Will NFL Players Take A Knee Like They Did In 2016 Following Colin Kaepernick's Original Stance?


    With all that is going on in the United States right now, including the coronavirus there is also a problem with racism. Shocker, right? Racism has been going on for what seems like forever, and it is disgusting and completely outrageous we still have to deal with this today.  I am a sports communication major, and you even see it in sports with fans and even media sometimes making a racial comment and sometimes it gets thrown under the rug. In the NFL, in 2016 Colin Kaepernick who spent six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers took a knee during the National Anthem which caused outbreak in not only the United States, but the world. People thought it was him disrespecting the military or the flag, but he kept saying over and over it wasn't about that, it was about police brutality. Over time you saw more and more people arguing over if it was the right thing to do, yes people argued if it was okay to peacefully protest, why? The First Amendment tells us that we have the right of free speech, but also free of assembly. Which means the people of America can peacefully protest or have the freedom to speak about what they believe in. Colin Kaepernick did just that, and the NFL turned its back on him and so did many other NFL teams and demanded that it shouldn't be happening. This is why you see Kaepernick not only have a job, but you don't see kneeling basically at all in NFL stadiums on Sundays. Fast forward to 2020, George Floyd an African American was killed by a white police officer by the name of Derek Chauvin by putting his knee on his neck to keep Floyd down which ultimately ended up in Floyd passing away. Riots have broke out, peaceful protests are going on around every state in America. What does this have to do with sports? Well NFL player Adrian Peterson says that all players will be taking a knee again this upcoming season. "Years ago, seeing (Colin) Kaepernick taking a knee, now we're all ready to take a knee together going into this season without a doubt, without a doubt." How will Rodger Goodell the commissioner of the NFL handle this again? The first time this happened he said teams can do as they please with the players, including fining them for their action. Could this happen again knowing what transpired this past month? I guess we will see how strong NFL players will hold their ground and how they will help by using their platform to send a message. 


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