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Dakota Witham
Historical Reflection Essay
IS 363: Dr. Snorgrass & Larson
October 20, 2017
Kneeling for the National Anthem
In the professional sports industry, the playing of the Anthem before the start of the game
has been going on for some time now. According to Time Magazine the first playing of the
Anthem in sports was the MLB on May 18,1862. The NFL started playing the anthem at the end
of WWII also according to Time Magazine. In the last two years there has been a lot of
controversy surrounding this at the start of games. This battle of protest has actually been going
on for almost 50 years now. This idea of doing this is a way to express the athletes concerns in a
peaceful way. This type of protest has been going on for several years now and the media and
people are just now making a big deal about this since 2016. The media has played a big role in
the idea of it just knowing causing problems worldwide.
The first record of this according to the NY Times is in 1968 at the Summer Olympics.
Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists up in the air wearing a black glove to salute
black power during the medal ceremony. This then carried on into the 1972 cases of Vince
Matthews and Wayne Collett being barred from the Olympics. In their case during the anthem
they were not facing the flag. Also according to the NY Times in 1996 the NBA suspended
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf because he did not stand during the Anthem for the start of the March
game. In 2016 the protest started in the NFL, it was started by Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers. His
initial idea was to sit during the Anthem according to Politifact. After talking with Green Beret
and Nate Boyer on how to do this without disrespect to our military, he began to take a knee
during the playing of the National Anthem. Also in 2016 according to the undefeated website ran
by ESPN, stated that the famous NBA stars Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony,
and Chris Paul opened up the ESPYS with their call for social change and an end to violence.
Also stated in article that WNBA players wore warm-up tee shirts to show solidarity after the
shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana. That fact that not just one athlete but multiple athletes
feel the same way shows that there are real problems out in our society that need to be fixed. this
is also starting to bleed into the NHL as hockey players are on the same page just like every
other sports programs but not published by the media like the NFL case is.
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I personally don't see an issue with what has happened in the NFL or any sporting event
over the last two years. They needed to have a way to show to a large audience and this is the
way. When you look at the NFL it is a nationally watched event with three Primetime events
weekly shown nationwide. Before all this first started most of the times they never showed the
Anthem on T.V. they instead used this time showing commercial's because that was more
revenue for the media. This however was ended when the state of the protest started because they
felt they need to show what was going on and how it was being carried out. From a media
standpoint they would be really mad about this because they have to give up all that extra run
time for their production time now rather than making money. This also goes to show how media
really take a toll on our lives. If it was not for the media, us as viewers would not really see any
of this other than what we heard from others who were present during the event. You also have
to make sure you are reviewing a reliable source when it come to the media as well because
some online readings are not always true just because they are posted.
I was raised in a military family my whole childhood and I had friends of many different
colors and cultures and was always understanding when something was not followed by a friend
because of their views or feelings on something. Everyone has their rights to do what they
believe in and freedom of speech. I did have one really good friend in middle school and every
morning during the Anthem he remained seated as the rest of the class stood. He was sent to the
principal’s office several time by our teacher for his actions but there was not a lot the school
could do so he always returned to class. The teacher then decided he should just not be in the
class room moving forward so he decided to sit outside the room until the Anthem was done
each morning. I totally understood his reasoning for why he wouldn't stand. It had nothing to do
with the military or our country. It was all related to police brutality on colors just like the case
of Kaepernick’s was. He had several family members that were arrested and were abused by the
officers when they were doing everything asked of them. This is something that has to stop in
our world because everyone is the same now and we don’t have to be harder on those of color
just because we feel like they are different.
The media involvement with this has been at large because it’s something that everyone
wants to see what will really happen after the commits the president had said. In an article from
ESPN Trump stated “called for the firings of men who had peacefully exercised their First
Amendment Rights.” This made the media go crazy too hear that our leader wants everyone
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involved removed from their job. I don’t think this could happen because of our rights and the
idea that they are not causing harm and being disrespectful they are just trying to be heard. As
stated by Marlin Briscoe “If we don't protest, how are we going to get our voices heard?” this is
so true and they are doing it in the most peaceful way possible so people understand the issue
going on in the communities and around the world. When being involved with media you have to
make sure you are careful about what you say and post on social media sites as well not only on
business pages but also personal ones as well because millions are watching. A good example of
this in the Colin case is when sports center 6 co-host Jemele Hill posted comments regarding our
president as being “a white supremacist who has surrounded himself with other white
supremacists.” this not only caused problems for herself but also with ESPN as well. Colin did
agree with her on the comments however you need to understand what is right and what is wrong
when involved with such a high standard because of your job. ESPN did put out a statement after
this incident and she did later apologies and Jemele recognized that her actions was
inappropriate.
This to me explains everything that our world is so driven to the media to try to find
answers that the people in the media forget about what their actions might do to the viewers of
their shows. If you watched a sporting show for several months and then stopped watching
because of something like this that could cost the company money in the long run and effect their
overall production and ratings. This could even cause you to lose your job based on your actions.
Just like we discussed in our first session together people use every space they can dream of to
try to advertise something. This issue is not being published in any other form other than player
taking a peaceful knee during the Anthem. This shows what they are trying to raise awareness
about problems without the expense of advertising and trying to gain ever white space they can
as people are aware of the issue just no steps are being taken to fix our issue. When media is
brought into or presents something they might not always get all facts aligned before stating
something which is also another issue sometimes caused by the media. They are also sometimes
given no time at all to present the findings on something and must think as they go type of
attitude. From the article Kaepernick saga raises questions about the media, tells the story on
how the first reporter to talk with Colin about what happen was reporter and analyst Steve
Wyche. Which is an African American with 27 years of experience. This article brings up a good
point wanting to know why an it was the first published and why he got the story and not a report
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that was of white decent. It says that Wyche knew Colin really well and that he could also
understand him better and Colin would open up about what was really going on.
When we look at what Kaepernick and all the current players are doing it really makes
me wonder what is going to happen next. On Tuesday the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell
gave a brief press update on this issue. According the CBS News Mr. Goodell stated “they did
not ask for players to commit to standing during the Anthem.” According to the Presidents
million tweets, he got what he deserved because he thinks everyone will listen to anything he
says. Also according to the article they are working with the NFLPA and player leaders to
discuss and review our platform to promote equality and effectuate positive change. I believe the
NFL and any sporting team will have a good outcome when this is finally over, however that will
take some time and I don't see an end anytime soon. As a result, the players peacefully protesting
is a good thing for America to see even though Trump thinks its disrespectful, I think it’s what
must be down at this point. When people say they are disrespecting the flag and the country by
taking a knee is not true to me. What I would find disrespectful is talking or moving around
aggressively during the Anthem. Players however are just casually taking a knee and not doing
anything else during the song so it shouldn't be a sign of disrespect, it’s a sign of showing they
have issues with something that needs to be fixed. This also opened my eyes on this subject
when the Seattle Seahawks player, Michael Bennett was abused in Las Vegas for following
orders by the officer just because of his color. In his case a gun was put to his head once on the
ground because the cop thought he was causing problems when he was not doing anything
wrong. Sometime cops and any law enforcement agencies steps over their boundaries in the line
of duty and that’s what we need to have fixed.
In my research into this topic I have seen that not only the protest on the field has caused
problems with people. This problem with Trump and the NFL team owners, but also how the
media can effect this topic. When you think about the players though it’s the only way they could
show their concern peacefully and not lose their jobs, they my however lose some endorsements
and sponsors but most of them understand that and agree it’s what must be done. When it comes
to media because they decided to broadcast the Anthem on live television they risked the loss on
the money they used to make when it was not aired. Also the different approaches owners took to
this protest where some teams stayed in the locker rooms, to owners joining the players on field
for a kneel in the events before the Anthem. Everyone has their own views on this but I believe
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that the start of this in 2016 is what we needed to start a case on the issue of not treating races of
color fairly. It also shows you that this country is still divided in some ways We also have a lot
of work to get to where we need to be. We need to be the same against everyone and will take
many more years if it happens at all.
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Works Cited

Johnk, Zach. “National Anthem Protests by Black Athletes Have a Long History.” The New York
Times, The New York Times, 25 Sept. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/sports/national-
anthem-protests-black-athletes.html.

Lonnae O’Neal. “Kaepernick saga raises questions about the media.” The Undefeated, The
Undefeated, 2 Sept. 2016, theundefeated.com/features/kaepernick-saga-raises-questions-about-
the-media-diversity/.

Martinez, Peter. “NFL commissioner "did not ask" players to stand during national anthem.”
CBS News, CBS Interactive, 17 Oct. 2017, www.cbsnews.com/news/roger-goodell-nfl-
commissioner-national-anthem-protests-live-updates/.

O'Connor, Ian. “How the player who wasn't there won the day.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures,
24 Sept. 2017, www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20793390/donald-trump-made-colin-kaepernick-
winner-2017-nfl-protests.

PolitiFact, and Bloggers on the Internet. “A short history of the national anthem, protests and the
NFL.” PolitiFact, 25 Sept. 2017, www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/sep/25/short-
history-national-anthem-and-sports/.

Richardson, Bradford. “Colin Kaepernick tweets support of Jemele Hill, ESPN anchor who
called Trump a ‘white supremacist’.” The Washington Times, The Washington Times, 13 Sept.
2017, www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/sep/13/colin-kaepernick-tweets-support-jemele-
hill-espn-a/.

TheUndefeated. “Colin Kaepernick protests anthem over treatment of minorities.” The

Undefeated, The Undefeated, 2 Sept. 2016, theundefeated.com/features/colin-kaepernick-
protests-anthem-over-treatment-of-minorities/.

Waxman, Olivia B. “When the National Anthem Became a Tradition at Games.” Time, Time, 25
Sept. 2017, time.com/4955623/history-national-anthem-sports-nfl/.