To Knee, Or Not To Knee Players in professional sports taking a knee during the national anthem By: Jad Yakan LDS 1301

Background Information Originated in the middle of the 2016-2017 NFL regular season Quarterback Colin Kaepernick became the first player to kneel Form of protest that has been adopted by players from different sports

The Big Why Players take a knee during the national anthem as a peaceful way of protesting against the issues of racial inequality and police brutality Protest against the deaths of African Americans by police actions or while in police custody To bring attention to how there are many innocent lives being taken by murderers who rarely receive punishment for their actions

Leader of the Protest: Colin Kaepernick Brought attention to the problem of innocent lives being taken and racial inequality Risked his career as an NFL quarterback to fight for a cause that was being overlooked Kept fighting for equality amongst all races even while being criticized by most of the country and the media Spoke of how the issue with racial inequality was bigger than football and how justice must be brought to those murdering the lives of innocent Donates $100,000 to a different charity each month for 10 months Charities such as: United We Dream, Black Veterans for Social Justice, Meals on Wheels

Followers Notable players from other NFL teams and other sports began to take a knee during the national anthem The negative comments from President Trump caused many players as well as owners of the NFL teams to lock arms and take a knee all together during the anthem After the comments from the president, the NFL fanbase also backed up the players as President Trump said anyone who takes a knee should be fired and that fans should not tolerate the behavior by boycotting the NFL games

Video: Colin Kaepernick https://www.sbnation.com/2016/9/11/12869726/coli n-kaepernick-national-anthem-protest-seahawks- brandon-marshall-nfl

Effects of the Kneel: For Players from other teams AND other sports began to take a knee as a form of protest Many of the communities that fight for the same cause supported Kaepernick’s actions through social media and other protests Time Magazine featured Colin Kaepernick on the cover of their magazine to show support for his protest

Effects of the Kneel: Against Most of the public see the kneel as disrespect towards the troops fighting for our country and towards the fallen soldiers and police officers Drew negative attention from President Trump Negative comments came from NFL executives discussing how he was an embarrassment to the NFL Boos from the crowd during the national anthem

Take Action To resolve the controversy of players kneeling in the NFL, there needs to be: -Steps taken toward more carefully conducted police operations -Harsh consequences for people who take the lives of the innocent by using the power they were given Leaders must step forward like Colin Kaepernick did to bring more attention to the matter in order to resolve the situation If there is indisputable evidence that a person’s innocent life was taken by someone, there should be harsh consequences for the murderer, such as how a call can be overturned in football if there is indisputable evidence Place more descriptive instructions on what to do when engaged with an officer of the law to ensure that no injuries will take place without reason

“Most people don't want to change “Most people don't want to change. They're comfortable and set in their ways. But in order to change, you have to be able to agitate people at times. And I think that's something that's very necessary for us to improve As a country” -Colin Kaepernick