, and raising fists in the air during the anthem to make a statement about societal injustice in America. Now, players in other sports, even at the high school and collegiate level, are following suit.

I. Colin Kaepernick

Colin Kaepernick, quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, was the first high-profile athlete to participate in the recent wave of anthem protests. Kaepernick says football provides him with a unique platform, and that he feels a responsibility to use his access to media to bring attention to racial injustice in the U.S. Specifically, Kaepernick says he’s protesting police killings of unarmed black men that go unpunished. The quarterback says the message of his protest — sitting and then kneeling during the national anthem — is to demonstrate his lack of, “pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” “This is bigger than football,” he concludes, adding that risking a potential suspension or loss of endorsements is worth broadcasting his message.

II. Ann Coulter

Ann Coulter, a conservative commentator, believes teams have a right to punish protesting athletes for their “outrageous” behavior. Coulter says employers are allowed to suspend or fine workers for conduct they deem inappropriate, and that refusing to observe the anthem is unprofessional. “There are rules for etiquette and decorum,” Coulter argues. “If they do something that embarrasses themselves — including things that are their constitutional rights — they can be fired; forget suspended.” The commentator insists that just because protests are legally protected by the concept of free speech, it doesn’t mean disciplinary action isn’t appropriate, pointing out that athletes have been suspended for making politically incorrect comments despite their legal right to say such things. Coulter adds that protesting athletes wouldn’t make the lucrative salaries they earn if they didn’t live and work in the country they’re protesting.

III. Barack Obama

President Barack Obama has argued that players are exercising their “constitutional right to make a statement” by not standing during the national anthem, adding that there is a long history of sports figures using their platform to do so. Obama also says, however, that the flag and national anthem hold deep meaning for men and women who serve in the military. He fears that sitting during the anthem is “a tough thing for them to get past” in order to participate in a conversation about racial injustice. While Obama says the protests have generated conversation about “real, legitimate issues,” he’s encouraged people to foster conversation in ways other than “just sitting on the sidelines.”

***

Further Reading: CNN / ESPN / Daily Caller

This brief was written by Matthew Meyer.

Parallax News has been able to grow because of our readers. If you have friends who like to see more than one side to a story, tell them to subscribe to the brief.