While I know that there are some Americans that do not pay attention to football, this past Sunday many NFL players showed us something that all of America needs to pay attention to, and I'm not talking about the kickoff. We saw plenty of action during the games, but the real action came during the national anthem. During the national anthem, many players joined Colin Kaepernick in his fight for racial justice by kneeling or protesting in some shape or form.
The protests began with players from the Kansas City Chiefs linking arms in unity while cornerback Marcus Peters raised his fist during the anthem. Next, Arian Foster, along with multiple players from the Miami Dolphins took a knee while the entire Seattle SeaHawks team linked arms in unity. Lastly, Devin McCourty and Martellus Bennett of the New England Patriots raised their fists in protest during a Sunday night game.
A couple of months ago, I published an article on the actions of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony speaking up against police brutality in the United States. I felt that seeing these men, some of the most polarizing athletes in the world, stand up for justice, I thought it was extremely moving and I had a good feeling that other athletes follow in their footsteps and stand up to the injustices plaguing this country. A couple months later, Colin Kaepernick would make headlines for protesting the national anthem and demanding an end to police brutality and racial injustice. Now more players are starting to stand for justice and it seems the protests will only get bigger.
It's starting to become more and more clear that black professional athletes are starting to get just as tired of injustice as their fellow African Americans are. The days of prominent African American sports figures being silent on race issues in America are starting to come to an end. Black athletes are starting to realize how powerful their voices can be and their using them as weapons to fight for justice. Hopefully, Colin Kaepernick and the rest of his fellow protesters won't have to kneel forever so we all can stand as one, regardless of race.
