Today's column in the Grand Haven Tribune, reprinted below.
The debate over whether or not people should be forced to stand during the national anthem has come up over and over again in the past 100 years since the anthem has held an official place in our country’s life. The most recent debate was sparked when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat during the anthem during a preseason game in 2016. His action was motivated by the deaths of African-Americans by police or while in police custody.
Afterward, Kaepernick had some careful conversations with another teammate, Eric Reid, about what would be the best thing to do. The two of them even sat down with Nate Boyer, a retired Green Beret and a former NFL player. After these conversations, they decided they would not sit down because this could convey an attitude of disrespect. Instead, they would kneel during the anthem.
As Reid explained it, “We chose to kneel because it's a respectful gesture. I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy.”
However, during 2017, various conservatives began sharply criticizing those players who decided to kneel. Never one to seek to bring calm to a controversy, on Sept. 24, President Donald Trump said that anyone who didn’t stand should be fired. In response, more than 200 players knelt or sat in an even stronger protest.
The anger of those who felt anything other than kneeling during the anthem was disrespectful only grew, leading to calls in several conservative outlets to boycott the NFL. Other players began joining Kaepernick in the protests, choosing to raise a fist during the anthem or to stand with their arms locked instead of with their hand over their chest.
During the preseason, a new league rule as approved by the commissioner and the NFL owners will require all players either to stand or to remain in the locker room. The players union was not consulted. Then, last month, Kaepernick won a legal battle, gaining the ability to enter into arbitration with the league about his claim that owners are colluding to keep from hiring him due to his affiliation with this protest.
All of this was ignited further by an advertising campaign by Nike which includes Kaepernick. The ad features many people who have overcome numerous challenges and have gone on to do great things. Near the end of the ad, there is a shot of Kaepernick while the voiceover (who we find out has been Kaepernick all along) says, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” The ad ends with Kaepernick saying, “Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy, ask if they are crazy enough.”
And, of course, the anger on the right flashed white hot again as people burned their Nike apparel or cut the iconic swoosh off of it in protest. Some conservatives even started replacing images of Kaepernick with NFL star Pat Tillman. You may remember that Tillman turned down the chance to make millions and instead enlisted after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, going on to serve bravely and die in combat.
Tillman’s widow immediately spoke out angrily, asking people not to use her husband’s sacrifice as a way to attack Kaepernick. Tillman’s biographer, Jon Krakauer, spoke out, as well, insisting that, “I have no doubt if he was in the NFL today, he would be the first to kneel. So there is irony about what is going on.”
Of course, despite the claims of President Trump and many on the right, Kaepernick’s protests and the protests of his fellow players is not disrespecting the flag, those currently serving in the armed forces or our military veterans. Rather, they are kneeling in protest of the fact that our country still has not dealt with the continued killing of unarmed African-Americans by our police. And, as Tillman’s own widow said in a statement, “The very action of self-expression and the freedom to speak from one’s heart — no matter those views — is what Pat and so many other Americans have given their lives for.”
The best response to this controversy that I have seen came from Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic nominee in the 2018 Texas Senate race. Someone in the crowd asked Beto about the NFL protests and Beto said two very important things. First, he said, “Reasonable people can disagree on this issue and it makes them no less American to come down on a different conclusion.” As someone who supports the protests of the players, I also strongly agree with O’Rourke on this related point. We need to get back to a place in our society where we do not attack those who hold different views than we do on important issues. Particularly, because these are issues that need to be engaged, not dismissed by an angry meme or a knee-jerk refusal to listen to the other.
O’Rourke then went on to highlight the powerful history of civil rights protest for equal rights, those who sacrificed so much for those rights, who were killed and attacked for insisting that our society must change. He argued that taking a knee in a football game is a part of our country’s strong tradition of peaceful nonviolent protest. He insisted that their protest that unarmed black men, black teenagers and black children “are being killed at a frightening level right now, including by members of law enforcement, without accountability and justice.” He argued that the players are frustrated that those in power have not resolved this tragic problem and he insisted that he “could think nothing more American than to peacefully stand up or take a knee for your rights.”
I’m tremendously disappointed in the tone of those who disagree with these protests. I’m disappointed with their refusal to respect an opposing viewpoint (notice that no one significant is saying you are not American if you remain standing and chose not to protest). And, most importantly, by angrily insisting that everyone had better stand for the anthem, those on the right are making it abundantly clear why this protest is important: because standing for an anthem is more important to them than the bodies of African-Americans which continue to fall on the streets of our country.
Stop getting angry about the decision to peacefully kneel in protest. Stop burning Nike apparel because you don’t agree with their decision to affirm Kaepernick’s work. Stop insisting that anyone who doesn’t agree with you isn’t a real American.
Instead, take a breath and listen to the grief and anger pouring over from those who are experiencing violence and oppression in our country. Get angry about black bodies being killed with no consequences.
Honor the veterans who have fought for this country to ensure all people have the right of freedom of speech, freedom of protest. Honor them by working to ensure all people in our society truly do have access to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.