1900's
2000's
Is there a step too far in protesting?
Kaepernick paved the way for many other NFL players to begin taking a knee. These events led to Donald Trump, president of the USA, calling for NFL owners to fire any “son of a bitch” who “disrespects our flag”. In reaction to Trump’s statements many players from teams like the New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins taking a knee. Besides one player, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t even take to the field for the national anthem. Players have been taking a knee during the anthem in response to racial injustices and also to show their displeasure with Trump being president of the US. Trump has also been critical of actors, actresses, singers, sports stars and any other celebrities using their platforms as “unfair advantage”. But wait a minute, isn’t Trump a celebrity? Hasn’t he built on his image as a celebrity to become extremely rich and use this “unfair advantage” to become a politician and to lobby people into electing him as president of the US? Meryl Streep spoke out against Trump during her acceptance speech at the 2017 Golden Globes and a part of it stood out to me; “Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose”. If Trump and other world leaders, such as Putin and his anti-LGBT views, continue to act that way, there will always be civil unrest and people will protest and speak out against them.
Closer to home
Author - Art Lowry
4th Year Recreation and Sport Management student