Colin Kaepernick pioneered the anthem protests during Aug 2016 over what he was said was “social and racial injustice.” At first he sat on the bench, then a former soldier, Nate Boyer, got in contact with Kaepernick through a letter around October 13th, 2016. The two then met and made an agreement for him to kneel, like how soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen brother’s grave.

Kaepernick, who has sat and knelt during the anthem, has said he refuses to honor a song or “show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” He also referenced the shootings of black men by police as one of reasons for his stance. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way,” he told National Football League (NFL) media on Sept 16. 2016.

Taking a knee is very uncivilized and disrespectful to the United States of America, in my opinion. Yes, Kaepernick does have his first amendment to be able to do what he pleases as long as it is peaceful. However, I strongly disagree how he is protesting something so strong towards our nation.

One of biggest critics of anthem protestors is one of the country’s biggest figures: President Donald Trump. Trump says, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that SOB off the field right now. Out. He’s fired. He’s fired,”.

I think that Trump has a valid reason to call out these players for doing this. Trump is now the leader of this country and to see someone disrespect our flag and our national anthem is truly heartbreaking.

This is spreading to a much larger audience, We now have kids, Coaches, and other players kneeling or sitting for the anthem. Wether it has been on the field or in the classroom it’s causing a dispute all over the U.S, Colin has a right to protest but is he thinking of how he is getting so many kids in on it.

In my eyes he is slowly destroying the beliefs for the anthem of the younger generations. I know for a fact that when kids see other kids or adults doing something they will repeat the same actions.

I will never agree with how he is going about with this because it is wrong and hurtful to what we are standing for….The United States.