Zoë Kaplan

After nearly two years of controversy, the NFL released a new rule on May 23rd, 2018 banning players from kneeling during the national anthem.  Team members who wish not to stand during the anthem may remain in the locker room or in similar places off the field; those who do kneel on the field will be subject to team fines.

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Controversy over players’ actions during the national anthem began with former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016.  A longtime activist for the civil rights movement, Kaepernick refused to stand during the anthem as a protest of race and police violence in America.

‘I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,’ Kaepernick explained.  ‘To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.  There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.’

While Kaepernick’s protest received mixed reactions, he was able to use his platform as a means to stand up for social change.  For those against him, the debate becomes a question of whether they can separate Kaepernick’s character from his football skills.

Yet, the NFL teams made the decision for many fans; Kaepernick quickly went from starting quarterback to an unsigned free agent.  He claims that NFL teams are actively working against him to ensure he doesn’t play.

These are the same NFL teams that allowed team members charged with domestic violence, sexual assault allegations, and drug abuse to continue playing; now, players who kneel will take consequences these players never had to suffer.

Tensions over kneeling increased when President Donald Trump took to Twitter last fall after more players joined Kaepernick’s protests.  Trump called for NFL owners to remove and fire players who kneeled during the anthem.  He later blamed the NFL’s commissioner, Robert Goodell, for allowing players to ‘disrespect the American flag.’

Now, Goodell has used patriotism as justification for the new ban on kneeling.

‘It was unfortunate that on-field protests created a false perception among many that thousands of NFL players were unpatriotic,’ Goodell said in a statement after the ban was released.  ‘This is not and was never the case.’

Yet, the fear of players being seen as ‘unpatriotic’ seems to be a scapegoat for the NFL’s recent viewership problems.  NFL viewership dropped ten percent last year after eight percent the year before.  While many are blaming the kneeling controversy for the decline in ratings, one J.D. Power study shows that only 3% of viewers stopped tuning in because of the protests.

We’ll have to wait until next season to see how the rule affects ratings, but we can already feel the heat from players and fans enraged by the ban.  Many individuals, both on and off the field, have threatened to boycott the upcoming season if the rule change stands.

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These are the same NFL teams that allowed team members charged with domestic violence, sexual assault allegations, and drug abuse to continue playing.

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Among them is Keith Ellison, the vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who tweeted that he would not be watching ‘because of the unfair cowardly and idiotic kneeling ban.’

Shaun King, a writer and civil rights activist, stated that he’d spoken with many NFL players who would be sitting out the season because of the league’s attempts to keep protesters off the field.

Will these boycotts lead to empty stadiums and missing faces from the field?  Even if they do, the question looms: why now?

We’ve tuned in knowing players were accused of assaulting women or doing illegal drugs; will we support others who boycott or choose to stay behind in the locker room during the national anthem?

 

Zoë is a rising junior at Wesleyan University majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. To read more of her writing, please visit www.writersblock.space or The Wesleyan Argus.

 

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