NFL Kneeling

[pinstripers]

Nobody said "worship the flag" but you.

[jdshock]

Nobody said "worship the flag" but you.

So what is it Pin: if they were protesting your personal passion project, would you still boycott? Aaron Rodgers or Peyton, or whoever you like, went out there and kneels because of abortion--again, whatever you want--do you stop watching the NFL because they don't fine him for kneeling?

[pinstripers]

If they disrespected the flag?

[pinstripers]

Yeah

[pinstripers]

Did Rodgers kneel? I don't even know......or care. It appears the entire league is all for this, and I am not.

[ShockCrazy]

It is actually against the law not to stand for the national anthem. 36 US 301.

(a) Designation.—
The composition consisting of the words and music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem.

(b) Conduct During Playing.—During a rendition of the national anthem—
(1) when the flag is displayed—
(A) individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note;

(B) members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present but not in uniform may render the military salute in the manner provided for individuals in uniform; and

(C) all other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, and men not in uniform, if applicable, should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart; and

(2) when the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed.

Key word, should. Not shall, will, or must. So no, it does not violate any law.

[ShockerPhi]

Here's how I look at it:

These pro football players are using the platform that they have to try and raise awareness on an issue that is important to them. Are they currently benefiting from society, making millions of dollars? Hell ya they are. HOWEVER, a lot of them came from tough living conditions a may have experienced discrimination in some form or another. At the very least, they're speaking up for people that continue to face discrimination today. I think that's admirable. So I don't think all of these guys are spoiled little brats who want attention.

In terms of kneeling for the flag, as others have pointed out, it's not seen as disrespect in terms of the flag code. I'm pretty darn sure it's not in their intentions to insult veterans and people who made this country great. They're simply saying "Hey this country isn't great and we should work on it." Just like Donald Trump said in his campaign.

Also, the fact that we only saw a handful of players kneel or sit before Trump's comments and now we saw almost every team participate in some sort of demonstration says to me that they were protesting Trump's divisive comments. A lot of teams chose to link arms and stand in unity, which I thought was really cool. I hope America can be more like those players and coaches and support one another and not be so divided by this.

Lastly, for anyone who says you should be forced to stand for the flag, that's very scary to me. I'm not accusing anyone on here of saying that, but I've heard it said on various online outlets like Facebook and Twitter. Being forced to stand for the anthem sounds like a country under a dictatorship. That's crap they do in North Korea.

I support the right to kneel/sit. I understand why people would want to boycott. But I think you're missing the point.

[Dan]

In terms of kneeling for the flag, as others have pointed out, it's not seen as disrespect in terms of the flag code. I'm pretty darn sure it's not in their intentions to insult veterans and people who made this country great. They're simply saying "Hey this country isn't great and we should work on it." Just like Donald Trump said in his campaign.

Except that Colin Kaepernick started this all by saying “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. 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.”


At least Colin, the guy that got it all started, really was disrespecting the flag/country.

[RoyalShock]

1. It's not the player's platform. They are employed to perform on a stage for our entertainment.

2. If everyone disrespected the National Anthem for everything they deem wrong with the country, no one would ever stand. It's not about agreeing with everything. It's about being thankful we live in a free country and for those who fought for or died to create and defend it.

This type of divisiveness is not good for the country, and in my opinion, completely misses the mark.

[pinstripers]

Kap, though not a very good quarterback, seemed to be for real, and put a bunch of his money where is mouth was.

[ShockerPhi]

The longer this thread gets, the more I stand by what I said here. The bigger problem most people have is that they don't agree with the movement, not the actual kneeling.

Any of you considering a boycott: what if the same type of protest were done for a cause you believed in? Hypothetically, let's say it's 2009, democrats are in charge of the government, and a major pro-abortion bill passes. In protest of the recent events, some NFL players take to kneeling during the national anthem. Do you still boycott the NFL if the NFL doesn't take a hardline stance against the kneeling?

If the answer is no, then all this disrespect stuff is silly. If yes, it's totally pointless to re-hash the same lame debate about whether or not systemic racism exists since it's obviously a debate about the need to worship the flag.

DING DING DING DING DING!

[ShockCrazy]

Except that Colin Kaepernick started this all by saying “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. 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.”


At least Colin, the guy that got it all started, really was disrespecting the flag/country.

Except then you are blatantly ignoring he changed his stance on how he would protest after discussing with Army veteran teammate Nate Boyer. Which is where the kneeling came from.

[ShockerPhi]

1. It's not the player's platform. They are employed to perform on a stage for our entertainment.

2. If everyone disrespected the National Anthem for everything they deem wrong with the country, no one would ever stand. It's not about agreeing with everything. It's about being thankful we live in a free country and for those who fought for or died to create and defend it.

This type of divisiveness is not good for the country, and in my opinion, completely misses the mark.

I'm saying they have a platform in the form of they have a bigger voice than most of us. They're seen on TV by millions of people. That's what I mean by platform.

As for your second point, you're right. I think there are a lot of things wrong with this country, but I still stand for the flag, because overall, I'm pretty happy to live here. And yes, it has been pretty divisive, which is unfortunate. But it seems like any time people of color peacefully protest, people have a problem with it.

I find it alarming that a lot of people have more of a problem with NFL players kneeling than Nazis and White Supremacists marching and chanting hate speech.

[ShockerPrez]

I have never thought about boycotting the anthem because the government is stupid. I hate that our government has usurped that symbolism for our nation.

The anthem should be our underlying symbol of unity, despite the continued stupiditity of our government.

[shoxlax]

See my post under the basketball forum.