From the 1960’s protest of the Vietnam War by Muhammad Ali, to today’s kneeling during the national anthem by NFL players, sports have always been a way of facilitating dialogue during times of great controversy.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick stirred up controversy by kneeling during the 49ers third preseason game in 2016. He emphasized that the protest was to fight racial injustice, and a flag that doesn’t represent those who are oppressed by it.
“Personally, I’m for the movement…. I feel like it was a silent protest meant to stand for the injustices in the world, those that happen through police brutality,” said marketing teacher Patrick Lucas.
With Kaepernick and the Black Lives Matter movement taking a stand in the national media, football players at WS have also taken a stand at racial injustice by kneeling during their own respective football games.
“I just did it because it was the only way we could really protest the movement that’s going on… I’m not going to stand for something that wouldn’t stand for me,” said junior James Djonkam.
The kneeling during games has been shown as a way to put forth a message of solidarity towards other people of color, not just African Americans. Although, parents that have come to these games have felt strongly about this issue.
“We had a few kids do this, of course I got contacted by parents in the stands who were military affiliates who were not happy at the fact that they felt disrespected about the gesture,” said football coach Jason Eldridge.
Despite the complaints, the conviction of the players to stand up for what’s right has always been in the back of their minds, and they know they have a responsibility to spread a message of equality that most people don’t have a voice to.
“Just like in the NFL, kneeling catches people’s eye, [James, Tyler and I] are catching everybody’s eye here, even though some people agree with it or disagree with it, they’re still noticing, and if they see it from our point of view, they could see why we’re doing that,” said junior Keith Geter.
Most of the players in the NFL and WS cite police brutality as a culprit for why they feel so strongly about this protest, for the slaying of people of color in the United States has gone on continuously without a conviction of those committing the crime have found ways to dodge prosecution. This reason alone has infuriated many people of color.
“In general, I still agree with the stance. I appreciate what [Colin Kaepernick] is going for,” said Lucas.