Most Americans think San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem is unpatriotic but support his right to free speech, while almost half do not think the National Football League should penalize him, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.
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“There are different ways to protest than to disrespect the flag”, said Holland, a retiree from Virginia Beach.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color”, Kaepernick told NFL Media.
“27 article -Colin Kaepernick explains why he sat during national anthem” reported how Kaepernick believed his refusal to stand up during the national anthem “is bigger than football”.
“This was my way of being able to protest”, Oppong said. Since then, other National Football League players have joined Kaepernick with different displays of solidarity, including New England Patriots Devin McCourty and Martellus Bennett.
Although many respondents disagree with Kaepernick’s stance, 64 percent of all the people who were surveyed agreed that Kaepernick has a constitutional right to protest and shouldn’t be punished by the NFL. If Kaepernick is so miserable in the United States of America, he can go to a country where he thinks life is better. Kaepernick shouldn’t be denied the right to exercise expression of free speech because of his profession.
“To be very honest with you, I haven’t given it too much thought”. They say the protests have no place at a sporting event. In addition, the government took land from Native Americans.
Sometimes we need protesters to point out what is wrong with the country and where we should improve. Another 29 percent said they did support it and the rest were unsure.
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Citing its rule, former NBA commissioner David Stern suspended former LSU and star Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson) in 1996 for sitting down during the national anthem when he played for the Denver Nuggets. The question we should be asking ourselves is why should one blindly support something that does not value every person equally.
