NFL Players Rights Of Speech Analysis

Towards the end of 2016, many Americans witnessed professional athletes of the National Football League taking a knee during the National Anthem on live television. The person who started this protest is Collin . He started the protest to fight against police cruelty against African- Americans. The movement inspires other athletes to get involved hoping to make a change in the community. While some people consider that the athletes are practicing their rights of speech, other people argues that the protests may not be appropriate referring to their job. In fact, the NFL players do have the right to practice their right of speech.
In the beginning of the protests, many NFL players were criticized by President Donald Trump. He declared that

This is about respect for our first responders... Players have the right for free speech off the field. On the field, this is about respect for lots of people” (…) In “…” CNN editor-Chris Cillizza-calls out that Mnunchin’s comment about NFL players rights of speech is certainly wrong. He claims that the players have the rights of protest either on or off the field. He meticulously analyzes the flaws in Mnunchin’s statement. For instance, he points out that “Free speech… is not something that you only get at certain times. You get it all the time” (“”). The author indicates that every individuals guarantee the rights of speech at all time. In this case, the players are protected by freedom of speech on and off the field, not just when they are off the field. In addition, the author also provides accurate evidence to

The author believes that the players are practicing their free speech by protesting for racial injustice. In fact, they successfully captured the attention of the media. However, people focused more on the protest itself rather than the reason behind it. Waldman implies, “It’s really a shame that people are more focused on the protest itself than the actual cause behind the protest,… Protest isn’t meant to make people comfortable, it never has been, it never will be.” (@ for help). Freedom of speech gives each individual the rights to express his or herself, even if that might make others uncomfortable. For this reason, the players should have the rights to stand up for what they believe in regardless of others’ opposing viewpoints. Subsequently, the author presents a landmark case Texas v. Johnson as to demonstrates that freedom of speech is still protected in some extreme cases. While the NFL got called out for disrespecting the U.S flag for kneeling during the National Anthem, the Supreme Court arbitrates that Johnson is protected under the First Amendment for burning a U.S flag. With the same manner, wearing the U.S flag as bikinis is acceptable but silently taking a knee for the lives of African- Americans is considered ‘disrespectful’ to the U.S flag and the