Protesting in Professional Sports

Lately, in the world of sports, we have seen players protest the national anthem in the opening ceremonies for their professional games. In late August, San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, refused to stand for the playing of the national anthem before the start of the team’s final preseason game. In that one instant, he sparked controversy across America. Now, as we approach the end of September, teams such as the Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks, and Denver Broncos have had their own demonstrations on the field. The entire Dolphins squad chose to kneel during the national anthem, the Seahawks stood shoulder-to-shoulder and locked their arms together, and two Broncos players kneeled as well.

U.S. women’s soccer player Megan Rapinoe has been the latest sports athlete to kneel during the anthem as well. These signs of protest have been discussed in baseball too, former MLB manager Tony La Russa said that “he would not allow any of his players to protest and he would tell a player protesting the anthem to sit inside the clubhouse…if you want to make your statement you make it in the clubhouse, but not out there, you’re not going to show it that way publicly and disrespectfully.” In college football, Clemson head coach, Dabo Swinney, also said that he believes “everybody has the right to express himself in that regard…I don’t think it’s good to use the team as a platform. I totally disagree with that. Not his protest. But I just think there’s a right way to do things.” As everything continues to unfold, where will professional teams “stand” regarding the first amendment?