Societal problems make their way into America’s great escape: sports

December 12, 2017

Fans have strong reactions to players, politicians injecting politics into sports

At first, we all thought that political issues get handled in the Washington, D.C., or in between elected officials.. But in this day and time, various athletes have begun to take these political issues into their own hands.

Former San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick is the most prominent athlete using his fame as a professional athlete to bring attention to issues surrounding police brutality. He has done so by sitting during the National Anthem due to his disapproval in the way minorities have been treated by the law enforcement.

Because he started his protest by sitting on the bench during the an- them, a former Green Beret, Nate Boyer reached out to Kaepernick letting him know that he thought sitting was disrespectful. is lead to Kaepernick starting a conversation with him and ended in Boyer convincing Kaepernick to kneel during the anthem instead of sitting on the bench. After Kaepernick started kneeling and he received even more criticism, Boyer wrote a second letter directed to “every single American.” He makes clear that he believes people should stop fighting about this controversy.

“No more choosing sides, no more ‘for or against.’ I believe our Veterans will be called upon to lead the way in healing the world and solving its problems; right now our country needs that more than I can remember,” he wrote.

Ever since then, Kaepernick has sparked a flame all across the National Football League, in a way of them also taking a knee during the National Anthem. Kaepernick is not doing this with any intentions of being disrespectful, he is just voicing his opinion in his own unique way.

As I said previously, kneeling during the National Anthem has become a worldwide movement. Other NFL players have hopped on the bandwagon, helping Kaepernick voice his opinion and their own, as well. Denver Broncos Linebacker Brandon Marshall and Oakland Raiders Running Back Marshawn Lynch have done their own rituals to help Kaepernick on his protest.

With both of them including other players around the NFL, taking a seat when the National Anthem is played, has caught the attention of President Donald Trump spoke on the issue saying, “The NFL is showing total disrespect to our great country” which in some ways I can understand why President Trump feels this way.

But at the same time, he is not understanding nor listening to any of the players and the reasons why they are behaving in this manner. In my opinion, Colin Kaepernick and the other NFL Players, are in the right.

Growing up as a young African American male can be hard. We face the challenge of dealing with the fact that we could be killed just for pulling our drivers license out of our pockets or we could be harassed for no reason other than the color of our skin.

But not only should we have a voice because of how we are being treated but also for the sacrifice these players are making. In a way, it seems hypocritical. We are fine with these athletes sacrificing their bodies to play a sport we love watching, but suddenly we have an issue when the people we love watching, disagree with the way people in the community are being treated?

About the Writer
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Larry Durden, Staff Writer
Name: Larry Durden(Miami)
Grade: 12
Academy: New Tech
Year on Staff: 2
Title: Staff Writer
Why they are on staff? Because I have always had a passion for writing
What do you do for fun? I workout
What movie do you recommend that everyone watch? Liv & Maddie
Plans for after high school? To play basketball at Blinn College
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Kaepernick should be playing on an NFL team instead of having to fight to play

Before Colin Kaepernick, former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers became fa- mous for kneeling during the National Anthem, he lead his team to two NFC championships and the Super Bowl in 2012.

However, right now he isn’t on anyone’s NFL roster and led a grievance case on October 15, 2017 against the NFL, accusing teams of improperly colluding to keep him out of the league. His protest against police brutality has been a lightening rod of controversy, drawing the ire of people who disagree with the manner of his protest.

When he opted out of his contract to make him eligible to play for other teams, the 49ers cut him from the team, making him a man without a team since January 1, 2017.

But in my opinion Kaepernick should be on a NFL team because you look at his stats for the 2016 sea- son he had 2,241 passing yards with 16 TD’s and 4 INT’s with a 59.2 percent completion percentage. In 2015, Kaepernick was the starter through week 8 leading his team to a terrible 2-6 start and was benched until week 6 in the 2016 season. And not to mention he has lead the 49ers to the XLVII super but lost 34-31 in an obsolete thriller and also lead them to 2 NFC Championship games and only winning 1 of the 2 games played.

When you rst look at his stats and achievements you are impressed and you think to yourself and wonder why this amazing QB isn’t a starting QB in the NFL. e reason none of the owners want him on their team is because he kneels during the anthem and NFL fans don’t like to see that and they don’t buy tickets to the games or they turn the T.V to the other channel and not support that team. us, the NFL team he is on won’t make the money they need from ticket sales, jersey sales, and TV broadcasting.

About the Writer
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Spencer Seyfarth, Staff Writer
Name: Spencer Seyfarth
Grade: 12
Academy:New Tech
Year on Staff: 2
Title: Staff Writer
Why they are on Staff? Because the class is fun
What do you do for fun? Play pickup basketball games
What movie do you recommend that everyone watch? Idk
Plans for after high school? Go to college in Michigan
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