According to Isaac Newton’s Law of Inertia, an object in motion tends to stay in motion, and in this case, President Trump’s provocations are no exception. Going into almost ten months of his presidency, Donald Trump continues to unabashedly express his ideas through the use of social media and televised speeches. Of course, regarding Newton’s First Law, this roll he’s on won’t just stop in the Oval Office, but instead charge right into the red zone.
Last Friday on the 22nd in Huntsville, Ala., the president of the United States openly took a shot at Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players by suggesting an automatic dismissal of players who take a stand-or knee, if you will-during the National Anthem at football games.
Trump exclaimed, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag say, ‘Get that son of a b***h off the field–you’re fired!'”
Senior and 3-year varsity lineman Lubens Jean-Paul weighed in arguing that #TakeAKnee is justified in that “everyone is entitled to their own opinions and the way that the athletes are expressing themselves isn’t obscene or violent in anyway.”
Social activism is not new to football. In 1986 Cleveland Browns fullback, Jim Brown founded Vital Issues: an organization aimed at teaching life-management skills to inner-city gang members and prison inmates.
Of course with any controversy, there are always more viewpoints. Junior, Jonah Backensto believes that the movement is disrespectful, not only to the flag, but to those who serve in the military as well.
“There are men, women–black and white–who go into the military and give their life for [players] to take a knee during the National Anthem,” said Backensto. “In my opinion, it is very disrespectful and if they want to protest, it can be done in a different way.”
While the First Amendment is protective of the peaceful protest, there is no argument that Americans have been disrespecting the flag for years, as mentioned by ABC Affiliate WFAA Dallas Sportscaster, Dale Hansen, we have been blind to our own hypocrisy by wearing the flag on our heads, as swim trunks and underwear, and drinking beer out of cans wrapped in the stars and stripes.
