Not Standing For National Anthem

Since when is not standing for the National Anthem such a controversial issue? Ever since NFL player, Collin Kaepernick didn’t stand up for the National Anthem during his game, he has been hated on ever since. The NFL stated that “Players are encouraged but not required to stand during the playing of the national anthem”. It is a part of their first amendment right to not stand during the Anthem. After the first game where Collin refused to stand for the Anthem he stated, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color”. Collin and other athletes /celebrities are protesting strictly for the fact of black people being treated unequally and not getting any justice when it comes to police brutality. It has nothing to do with disrespecting the American Flag, or people who are serving in the military. For example, Collin said “The media painted this as I’m anti-American, anti-men-and-women of the military and that’s not the case at all, I realize that men and women of the military go out and sacrifice their lives and put themselves in harm’s way for my freedom of speech and my freedoms in this country and my freedom to take a seat or take a knee so I have the utmost respect for them”. Collin is one of many athletes and celebrities who have joined him in protesting. Once athletes started to not stand for the Anthem, companies have started taking there endorsements away from the players. For example, the Denver Post recently posted an article about Denver Bronco player Brandon Marshall that states, “Friday, Brandon Marshall lost an endorsement with Air Academy Federal Credit Union. On Monday, Marshall lost another in CenturyLink.” Even though I don’t necessarily agree with companies taking their endorsements from players, they also have the right to do so, even though they are all standing up for something that needs to be fixed. Even with all the hate that the players and celebrities are receiving, they are all determined to take a stand and make a change for what they believe in.