As NFL season kicks off, Americans take different stand on kneeling protests, poll says

Thursday marks the first day of the 2020 NFL season, and while fans are ready to kick off this bizarre, COVID-19-laced year, social issues weigh heavily on the minds of players and the nation.

Athletes in professional sports ranging from the NBA to Major League Baseball to the NHL have been vocal and are participating in protests over racism and police brutality, displays consisting mostly of taking a knee during the national anthem.

On Aug. 26, the Milwaukee Bucks led the charge after refusing to come out of their locker room for Game 5 of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, McClatchy News reported. Other NBA teams followed suit, demanding justice and change.

NFL players are looking to continue the protests with the start of Thursday’s opener in Kansas City, and while some people have called for athletes to “stick to sports,” The Washington Post released a poll that shows 56 percent of Americans are fine with players taking a knee.

The poll also said that 62 percent of Americans say that “professional athletes should use their platforms to express their views on national issues.”

Former San Francisco 49er quarterback and now free agent Colin Kaepernick drew attention to systemic racism when he took a knee before a preseason game in 2016. Kaepernick at first sat down during the anthem until it was suggested by retired Green Beret Nate Boyer that kneeling during the anthem would be considered “respectful” to those who have fallen or been marked by tragedy, Boyer said on ““Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel.”

“Soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen brother’s grave, you know, to show respect,” Boyer said. “When we’re on a patrol, you know, and we go into a security halt, we take a knee, and we pull security.”

Two years after Kaepernick first knelt, an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll found that 54 percent of registered voters felt that NFL players kneeling was inappropriate., and 43 percent said the move was an appropriate way to shine a light on the reason for their protests.

“Stick to sports?”

Since Kaepernick’s knee touched the ground and in the years following, notable political figures such as President Donald Trump have taking offense, seeing kneeling as a sign of disrespect to the American flag itself despite players reiterating that it’s not.

In July, Trump tweeted, “Any time I witness a player kneeling during the national anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our country and our flag, the game is over for me!”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell expressed that he had wished “we had listened” to Kaepernick earlier.

“The first thing I’d say is I wish we had listened earlier, Kaep, to what you were kneeling about and what you were trying to bring attention to,” Goodell said on the digital series ”Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man.” “We invited him in several times to have the conversation, to have the dialogue. I wish we had the benefit of that. We never did. We would have benefited from that. Absolutely.”

The NFL will paint phrases “End Racism” and “It Takes All of Us” in the end zones at stadiums, following the lead of the NBA and WNBA, which emblazoned “Black Lives Matter” on their courts in the Orlando restart, ESPN reported.

Players will also wear decals on their helmets with the names of victims of police brutality.

“Each player will have the option to honor an individual by displaying that person’s name via a decal on the back of their helmet,” a memo obtained by ESPN said. “Players will be offered a list of names and short biographical information to help guide their decision-making, however, they can also select a victim of systemic racism who is not represented on this list.”

Not everyone is looking forward to seeing players take a stand in a metaphorical way, however.

The Starlite Club in Ardmore, Oklahoma, made waves after telling the public that it won’t show any games from sports leagues whose players take a knee, McClatchy News reported. While the reaction was mixed on Facebook, some were curious on what the bar would show, especially since all the major leagues are backing up the kneeling decision.

“So y’all airing bowling and cricket?” one person asked in the comment section.