This article is not about Donald Trump. And in my opinion, neither is this controversial topic.

It may have started as an anti-Trump demonstration, but it's so much bigger than that now. When anyone, not just athletes, chooses to disrespect the symbol of our country, it's no longer about the man who's running it.

When you kneel during the National Anthem, you aren't disrespecting the President, you are disrespecting your country.

The country you are kneeling for gives you the right to vote for your President.

Whether the outcome went your way or not, you had a say in the matter. That's a blessing that many countries don't give their citizens. There's a reason why there is an age requirement when voting. If you are mature enough to vote for a leader of this country, then you need to be mature enough to accept that the person you voted for may not be chosen, and you need to do so in a respectful manner.

With that being said, those that win must act just as respectfully, too. Calling all professional athletes selfish millionaires, who are nothing special and did nothing but play a game their whole life is just as disrespectful. I am an athlete and I will always stand with my hand over my heart during the national anthem; but I will also never be told that what we do everyday isn't special. What we do, isn't just playing a game.

Do not diminish what we do because of a few bad examples. The part does not represent the whole. One bad cop does not represent every policemen in this country. Just as one rogue soldier absolutely does not represent our military as a whole either.

Donald Trump does not represent every President this great country as ever elected.

Kneeling during the national anthem is wrong. But it is the action that is disrespectful, not the person. When you choose to fire back with insults to their personal life, you are disrespecting the person. You are lessening yourself to the exact level that you are arguing against.

If you believe you're better than them, then act better than them. It's that simple.

The National Anthem and American Flag are iconic symbols of what this country stands for. It stands for the rights to freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The right to choose our leaders, both locally and nationally. This country stands for the right to pursue the life you want to live. At it's core, this country is about reaching potential, being ambitious, and being respectful in doing so.

If those are ideals you cannot support any longer, then you have the right to leave. That's not a harsh statement, that's a blessing. There are people stuck in countries ruled by dictators wishing they had the right to leave, but Americans are not in that category. If you don't like the cards you've been given, you have the right to put them down and walk away.

But...if you chose to stay, then stay and make a positive difference. Don't stay and whine because you "lost". If you think about it, living in a country where you have the right to leave when you wish and elect your President should prove to be a win for us all.

I understand that athletes kneeling during the anthem claim it's symbolic of a bigger problem. But if proving a point requires you to disrespect something as sacred as our National Anthem, then the point you're trying to make will only get lost in the controversy.

You have every right to protest, but it's time to do so in another way. It's time to remember what this country is really about. It's time to respect our rights and the blessings they allow us.

It's time to stand up.