Those of us who are fans of the NFL have definitely heard of and most likely witnessed either on television or during a live game, the national anthem controversy that for a while took center stage. For those of you who have not heard about this, many players of the league starting in 2016 began kneeling, sitting, or locking arms during our national anthem to show disapproval for how our society has gone about handling police brutality against African Americans and people of color. It has sparked controversy from the football field all the way to the office of the President. It is an issue that seems to have divided some fans with some agreeing that the NFL players have a right for their voices to be heard and others saying sitting or kneeling during the anthem is a huge sign of disrespect to those who have fought and died for our country. However, it seems at least in the 2018 season that even though the issue and protesting has not gone away completely, it is hardly mentioned. Only a couple players continue to kneel during the anthem. Why has this issue been placed on the back burner? Before we get into the possible reasons behind this, let's first take a look at why this began, how it kept growing, and what the future holds for the players and the league.
How the controversy came to be
Many of us familiar with the national anthem controversy are familiar with Colin Kaepernick. He is the former quarterback of the San Diego 49ers and the face of the national anthem protests. It started back in 2016 when many cases of police involved shootings against people of color were surfacing and the issue was reaching a boiling point that Kaepernick first decided to sit during the anthem. This was also at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in America. At first, not many people noticed, but as time went on more and more players began joining in and it was becoming a hot topic within the league. However, it seemed as the protests from the players continued growing, so did the backlash they were facing from some fans, team owners, and President Trump. Some fans believed regardless of what was happening in the country, there was a time and place to discuss this and a football game wasn't one of them. They also believed it showed disrespect to those who serve in the military and sacrificed their lives. Vice President Mike Pence actually left a game when members of the 49ers knelt during the anthem. Fast forward to 2017. Kaepernick decided to opt out of playing for the 49ers and ultimately became a free agent. Though the NFL has strongly denied his claims, Kaepernick filed a lawsuit against the league and the owners claiming they were purposely not hiring him after he became a free agent because of his role in the protests.
Reasons the controversy could be dying down
It seems for the 2018 season, the once heavily discussed and debated topic of the players protesting has significantly died down for the time being. There could be a couple of reasons for this. Let's start with one that many players probably don't want to admit to. Though Kaepernick has filed a lawsuit against the league, he is going to have an extremely hard time winning it. If he uses the argument that they are conspiring against him for protesting, he has to prove that completely. With a league that is majority African American and with some of those protesters still playing for the NFL, it's not going to be an easy win. The issue with that is many players do not want to follow in Kaepernick's footsteps. Though many still want to protest, they know going against their coaches, team owners, and the league will most likely result in them being let go. The average NFL career is only a few years long on average and whether it's right or wrong, those players want to play as long as possible. NFL players have very few bargaining rights and many of them do not have guaranteed contracts. With owners of these teams worth a combined total of 61 billion, the players know they will be risking their careers for a fight they're not sure if they can win. The NFL has also decided to hold off on enforcing the new anthem policy which says players who do not stand will be subject to fine and individual punishment.
It could also be as simple as the issue has been stressed over the last two years and like any issue that lasts that long, it becomes fatigued. Not much has happened recently in America to make the issue really boil over again. As I've stated before, 2016 was filled with many horrible incidents of police brutality, police involved shootings, and Black Lives Matter really reaching its peak. So while the issue of course is still very much here in our culture, a major event hasn't occurred to revamp the protesting again. There has been more attention with Nike signing Kaepernick as their spokesperson than with anything in the NFL recently. Of course no one has stopped caring about the issue, but I think other issues have arose in the country that we're also trying to focus on. Players have also stated that they are trying to have a different mindset on tackling these sorts of problems and it may be better to work on issues within their communities to make change happen.
It's far from over
This is a very sensitive and complicated issue and I think this is far from going away completely. Since the league has not actually enforced the new anthem rule, when they actually do, I'm sure it will again raise huge problems between the players and the NFL. Everyone has a different opinion on it. Some players are even requesting to have the pre 2009 rules back where players were not on the field during the national anthem. I think the NFL having already enough problems to deal with are taking their time trying to figure this out. They do not want to bring any more unwanted attention to themselves. I hope somehow everyone in some way can get what they feel is fair and just without anyone having their voice being left out or feeling disrespected. We'll just have to wait and see.
Thanks for reading! See you soon!
Comments