The intersection of race and sports has taken center stage after President Donald Trump urged NFL owners on Friday to fire players for protesting during the national anthem.
The response was as fast as a safety blitz, prompting players, coaches and owners to unite in an unprecedented display of solidarity.
The response from fans, however, hasn’t been as as unifying.
“To show disrespect towards the country and our flag hurts the veterans,” said Dan Mills, American Legion Post 20 Commander in Crown Point. “Being a veteran I understand that freedom of speech is essential. It’s one of the cornerstones of our country. The way they go about doing it, I disagree with it but I will defend their right to be wrong.”
As the NFL’s slate of games was starting Sunday, some players knelt on one knee, others linked arms and three teams — Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans — did not take the field for the playing of the national anthem. The Pittsburgh Steelers was the first team to sit out the national anthem as the team remained in the tunnel at Soldiers Field before the game against the Chicago Bears.
Trump demanded NFL owners fire players who protested during the national anthem Friday during a political rally in Alabama.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a (expletive) off the field right now. Out! He’s fired,” Trump said.
While the reference from the president didn’t offer a name, in August 2016 former San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat and then knelt for the anthem as a way to bring attention to relations between police officers and black men in the U.S.
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Cassandra Cannon, director of the United Urban Network, said she believed that all the black NFL players should have knelt to support Kaepernick.
“He sacrificed and put his butt on the line and he took the first line of defense to stand up for equality,” she said.
The time for Americans to acknowledge the inequality that African-Americans face is “long overdue,” Cannon said.
“It’s no secret,” she said. “What’s sad is some people see our black men being murdered and they don’t care. …it’s shameful.”
In an effort to mend the relationship between the community and law enforcement Cannon will be hosting a forum geared at facilitating safe interactions between citizens and law enforcement. The event will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday at Mama Pearl’s Restaurant, 411 E. 5th Ave., Gary.
A study published by the American Journal of Public Health showed a review of lethal force interactions by police showed a fatal result more often for black individuals and with Hispanics than with whites.
The study, by Dr. James W. Buehler of Drexel University and published in January, reviewed more than 2,200 lethal police interventions in the U.S. with males 10 years of age or older between 2010-2014.
The demonstrations continued Monday night when the Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, head coach Jason Garrett and other coaches and front office executives took a knee in unison with the players before the anthem, then rising and locking arms as the anthem was performed. The Arizona Cardinals linked arms during the anthem but did not take a knee beforehand.
Despite the apparent solidarity, Trump did not relent on his stance. He continued to express his disapproval with the anthem protests in a series of tweets Tuesday morning.
“The NFL has all sorts of rules and regulations. The only way out for them is to set a rule that you can’t kneel during our National Anthem!” he tweeted Tuesday morning.
Twitter @JavonteA