This past week, there was a major uproar in America about the Take-A-Knee movement. Take-A-Knee was started by Colin Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback.
In 2016, Kaepernick gained nationwide attention when he decided not to stand for the playing of the national anthem at the start of football games. The motive behind this was the oppression against people of color (POC) in the United States shown through police brutality.
Police brutality became a heated topic in the United States after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The result of his death led to the Black Lives Matter movement, an ideological and political intervention of moments where POC are specifically targeted in crime. The group is an affirmation of the societal contributions of POC and the resilience of oppressed groups.
Quickly, there became a lot of controversy when viewers believed Kaepernick’s stance was unpatriotic to the flag, the national anthem and those who serve in the military. As a result of this, it was a popular opinion that he should be removed from the NFL. On March 3 of this year, Kaepernick officially opted out of his contract with the 49ers, making him a free agent.
The act of kneeling rather than sitting came from Nate Boyer, a former long-snapper for the Seahawks and U.S. military veteran. Soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen soldier’s grave to show respect, so Kaepernick and Boyer met at that middle ground.
Kaepernick never intended to use kneeling as an action of disrespecting our country - it was a way of expressing his disappointment in our country but still having respect for it. I personally feel like Kaepernick’s original message was lost in translation due to the amount of media coverage and outrage in America right now.
It’s also interesting to note that football players were not mandated to come out for the anthem by the NFL until 2009. However, in 2016 when protesting started, the NFL made it clear that players are not required to stand for the anthem.
At a Huntsville, Alabama rally last week, President Trump bashed NFL players who kneel rather than stand during the national anthem. During part of the event, Trump said, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired. He’s fired!’”
After this statement, many NFL players and teams decided to make a statement against what the President had said- some of whom were the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans. Both teams stayed in the locker room during the anthem. Meghan Linsey, who sang the national anthem, also decided to take-a-knee after her performance.
Most of America’s response was simple: Boycott the NFL! They support those who disrespect our country!
On Facebook and Twitter, I have seen people sharing posts from Fox News or CNN (and every little political page in between) emphasizing what’s going on in the NFL and ignoring other current events. The NFL isn’t that big of a deal, contrary to what people believe and what’s being shown on various media platforms.
As a country, we have bigger things to worry about other than who’s pissed off that people are using their platforms to defend something they believe in. There are people dying in various parts of the world, so let’s focus on that.
Disclaimer: I am not saying that these natural disasters are more important than racial targeting and oppression. I don’t think the people who are mad about the protests should be getting undeserved attention. This is about a state of urgency rather than consistency. What’s going on with the NFL is strictly interpretive, but no one can deny the mass number of disasters affecting the world we live in.
So far this year, the United States alone has endured 49 natural disasters. That’s a record tied with 2009 as the second-highest number of disasters. The highest number events is 59 occurring in 2012.
On Aug. 27, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Houston, Texas. At the same time, wildfires have impacted the Western U.S. ranging from Oregon to Montana. The cause for these is extreme heat and dry conditions.
After Harvey’s arrival, consecutive hurricanes impacted areas like the Caribbean, the U.S. and Mexico leaving many areas in ruins. Power outages, loss of communication lines and storm surges were the most detrimental effects of the storms.
The entirety of Puerto Rico is without power, with the exception of taller buildings with generators producing electricity. Overall, there is still no water to drink or barely any food to eat. According to CNN, the catastrophe is almost “apocalyptic.” The Guajataca Dam in PR is also suffering infrastructure damage - if more of it falls apart, it will become an even greater danger for roughly 700,000 people.
In addition to the hurricanes, Mexico was also impacted by two earthquakes in the span of a week and a half. The first one happened on Sept. 8 in Southern Mexico, with a magnitude of 8.1 That earthquake was then followed by another in Central Mexico, which had a magnitude of 7.1; its epicenter was more powerful because of its location in the middle of the country.
The aftermath of the earthquakes left Mexico in chaos. So far, CNN has recorded 333 deaths and over 4,500 injuries from the most recent earthquake alone. Windows buckled in, buildings collapsed and people have been trapped under debris.
Even though there are people dying and suffering from these disasters, why is the NFL debate the highlight of the media agenda? Have America’s morals really become that obscure where people care more about the NFL than people dying?
The main reason I believe media has shifted to covering the NFL is because it’s mostly what Donald Trump has talked about. The media does a good job at highlighting the president’s negative remarks, so that kind of content is broadcasted to a larger audience.
Celebrities like Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Lin-Manuel Miranda are just a few who donated $1 million or more to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean islands. That’s already more than the president has done - on Sept. 27 he waived the Jones Act for Puerto Rico, making it clear his administration isn’t planning to allow any additional outside aid.
With the platform that President Trump has and has been given, it’s easier for Americans to pay more attention to him and what he says rather than what’s going on elsewhere.
I completely recognize that the NFL is a huge part of American culture and has been since the 1880s. It’s exclusive to America, therefore giving people something to come together for.
Hopefully, in the wake of natural disasters, some solidarity and unity can be found and people will start focusing on the urgent things. America can do better as a country - there is so much division with differences in opinion that we forget we are all people.
At the end of the day, we are all human. We need to start stepping up and focusing on the things that matter. We shouldn’t care who’s mad about what - we should care about those in need. That’s what America should be about: coming together and helping the less fortunate.
