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The factors affecting performance in sports
Patriotism and national anthem
Patriotism and national anthem
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Standing for the national anthem is currently extremely controversial for many sports. While players and coaches may be exercising their right to the freedoms that this country affords us, even if it is in peaceful protest, sitting and kneeling during the national anthem in an outcry to fix social injustice, inequality and police brutality is in turn disrespecting the country, military personnel, and the police that serve and protect us and our rights. These protests have sparked discussion but turned the attention away from honoring our nation and the troops that have served and currently serve to protect us, to individual players. Media continued to draw attention to those that knelt or sat during the national anthem and many networks have …show more content…
NFL players and coaches as well as members of other teams have begun to kneel and sit during the national anthem as their way of peacefully protesting police brutality, inequality and the views of the President. Doing so has led to much discussion over the protest, current issues, and has gotten the attention of the President, who has made his views public. The protests began when one NFL quarterback began to sit on the bench during the national anthem and has escalated since, adding more players, teams, coaches, and even bands. After some time, the decision was made to kneel, rather than sit, to be more respectful towards those that serve and protect the country. This point acknowledges that sitting was disrespectful. Doing this protest at a time where people honor, remember, and unite draws attention away from doing so, with attention going to the players and what they are going to …show more content…
They have a responsibility and a job to do. Part of that job is participating in pre- and post-game routines, practices and games. Some team owners have stated that if any of their team members sit or kneel during the national anthem, they will not play, and they will be fired. It is part of their job to participate. Instead of sitting or kneeling, those protesting could get more involved at community or even state levels to bring awareness or even be on committees that can promote change and equality. If these players have made attempts to create the change they are seeking and are not striving for attention, why are they not boycotting games as a
The issue of being unpatriotic during the National Anthem was raised by people when NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick decided to kneel during the national anthem before a preseason game. Later, Kaepernick addressed the media by saying this act was a stance against “police brutality on people of color”. By raising the
If you are a big football fan then you might have noticed at the beginning of the season,that a player for the San Francisco 49ers, did not stand for the national anthem. The player's name is Colin Kaepernick. To some it might not have been a big deal, but to others it was a major controversy. They couldn't understand why Kaepernick did not stand for the anthem. From an online article by Steve Wyche, Kaepernick explains why he didn't stand for the anthem. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder." () Kaepernick is referring to all the police shooting of African Americans that have been happening. Since Kaepernick started sitting out for the anthem others in the NFL and in other sports have also started to sit out for the anthem. The issue starts with the black
Football games are no longer enjoyable because politics has made its way to the stadiums taking the joy away when a person sees their favorite player kneeling. They can’t know or understand why they are choosing to kneel so to them they see no reason to respect it. What if that player themselves had served, lost a loved one in the military, or have known someone to be a victim of a social injustice like police brutality? Where’s the
It is disrespectful to kneel during the national anthem because it disrespects the military and veterans, and could be done in a more professional way. I feel that kneeling shows how unappreciative those NFL players are. They get to go play the most popular sport in America for millions of dollars. There should be some consequences from taking this action. This protest could be done in a more professional way.
This protest began on August 26, 2016 when Colin Kaepernick, a former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, first took a seat on the sideline bench at a preseason game during the National Anthem. Later he transitioned to kneeling alongside his standing teammates. The reason behind Kaepernick’s protest was to draw attention to racial injustice and police brutality in the United States against African Americans. After the public noticed Kaepernick’s revolt, a national discussion sparked. Many people think that kneeling during the National Anthem was not the most respectful approach Kaepernick could’ve taken. The certain group of people that
“They arise from a culture of fandom that views players as valuable only so long as they can perform” [Almond]. The audacity to claim that we the fans do not support our players is outrageous. There have been many athletes throughout the times who have lost their abilities to play as they once did and are still respected for the things they did off the field. I as a fan do not only judge a player by their ability to play, but also what they does off the field. A modern example of this would be the 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The man was once a great quarterback and has somewhat fallen from his former station. But us fans still care what he has to say. His decisions off the field affect us just as much as they do on the field. If we truly did not care for the players once they outlived their usefulness as Almond so carelessly states, we would not care that Colin did not want to stand for the nation anthem. Movements would have no been organized in support of this player. He would have simply been casted aside while we looked for the next best thing to entertain us.
Henry Gass states, “The prospect of athletes speaking up has always been fraught” (2). Carl Stoffers states, “Many accused [Kaepernick] of thumbing his nose at America by not joining in a patriotic ritual that’s long been a fixture at sporting events” (8). Include the fact that the NFL which Kaepernick plays “[is] a league that promotes itself as a war game and brands itself with the flag” (Jenkins). Doubters are quick to label him unpatriotic because the place and time he protested might be wrong. The NFL show respect to military officials, Roger Goodell says, “The NFL believes very strongly in patriotism” (Jenkins). The military and American football has the same symbolic values. Carl Stoffers writes Starn says “[American is] the most sports-obsessed society in the history of the world, and we’re also a nation that’s obsessed with patriotism and pride in identity” (9). The national Anthem and the flag are symbols that American people believe make someone patriotic. Professor Blackistone writes, “[Kaepernick] dare to protest in the athletic arena, where [Americans] wrap sporting events in a prophylactic of patriotism used to demand political conformity and suppress discourse” (gtd. in
The Star Spangled Banner is a sacred song in the United States of America. It not only is a symbol of the fight that soldiers have had to go through, but also a representation of freedom. When the National Anthem plays out of respect for our country, and those who fought for it, everyone is supposed to stand and remove their hats. Currently in the National Football League (NFL) there is a handful of players, mainly African Americans, that have been taking a knee or raising a fist during the play of our National Anthem. This I believe, is a great sign of disrespect for our country and our veterans. This I believe, is very immature and unnecessary. This I believe, should be put to a stop by the NFL and the players should be ashamed of himself for doing this. I am aware that the players have the right to do this, but there are many reasons why this should not be taking place.
There was a time when I played a game were a group of students, about ten of them came to support us but the other team had a whole section packed. Their chanting was louder and it affected our whole team mentally. In short there were a lot more against us than for us. The importance of fans at a game has only mattered for sports like football and basketball but fans need to show support to all sports equally.
Yes!!! I jumped with excitement to finally be able to attend a game of my favorite NFL team of all time, The Dallas Cowboys. The view was great and the players looked ready to stomp all over the packers, but then there I was witnessing the crowd boo each other, and the opposing team players. What a shame I thought, a simple course of action being used to cause a nation's argument. Some of the players were kneeling during our nation's pledge. I thought WOW after everything that you receive here in America, the players must show some respect to our flag.As of 13 months ago, the issue concerning NFL players and kneeling during the National Anthem has taken over the nightly news. As recent studies show that an average of at least 30 players kneel
It seemed that the majority of Americans disagreed on how they were doing it. That they use sports as a get away from the real world, a three to four hour break from reality and all of the problems that might be going on in their own lives. Most people that you talk to that disagree with the protest all say the same thing. “If I did something like that at work I would get fired, it is a double standard”. “When you protest the American flag, you are disrespecting our troops”.
Being a season ticket holder means a great deal to fans who love going out to the ballpark. When a security guard at the front gate doesn’t allow entry because of a tee shirt the ticket holder is wearing, to say it would cause the ticket holder to be angry is an understatement. If purchasing season tickets doesn’t guarantee entry into the stadium merely on the fact that some people find the word “suck” to be offensive was a travesty to season ticket holders. As a matter of fact, the word “suck” is being used by children today than in most the Mariner management’s lifetimes. Telling grown up fans to act as management wants to is fascism in a corporate disguise. When someone buys a ticket it is expected that the buyer is to act like a civilized human being, but don’t make up new standards for the fan to abide by.
Football is a culture and within that culture is the desire to make money. In the 2014-2015 season, the NFL made $7.24 billion. Many dedicated fans travel to the stadium on a Sunday afternoon to experience the culture of football: the tailgate in the parking lot, the hundreds of dollars they pay to publicly display their favorite team’s gear, the front row seats to the game for them and their best buddy, the hotdogs and beer from the concussion stands. Many fans will participate in the NFL’s lifestyle every week. But the question is, do they really care about the actual sport or is it just the comradery and entertainment that it
Should NFL players be allowed to kneel during the U.S. National Anthem? 49er’s quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, started a protest against the discrimination against people of color in America by kneeling during the U.S. National Anthem at one of his team’s football games. People are now disputing over whether it is okay or not to kneel/protest during the the national anthem. The current U.S. president, Donald J. Trump, believes it is impolite, and kneeling is “disrespecting the [U.S.] flag” (qtd. in Kenny). I think people should, indeed, be allowed to kneel during the “Star Spangled Banner” because they have the right to protest, and the problem they are protesting against is relevant and important.
Civil disobedience, to me, is any action that civilly disobeys or refuses to conform to government or societal rules/laws. In America, the national anthem is very traditional where people almost always stand, take off their hats, and place their hands on their heart. It’s an unwritten rule in our society that one conforms to this tradition. Colin Kaepernick disobeyed this rule. He kneeled, bringing attention to him for not following suit. Kaepernick’s actions reminded me directly of a quote from Henry David Thoreau’s civil disobedience. “Those who, while they disapprove of the character and measures of a government, yield to it their allegiance and support are undoubtedly its most conscientious supporters”. (Thoreau, 54) This quote illustrates Kaepernick’s protest as an act of civil disobedience. Despite opinions surrounding his actions and what they meant, people must concede that his actions were indeed civil. He kneeled peacefully and quietly. After researching more into that question and exploring Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau more elaborately, I now conclude that I do believe that Kaepernick’s actions can be classified as civil