Thunder Player Thinks Some NBA Players Will Protest Anthem

The San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback initially sat and then kneeled when The Star-Spangled Banner was played before preseason games. Four players from the Miami Dolphins also took a knee, while soccer player Megan Rapinoe took the national anthem protest to women’s soccer. But it’s very likely that kneeling during the national anthem will become a fixture of sporting events for the foreseeable future, given the slow speed of racial progress in the United States.

“[The NFL] can do what they want, they can say whatever they think and I respect their Constitutional right to do it”, Woods told TMZ when asked his opinions on the controversy.

Kaepernick has explained that his sitting or kneeling is a protest.

Following Kaepernick’s lead, other National Football League players and athletes in other sports have also demonstrated protests of their own, which led to the question about whether NBA players will follow suit when their season begins in 40 days. They say the protests have no place at a sporting event. I suggest this is the case, be it players of sports, politicians, and others with power and money they gained by the sacrifice of others.

This is not an easy issue. In fact, I applaud Kaepernick for not only taking a stand against the social injustices that have plagued this country since its inception, but for using his platform and privilege when a lot of other athletes and celebrities are not. Long-time journalist and radio host Neal Boortz noted that, “Free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech”. But countries, like people, make mistakes.

Sometimes we need protesters to point out what is wrong with the country and where we should improve. The Constitution is one of the greatest documents ever written, guaranteeing many freedoms, however, most Americans don’t recognize that every freedom comes with responsibilities.

There is no doubt that Colin Kaepernick’s silent, non-violent protest has caught everybody’s attention, and not just in the NFL.

This weekend, as America stopped to remember on the anniversary of September 11 and the NFL kicked off another season, more attention was paid to the national anthems than normal.