Why Kaepernick Takes the Knee

In sports, athletes take a knee as a sign of respect when someone is injured, until they can walk off the field or they're helped off the field. Athletes taking a knee during our anthem means to me that they see society is broken, and they are taking a knee until we all begin to fix this, in earnest.

I could only hope that one day, college gladiators, especially in the south, rebel against the white hordes who cheer their efforts on the field of play, but deny them and their families decent education or the right to vote.

Taking a knee is now appropriate for me since bigot trump said I can't.

If kneeling is a posture of disrespect, then somebody had better inform the millions of Roman Catholics and many Anglicans who have been under a centuries-long misapprehension that when they kneel at mass, they are assuming a posture of profound respect. Who knew they've been dissing Jesus for lo, these many centuries!

The idea of any protest is to bring attention to an idea or principle that is being violated or ignored. Protests are designed to be disruptive of business as usual. Sometimes it's minor, like having to walk around someone carrying a sign. But sometimes its major, like an act of civil disobedience that may block a road. The premise of all protests is that a) we live in a democracy and have a right to assemble and seek redress from our government and b) our government at some point will actually listen and our representatives will act to resolve the problem. But the issues of police brutality suggest that neither of these premises is working. This issues has been raised by protests for over a hundred years. Urban riots from Harlem in 1943 to Watts in 1965 or Detroit in 1967 all have their origin in police misconduct. When millions are lost in property damage things let up, a little, only to return to the status quo of one set of rights for white America and a lessor set for black America. It's not as if we don't know how to provide proper policing to minority communities. Many have good relations with police and effective law enforcement. But too often this is the exception, not the rule. It is not the police that are failing black America, it is democracy itself. And if this wrong isn't addressed, this refusal or inability to democratically respond to a clear social need may once again move from protest to rage. We don't need sympathy or linked arms, we need action.

He has right to express his opinion. Everyone does. People can protest, by kneeling, marching, walking out, or even starving. As long as it's peaceful and does no harm to others, expressing own opinion is constitutional right. And linking arms is acceptable while kneeling is not? It seems very childish.

Why is it so important for "outsiders" to weigh-in on the distinction between players "taking a knee" and the other gestures of protest / support? Kaepernick doesn't judge. The black players that just started to kneel don't judge. And the black community respects all of the players. I think that Mr Siegal's opinion about a distinction is incorrect, but he is a late arrival, probably well-intentioned. Since last year, sports and talk radio hosts have made non-stop trade of contrasting "taking a knee" and discussions among black players about it. IMO, these radio hosts cause damage and incite. I am white, but I am not growth-challenged in understanding the deep pain that is on full display in these players for their children's future and for the black community's future. This is about real pain due to lasting bigotry and injustice. Let's get out of our me-centric mindsets and stop explaining / judging "taking a knee" from our unaffected white person's perspective. This is not about our pain.

I wish someone would ask Trump who has disrespected our flag and country more: Colin Kaepernick and his followers or Robert E. Lee and his?

All athletes should take a knew or not come on the field until after the National Anthem is over until Trump is removed from office. Trump is an affront to all who still hold out any hope United States can be someday be great again. From the looks of America today, that alone is going to be a long, slow, hard slog. DD Manhattan

Thank you for an article that explains the background of "taking a knee" and for pointing out that it is a gesture of humility and a recognition of suffering, not of disrespect or angry defiance. All the current rhetoric about disrespecting the country, flag, veterans, etc. is such a shallow lazy response. For those who are asserting that Colin Kaepernick is an "under-educated, over-paid" person who has contributed nothing other than tossing around a ball and taking a knee, I suggest you do some reading to learn more about what he has done and who the real person is behind the gesture. Finally, it strikes me as the height of absolute hypocrisy for white owners who have effectively black-balled Kaepernick, to now want to be seen standing with players who take a knee.

It's not clear to me that the overwhelming display of solidarity in football stadiums this past Sunday was so much an endorsement of Colin Kaepernick's protest of police brutality as of our ignorant, racist president's inflammatory behavior. By going off on (mostly black) professional athletes at a rally in Alabama, Trump shifted the focus from the original issues of protest to.... himself. Which, of course, was the point.

Attributing respectful protest, in the gesture of kneeling, to disrespect for the flag is intentionally divisive and inflammatory. At most, the flag is a symbol. The kneeling protests racist policies and activities that are not symbolic but rather jeopardize and destroy human lives.

Taking a knee is a military procedure used by the US Army to show peaceful intent on entering a community. Apparently, it is a widely respected action. That is on orders, soldiers get down on one knee and point their rifles at the ground. I'd love to know the history of the gesture. I take the football version of taking knee as a call to build or rebuild community in our lives; to end the segregation of groups against each other. May the practice continue.

I fully respect the players' right to take the knee as silent protest to injustices. What I don't see is how anyone who has kneeled determines anytime soon that it's time to stand up for the national anthem and salute the flag again. That's why I believe this patriotic ritual will disappear from the games eventually.

Why aren't the protests against all police shootings? To focus only on incidents involving blacks is disproportionate. The Washington Post's Fatal Force statistics indicate that 233 (less than 25 percent) of the 963 shootings in 2016 involved a black suspect, while whites accounted for 466, Hispanics 160 and "Other" or "Unknown" combined for 104 incidents. What's more, only 48 (approx. 5 percent) of the suspects were unarmed, according to the data.

I couldn't agree more. Thank you for such an eloquent and insightful essay. Colin Kaepernick and his fellow players who kneel at the playing of the national anthem speak for me.

This is a good column. I also believe that the other players & owners should #Take TheKnee, but linking arms is okay. To me, that gesture says, "I may not agree with your protest action, but you are my brother teammate & I support you.". I'm quite irritated by the whole "Gosh, they're insulting the flag! the nation! veterans! Gold Star parents!". That's willful nonsense. It's a protest against the lethal racism that continues to soil our national fabric, and I wholeheartedly support it. Thank you, players, for your bravery in speaking out.

It might interest some of those criticizing the “taking a knee” gesture during the playing or singing of the National Anthem that, from 1892 until World War II, the gesture accompanying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag was the Bellamy Salute. It was named after Francis Bellamy who wrote the Pledge and it was a stiff extension of the raised right arm that is more familiar to us today as the “Nazi Salute.” Because the Bellamy Salute looked so much like the one used by the Nazis, it was replaced by an act of Congress in 1942 with the “hand-over-the-heart” gesture accompanying the Pledge. Perhaps we should search for examples in the world similar to the horrifically ugly racist behavior we saw in the church in Charleston, SC in June 2015 and in Charlottesville, VA this past August. If we find such, we might see (as in the 1930s with the Nazi salute) how similar our racial hostilities could appear to outside observers. Who knows? This might generate embarrassment sufficient to move our society as Congress was moved in 1942.

A "protest " from a guy who's sole contribution to society is "play with a ball " and making millions doing it, WOW. I really need to take notice of such a profound intellect who wears Fidel Castro tee shirts, and majored in football. Only in America could this clown be elevated to anything other than what he is a jock with kinetic abilities and nothing more.

So - a bunch of over-paid under-educated men playing a child's game can take a knee during the playing on the national anthem in the name of awareness. Here is an idea - use your position of power and prestige and actually act like role models - go out and try to fix something - even if it is a small thing - even if it is not as fun as a momentary distraction before a game. If I see another professional athlete thinking he is addressing societal ills one tweet at a time, I may just scream.

Do teams take the field before the national anthem because of huge payments to the NFL from the government (Department of Defense, National Guard, etc.)? And they tell us big time sports should not be political? Take Me Out To The Ball Game.

A clear and helpful explanation of a legitimate protest by a commodified athlete,and others,within a daily violating, labeling,discriminating,oft times dehumanizing, divisive, WE-THEY culture and country.A use of one's body to set needed limits about what other bodies- people and systems- freely do to maintain institutionalized and tradition-based inequities in the availability and accessibility of basic human and nonhuman resources necessary for healthy development and well being of ALL.A protest which if it stimulates much needed respectful, trust-enabling dialogues between a diverse US would be a gift. For living the norms and values of menschlich life styles, coping, adapting and functioning in each of our various roles and networks.Each with their sets of responsibilities.Each being bettered with their unique levels and qualities of mutual help and caring, when needed.Between kin.Others who we know in our life spaces in the various "fields" in which we all "play." Work.Learn.Live spiritually. As well as strangers whom we choose to greet with an open inviting hand.Or exclude with a threatening fist.Much ado about kneeling and praising our country minutes before diverse fans, of views, values, religiosities and various characteristics, give their support to breaking bones and injuring brains of someone's son. Sib.Spouse.To whom and to what are we pledging?As a dangerous sport is being politicized by treaders on people, willful blindness, deafness and ignorance continues

'A Song of Trump' --with apologies to Bob Dylan for trivializing a timeless American classic... How many times must a man kneel down Before they call him a man? How many tears must a sick child cry Before rich men lend him a hand? How many dreams must a Dreamer dream Before hate's forever banned? The answer my friend is twisting in the wind The answer is twisting in the wind... How much money does a rich man need To build a castle of sand? How many women must suffer for naught So he can think himself grand? And how many people must dictators' crush Before someone takes a stand? The answer my friend is twisting in the wind The answer is twisting in the wind. How warm must it get for an ice cap to melt Pretending the science's not agreed? How many shrouds will we need for the wakes So he won't see our consciences bleed? How many guns will it take to protect All that unquenchable greed? The answer my friend is twisting in the wind The answer is twisting in the wind.

Trump's ugly racist attack on protesting football players was far from spontaneous. He knew well that not only were he majority of Trump voters opposed to the protests, but a majority of fans. Furthermore, ever the savvy businessman, he had to believe the failure of Kapernick to secure a position was the result of an owner boycott. He also weighed the fact that few players were taking the symbolic knee. His calculation was that his supporters would love the tirade (he got that right) ; football fans would concur (many did); but he failed to anticipate the player and owner reaction. (But their reaction was reasoned and controlled)Does he care about the many black players who took a knee on Sunday? Noooo....not his peeps, and he assumes their anger will pass. As to the owners, he was relieved by their gesture of standing with the players in locked arms. He knows that they had no choice but to support their players; if threatened by ownership, the player's protest could have spread to the playing field. He is right, the owner's show of support for the players kept the protests from exploding beyond a point intolerable to any businessman: impacting profitability. Had that occurred Trump's front office pals would have been quite upset at their man in the White House.

Taking the knee to protest before athletic games is an excellent example of silent protest. However, is it questionable to ask this question:
Why do they play and sing (or try to sing) the national anthem at sports events in the first place?
Doug Giebel, Big Sandy, Montana

Trump is wrapping himself in an extra-large flag and stoking white supremacy and faux-patriotism to an anthem or a flag instead of the values and principles upon which the US was founded. He is orange slime.

Only an idiot like Donald Trump could make a fool like Collin Kaepernick a sympathetic figure. Kaepernick has a right to free speech And everyone has a right to an opinion about how Kaepernick exercises that right. In my opinion Kaeperkick's protest was misguided, bordering on stupid, because he chose a form of protest that alienated at least half of the country. Rather than direct people's attention to an important issue, he only succeeded in creating a fight over our National Anthem. Now, because of the orange haired buffoon, people are sympathetic to Kaepernick's position and equate standing for the national anthem to be an endorsement of racism, which is beyond insane.

This "protest" really has jumped the shark. Nobody really knows what the arms-linking players are against, nor the players who are kneeling with their hands over their hearts. Saddest of all, this just distracts from the serious issue of police brutality and misconduct against Americans, no matter their race, gender or sexuality. We're not hearing about Jason Van Dyke anymore... he's been forgotten in favor of Colin K. and all the "protests". Next week: everyone should just stand with arms linked. No matter what, we stand for our flag, we respect our soldiers, and we understand that what we are doing here is just playing a game of aggression. For others who serve, it is not just a game. In this way (standing next week, all arms linked), protesting players can say they have "won". They have drawn attention to the issue they wanted to draw attention to. Their protest "work" is done. Now... let the voters, the lawyers, the students, and all those truly concerned with the work of providing justice do the real work. The point of the protests -- if it really was in drawing attention to the issue of police brutality -- is done. Now comes the hard part... (I hope the athletes will just get over themselves already, and stop sending mixed messages about America and our flag, intentional or not. If they really do not hate our country, they should at least understand that is the message so many in the audience are receiving...)

Why Mr. Kaepernick takes a knee is not as important as his right to. I thank him for being peaceful in his protest and for assuming the subservient role in his posture. It makes the loud, obnoxious, threatening and unconstitutional blathering of our Dotard in Chief seem all the more irrational. Ghandi stopped eating, King held peaceful marches, Rosa Parks sat quietly and Colin took a knee. All made their points more sympathetic by showing, in stark relief, the power of humility versus the corrupting power of hubris.

It is ironic and very, very sad that the bum's lamenting the lack of brutality in the NFL today came at the same time that we learned that Aaron Hernandez had the level of CTE that would normally be seen in someone in his 60s.

I played football in junior high and high school. Not because I loved the sport, but because my schools’ teams needed me. As a result of playing football, both of my knees have undergone operations; but at 61 my mind is intact. With the CTE brain-damage revelations, I will not be sorry to see football go the way of the four-barrel carburetor.

These men and all who love and support them speak to our most fundamental meanings of nation, race, and freedom, and offer a crucial and teachable civic moment Can we undertake involvement in a matter like this without refreshing our own thinking and forcing our perspective beyond its current reach? Conscience is made powerful by its conscious conflict with other strong values. Conscience & Duty (civic or professional) Conscience & an Anthem How does each athlete resolve this and how do the rest of us respect their choice... even if we resolve the conflict in other ways and with other choices? FLAG by John Agard What’s that fluttering in a breeze? Its just a piece of cloth that brings a nation to its knees. What’s that unfurling from a pole? It’s just a piece of cloth that makes the guts of men grow bold. What’s that rising over a tent? It’s just a piece of cloth that dares the coward to relent. What’s that flying across a field? It’s just a piece of cloth that will outlive the blood you bleed. How can I possess such a cloth? Just ask for a flag my friend. Then blind your conscience to the end. © John Agard Half-Caste and Other Poems (Hodder Children's, 2004)