My name is Evelyn Wardell. I am fifteen years old and began watching football within the first month of my life. I was raised loving the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers. In 2016 I noticed players kneeling on the sidelines and thought nothing of it. It wasn’t until 2019 when I really began to understand the important message behind kneeling during the anthem.
Beginning on August 26, 2016, the media noticed a San Francisco 49ers player kneeling on the sidelines during the national anthem. Colin Kaepernick, the 29-year-old backup quarterback had been kneeling for three games, and on the third, Kaepernick finally began to get the much-needed media coverage.
When asked by the Washington Post the meaning behind his protests, Kaepernick said, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. 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.”
This was and still is a very controversial subject due to some people’s interpretation of the protest as disrespectful to the men and women of our country who have served in the military. This controversy would cause the 2016-2017 season to be the last season Kaepernick would play.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. 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.”
Colin Kaepernick
Many more players began to kneel in 2017 after an explicit rant by President Trump calling for any players taking a knee to get “..off the field right now. Out! He’s fired…” as quoted in an NBC article. This caused one of the biggest spikes in players kneeling.
According to the Denver Post, the largest spike in Bronco players that took a knee during the anthem was in 2017 in Buffalo, where 32 Bronco players joined the silent protests.
Football is one of the most-watched sports in America; due to this, many Americans were able to view players protesting off the field. This puts football players in a position of influence. They have the capability to affect the way that others think, as shown by the intense reactions of football fans across the nation.
The Broncos’ first game of the 2020 season was against the Tennessee Titans at Empower Field. 18 Bronco players took a knee during the anthem. I’m am now 15 years old, and this was the first time I really understood why they were doing it. Their goal is to bring attention to the racism and police brutality occurring in our own backyards.
During the first Bronco game of the season not only did 18 players take a knee, but 12 players had the name Elijah McClain on the back of their helmets. McClain was a 23-year-old black man who died in Aurora police custody due to brutality on August 24, 2019.
McClain is one of many unarmed black men and women who have died in police custody. The exact number is not known due to the lack of recorded data.
The movement Kaepernick began in 2016 has made a major effect on today’s National Football League and how the players use their platforms. It is important to look at everything that is happening and not turn a blind eye just because it is hard to stomach. What these players are doing is necessary to bring light to the issues of racism and police brutality in our country, which at this point is something we as a country need to recognise and correct.
Evelyn Wardell, Staff Reporter
