Anthem protests continue to spark local and national debate

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On Aug. 26, 2016 — a date which will live in NFL infamy — the San Francisco 49ers’ then-quarterback Colin Kaepernick opted to sit out the traditional pregame performance of the national anthem while the rest of his team stood, hands over hearts. Claiming that his refusal to stand was in protest of “police brutality,” Kaepernick’s bold move of defiance would quickly spark a national movement and firestorm, and with the recent resurgence of the anthem protests during the 2018 NFL preseason, the fierce debate over the controversy, it seems, will rage on.

“The NFL players are at it again — taking a knee when they should be standing proudly for the National Anthem,” President Donald Trump tweeted out Aug. 10, following the movement’s revival during the Aug. 9 NFL preseason openers.

A vocal opponent of the protests from the beginning, the president went on to say that the players were protesting “something that most of them are unable to define,” and that football games were “no place to protest.”

Jacksonville Jaguars Telvin Smith, Leonard Fournette, T.J. Yeldon and Jalen Ramsey were among the Aug. 9 protestors, opting to stay in the locker room during the performance of the national anthem before their team’s first preseason game against the New Orleans Saints.

“I’ve got beliefs,” Smith said at the press conference following the Jaguars’ 20-24 defeat. “I did what I did. I don’t know if it’s going to be every week, can’t answer if it’s going to be every week, but as a man, I’ve got to stand for something.”

Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone, however, offered a different opinion, stating, “I think I made it clear that, for me, I’m always going to stand with my hand on my heart, and I think that the people that don’t, then they’ve got to answer to it, to the media.”

And answer the protestors have — not just to the media, but to the fans. On Facebook, a page entitled “Boycott Jacksonville Jaguars” has amassed nearly 2,000 followers, meanwhile some local restaurants, like Harbor Tavern in Atlantic Beach, have opted to stop showing NFL games altogether, “due to disrespect.”

With the NFL and the NFL Players Association working to come to an agreement on what the proper anthem protocol should be, and with ESPN, among other networks, vowing to no longer air the tradition during its “Monday Night Football” broadcasts, Jacksonville-area residents have been just as divided on the issue.

Some, like St. Augustine resident Aaron Scott Jockers, have come to the defense of the protestors, arguing that they are simply exercising their constitutional rights.

“Protest is what this country was built on,” Jockers told the Recorder via Instagram. “If people wish to draw attention to a problem in society, there is nothing more American than doing so.”

Others, however, hold that it is disrespectful and an insult to America’s military members to kneel or sit during the national anthem.

“If we all can’t agree that you should stand during the playing of the national anthem to honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country, we have much bigger problems than we think,” Chris Taylor contended via Facebook. “This should be a very basic and underlying value of each American.”

Further, others have noted that the NFL is an employer with a reputation to protect, and maintain that the organization should be allowed to set guidelines for employee behavior.

“The NFL is privately owned and these players (are) ‘on the clock,’” Stacy Lynn told the Recorder via Instagram. “I think it is wonderful that they can protest on national TV without fear of being imprisoned or harmed, (but) I think it is a terrible business choice. Anything that would offend half my customers would be cut immediately.”

Lynn also added that she felt the players’ decision to protest during the anthem was not an effective way to convey their message.

“Anytime I try to change someone’s mind, the last thing I would do is attack and alienate them,” she said, adding, “Their message has been long lost. Time to find a new method to communicate.”