A Super Bowl full of hypocrites
n the NFL’s ‘Inspire Change’ commercial during the Super Bowl, they came out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The decision to support the movement has been met with criticism from both sides.
In 2016, Colin Kaepernick kneeled for the first time during the national anthem and it caught a lot of attention. His peaceful protest started by sitting on the bench during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
This was enough to anger some viewers, so to quell the anger the 49ers team released a statement according to the official NFL website stating, “The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pre-game ceremony. It is an opportunity to honor our country and reflect on the great liberties we are afforded as its citizens. In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose and participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem.”
The statement didn’t really solve anything, as viewers were still mad. Kaepernick then received a letter from Nate Boyer, who formerly played for the Seahawks and was a Green Beret. Boyer and Kaepernick then met up and talked about his protest. Boyer suggested that Kaepernick kneel during the anthem because it’s a way soldiers show respect for the fallen. At his next game, Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem, which only garnered more rage from the press and viewers.
When the next season started, other players joined Kaepernick in kneeling during the anthem. The NFL stayed mostly quiet and allowed the individual teams to handle their players however they saw fit. This included the 49ers creating a new contract with Kaepernick that got rid of his guaranteed money for his next season and allowed him to opt out, which he eventually did.
After this Kaepernick was never signed onto a team again.
In 2018, the NFL created a new rule that prohibited players from kneeling during the national anthem, allowing them to stay in the locker room instead if they do not wish to stand during the anthem. Later in 2019, the NFL offered Kaepernick a workout where teams could watch him and potentially sign him. After the workout, Kaepernick remained unsigned.
The NFL’s actions against Kaepernick and their rules against kneeling during the anthem now contrast with statements they’ve made in the past year. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the NFL released a statement according to their official website saying, “The NFL family is greatly saddened by the tragic events across our country.”
This seems like a big flip-flop for the NFL. For four years the NFL suppressed their player’s ability to peacefully protest. Now they choose to release statements supporting the Black Lives Matter movements, and act like they didn’t push Kaepernick out of the league and force players to stop protesting.
Organizations need to either stop aligning themselves with policies and ideas or admit when they act hypocritically. Although the NFL released a statement according to Reuters saying, “We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.” I believe that although they admitted they were wrong they should have admitted they were wrong in their ad too. They should repeal their rule that prohibits kneeling and issue a formal apology to Kaepernick.