The anthem and the NFL

During an August 2016 preseason NFL game, former San Francisco Quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided to take a knee that has sparked one of the greatest debates the United States has ever seen. It's a fine line that has family members, both active and retired military, and members of both political parties on opposite lines. I am going to attempt to give some background into this along with some thoughts from some military personnel that have asked to remain anonymous due to their current positions and some possible solutions. Please note that I will not be addressing any politics on this post. This is not a right or left issue this is a Unites States issue and everyone has their own opinions.


"The flag and anthem are not what the military fights for. These are symbols that represent the country, the military fights for the country itself and the people who live inside the country not specifically for a flag or anthem” Anonymous retired Military member.


The Star Spangled Banner has not always been played before sporting events. Since it was written in 1814, and became the official anthem of the United States in 1931, it was not fully played at baseball games until WW2 had officially started and the U.S was involved in 1942. Since 1942 it has been played during bigger events such as the super bowl, World Series games and at lower level events such as high school sporting events and collegiate events. Many people will be shocked to know that unless it was the super bowl ZERO NFL teams were out on the field for the anthem. This all changed after 9/11 and the anthem took on a new meaning and everyone was together, players came out on the field and stood with first responders and military personnel. But while the anthem played for the fans, the majority of the players stayed in the locker room. Then came the NFL’s mandate in 2009 that all players need to be on the field for the Star Spangled Banner to make themselves look more patriotic.

“It is incredibly disrespectful, I don’t care if they protest before the anthem or after the game, they can protest Trump, Obama anyone they want, but when that flag is out and that anthem is playing they all should be standing with their hands over their hearts and be thankful that I am fighting for them to play a game.” Unnamed active military member.

Between 2012 and 2015 the DOD (Department of Defense) spent 6.8 million dollars for what they call patriotism, and was spread out among teams in the NFL, NBA, NASCAR, MLS, and MLB. Since we are speaking specifically to the NFL, the league has received millions of dollars just from the DOD for these specific displays which means that the DOD/ Military is a sponsor of the NFL. In exchange for this, every November since 2011 the NFL has a salute to service month in which they donate money per point that teams score during certain games that are being played. That amount according to their salute to service website is now at 1.5 million dollars. But this brings up a specific question that begs to be answered, if the DOD or military had that much of an issue with the kneeling during the anthem, why have they not pulled their money back from the NFL and why did they have salute to service month in 2016 and continue to have it in 2017 as the support for kneeling during the anthem became and is becoming a larger issue? In order to look into that we need to look at why they are kneeling to begin with.

“I have seen these issues that they are kneeling for, they are real. But the question becomes alright, we see you kneeling, we acknowledge there are issues but what are you going to do now? What is the end game?” Anonymous retired Military member.

Let’s get it out there right now, these players are kneeling because they feel there are social injustices and civil inequalities to people of color in the U.S. Every military member that I asked also believes the same thing. I am not speaking for everyone I am just providing information and opinions from the people that I talked to. The reason why I am bringing this up is because there seems to be a bit of confusion as to why the kneeling began. Most people think this is because of Donald Trump, which it’s not… Trump did something that individual players couldn’t do which is unite the league and owners to the same cause. That is why this last Sunday was such a big deal with teams/players staying in locker rooms again, or having full unity by linking arms or having full teams kneel. But we must not forget why the players are doing this. Social issues have been going on for hundreds and hundreds of years, we hear you players but what are you going to do to help fight this injustice other than raising your fists, and kneeling? When you score donate to a charity, Kaepernick has been donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to make a difference but what are you guys doing besides now protesting the president and raising your fists?

Why not for every touchdown they score, donate something to a charitable cause” Anonymous retired Military member.

Which brings me to my last point of my long winded blog, what are the solutions to this? My first thought is for the NFL to get rid of the mandate that all players need to be on the field for the anthem. Yes, I understand some players will want to do that and they should be allowed to but don’t make it mandatory anymore, I think you would see fewer and fewer players on the field for the anthem not because of disrespect but because they are getting ready for the game they are getting ready to play. In Europe, and other countries around the world, there is no anthem before sporting events, this occurs only in the U.S.

The main thing I want to say about this is that rather than boycott the league, rather than burn jersey’s rather than say I am going to start watching the NFL just to protest what Trump said, everyone needs to come to the middle and listen to one another. If each side listens to the other there can be progress and compromises to be made. I believe in humanity and the goodness of people and I believe that it can be done if each side is willing.

God Bless America.