There's been a lot of debate about whether NFL players should stand for the National Anthem or not in the last year.

It all started about a year ago when backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat during the preseason of the start of the 2016-2017 season in protest against racial injustice. More specifically police brutality. Throughout the season we saw many people expressing their freedom of speech by taking a knee, sitting, or holding their fist in the air during the anthem.

It's been a hot topic ever since, but last week Trump pushed it into a whole new scale.

Ever since President Trump tweeted about his opinions on the protest things have blown up on a national scale. No longer does this issue just interest NFL fans, but Americans everywhere. Not surprisingly the anger and questions have started to roll in.

Things like, "Do NFL players have the responsibility to honor a country that pays them millions to play ball?"

"Who is it hurting if they peacefully protest?"

And "Isn't it their first amendment to be able to say and act however they want if it doesn't hurt anyone or thing?"

But I think we're missing the big point. Should Donald Trump have waged a war on the NFL?

The answer for me? No.

Now, let me be clear. This isn't an attack on the president. I don't hate President Trump, but I don't agree with his actions about this situation.

As a President of the United States, you are supposed to remain neutral on topics that don't endanger Americans' safety. Not only that, but doesn't President Trump have bigger fish to fry?

On the grand scale, whether you agree with the way people are peacefully protesting or not doesn't really matter in the end. He needs to be focusing on safety, bettering the economy, and working on global relations.

But as a football fan, I think this tear in the NFL between fans and players takes away from what football really is. Football is supposed to set aside differences and political views and bring people together.

Outside of the 4th of July and 9/11, nothing else makes me feel united with my fellow Americans quite like a good football Sunday. For me, it doesn't matter if I agree with the people kneeling or not. For me, it's about the second those helmets go on the only thing separating the players (and fans) is the color on their jerseys.

Politics don't belong in football. Period.

You bring politics into football and you lose any kind of unity it brought between people. For some, the anthem is a part of the unity and I get that. But is that sole factor worth ripping the NFL and it's fans apart?

I might not agree with the people kneeling. I might believe that that's not protesting, it's disrespecting.

But for the players taking a knee, they think that standing isn't respecting the flag and nation, it's disrespecting and ignoring the police brutality taking place in our nation.

At the end of the day, football isn't about politics.

It's not about who's kneeling, who's a conservative, or who's Jewish.

When the men playing in the NFL step onto their beloved field right wing plays with the left wing. Christians play against Atheist. Opposites work together to win. Homosexuals celebrate with the straight. The second the helmets go on, identities dissolve and all of the agendas become the same.

Politics don't belong in football because it's tearing apart what football means. Politics don't belong on the field because when we play, we're all the same. Because when we play, we feel more united than when we don't.