In one swift motion, quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sits in protest in the midst of the national anthem, beginning an inextinguishable chain reaction, and unknowingly changing the face of the NFL forevermore.
Now, as we are all bombarded with the constant news of teams kneeling and joining together in various forms of unity during the national anthem out of protest, it is apparent that Kaepernick's message, which was first greeted with immediate contempt and discord, is now serving as a far-reaching source of inspiration, calling others to join him in his dissent from normalcy, and his objection to the status quo. Whether you believe kneeling or sitting during the national anthem is abhorrently disrespectful, or you believe it's the best thing that's ever happened for raising awareness against modern forms of oppression and racial injustice in the United States, it's interesting to note that this isn't the first time a protests like this have occurred in history. Tracing the origins of these types of protests helps us to get a better grasp of the path we've traveled thus far, and what steps need to be taken next in regards to gaining progress towards unifying our country, however we choose to define that.
1. 1914-1918
Although playing the national anthem during sports games didn't become so ubiquitous until WWII and beyond, during WWI, when it was played, refusal to stand became common practice among civilians. Many refused to stand in protest of the draft.
2. 1968
In the 1968 Olympics, two African American sprinters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, raised a fist on the podium after their victories' representing "black power" during the Star Spangled Banner. They were kicked out of the Olympics as a consequence.
3. 1972
Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett, other Olympians, were also banned from participating in the Olympics because they didn't show "proper respect" for the medal stand, where the anthem would be played, as they intended to defy the disrespect the crowd was giving them. Jackie Robinson also states in his autobiography that he could never allow himself to stand for the national anthem, being that he was "a black man in a white world."
4. 1973-1975
In the midst of American involvement in the Vietnam War, when Americans found out that the government was being dishonest about the state of affairs involving the war and how necessary intervention was, Americans would sit down during the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance in relatively large amounts.
5. 1996
Denver Nuggets' player Mahmoud Abdul-Raulf was suspended by the National Basketball Association for publicly claiming he didn't believe in any type of nationalistic ideologies, and by protesting classic conventions of the anthem, during the anthem, due to perceived anti-Islamic sentiments ingrained in American culture.
Whether or not you believe these protests are apart of our progress or the problem, its important to know you have a constitutionally guaranteed right to voice and express your opinions on either side of the argument, and no one ever has the right to muffle that voice.
