As the 2016-2017 football season approaches, fans and sports critics everywhere watch their favorite NFL athletes compete against one another. Advancing through preseason, players stand out and fans talk about which individuals they think will carry their favorite teams to victory.
Having been out of headlines for a few years, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, is standing out this year for not standing up. Instead of newsrooms reporting on his precision passing or his poker face under pressure, they are covering the athlete who remained seated during our country’s National Anthem.
During the 49ers preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on Friday, Aug. 26, Kaepernick was seen sitting on the bench while the National Anthem was being echoed throughout the stadium.
As his actions caught attention over media, Kaepernick broke the silence over his sitting scandal. According to Kaepernick, his decision to sit was a statement made against racial oppression.
In an interview with NFL Media Kaepernick said, “I am not going to stand up and show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”
With national attention drawn to the 49ers, coach Chip Kelly verbalized his support for Kaepernick’s decision to sit, saying the athlete was practicing his rights.
Freshman baseball player and secondary education and English major Alex Del Giudice, said, “I’ll echo the statement made by Jerry Rice a couple days ago in which I do think Kaepernick had every right to do what he did, but in disrespecting the flag, I thought was disrespectful. Many people have died defending that flag. He could have done something else rather than disrespect the flag in which gives him the rights to do what he does and play professional football. I think his message was right, but his action in getting it across was wrong.”
Teammates of Kaepernick made no comment about his actions before the game. Other NFL players came out with mixed opinions on Kaepernick’s decision to sit throughout the National Anthem. Some supported his decision while others made remarks saying Kaepernick should leave the country.
Senior men’s soccer player and accounting major Ben Roda has his own opinions on the pro-athlete’s recent actions. “I did not respect the actions of Colin Kaepernick during the national anthem,” Roda said. “To me, professional athletes should be held to the highest standard and for him to not stand during the National Anthem is childish.” Roda also said, “The last time Colin Kaepernick was a big deal in the sports headlines was in 2012 when he made the epic Super Bowl run with the San Francisco 49ers where he beat out his teammate Alex Smith for the starting spot. Since that time his stock in the NFL started to decrease and he wasn’t in the spotlight anymore. I believe after Blaine Gabbert was announced the starting quarter back for this year’s NFL season, Kaepernick was trying to do whatever he could to get himself in the headlines again.”
In a recent Tweet by ESPN Sports Business Reporter Darren Rowell , he revealed that Kaepernick’s jersey was the best-selling out of all the 49ers and more of his paraphernalia has been sold in the last week than the last eight combined months. So was his sitting a publicity stunt?
Others at Cabrini University see it as a stunt of outright disrespect. An anonymous junior-female athlete said, “Although I believe everyone has freedom of speech and is entitled to their opinion, I think it is disrespectful to sit and protest the anthem, especially being a professional athlete and having influence on the younger population. I think that the power and attention he holds could be used in a different source for the same cause rather than disrespecting this country.”
Whether it is seen as a statement of against racial injustice, disrespect, or more publicity, people have opinions on the decision Kaepernick made, especially athletes here at Cabrini University.
