Talking About Politics in the Age of Trump: NFL Players, the Owners, and the Rules Governing Protests

The question, as originally posted, is: Do you feel as if the NFL’s updated national anthem policy is unfair?

Several months ago,  when I answered a question on Quora regarding this topic, I erroneously said that forcing NFL players - who are all adults and have certain inalienable rights as citizens of this country - to stand during the playing of the National Anthem if they choose to be on the field at such time during a pro football game is unconstitutional. I was disabused of this belief by Quorans who pointed out that such a policy is only unconstitutional if it is foisted on the players by any government official at any level, be it local, state, or federal.

It’s not unconstitutional, apparently, if a business owner (in this case, the National Football League’s owners) tells employees (aka the pro football players) that they can either stay in the locker room while The Star Spangled Banner plays or stand with the team as a gesture of respect to the American flag. No kneeling, no sitting at the bench, or other types of protest is allowed, period.

So, there you have it. The NFL owners can set up such a rule.

Now, do I think the rule is unfair?

Yes. It’s unfair, even if it is perfectly legal for the NFL owners, pressured by a President who is not known for his impartial views on race and minority relations, to set the rule and enforce it.

First, the rule (in spirit as well as the actual letter) is antithetical to the values that we Americans supposedly hold up and believe in.

I mean, come on, people. Patriotism is not something that should be compulsory. Either you love your country or you don’t. Like religious faith…it’s real and honest when it comes from the heart and soul; it’s false and empty when you profess it at the point of a gun, or because someone has a sword at your throat, or because your fellow townspeople will shun you if you don’t toe the line and go to church on Sundays.

Second, it’s also cruel and unfair to pile on against those players, most of whom are black, who protest because they see people of color being treated unequally by law enforcement officers, most of whom are white. They are grieving over the sad fact that African-American citizens, mostly males, tend to get shot or physically abused at the hands of police officers more than whites do. And they are trying to remind the rest of the country that this has been going on since before the 2016 election, but that now we have a President who apparently doesn’t care about the plight of blacks or other minorities.

Third, kneeling is not an unpatriotic gesture. In fact, it was suggested as a perfectly acceptable (and therefore patriotic) form of protest by a veteran to Colin Kaepernick, the most prominent (and thus hated by the right) "kneeler." 

So yeah. The rule may be constitutionally sound. It is clearly legal.

But it is, when you look at the root causes of why it was imposed, unfair and immoral.