Take A Knee for Something or Stand for Nothing
Opinion----Take A Knee for Something or Stand for Nothing
Mason Masotta
For The Clock
mtmasotta@plymouth.edu
It needs to be made perfectly clear that America is the land of opportunity. It is a country that, since its inception, was supposed to be a safe haven for all thoughts and ideas. All of this means nothing if people can not take a knee for what they believe in.
Colin Kaepernick started the trend almost a year ago citing recent police brutality scandals against young African-American men as the reason why. He meant no disrespect towards the military and never once brought it up as a reason why he kneeled. This quickly lead him to be labeled as an un-American monster, as opposed to simply being an outspoken player.
Though Kaepernick’s star power cooled over time the message and the action continued. It was a hot topic for ESPN to cover in an attempt to draw more viewers and boost the NFL’s initial slow ratings, but received attention from all mediums when the President decided to get involved.
Nowasweallknowitisthe President’s job to tell people when they can or cannot express peaceful freedom of speech. Oh wait, it isn’t. It’s actually his job to protect little things like the First Amendment. This still didn’t stop President Trump from trying to shame the NFL into forcing its players to stand.
It may seem comical to some that the President disapproves of football players kneeling, or even more heinous, locking arms in brotherly unity, but it apparently is the world we live in today. Before rallying to the Presidents side about how bra ve he is for telling the NFL what to do remember back to his 2013 remarks about President Barack Obama’s suggestion for the league.
He said on Twitter, “President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them, not nonsense.”
The good news is our President will always support keeping politically insensitive team names, but attack minority players when they take a knee before a game. Surely there are more pressing matters for the country at the moment. It’s not like he has a healthcare plan to try and work out, right. It’s not like tensions between the US and North Korea have never been worse. Wow, things really are great again.
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