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Anti- Patriotism is something that has been going on in this country for a very short
time and I have been able to live this reality
during my lifetime. It’s no secret anymore, you can’t go a day without hearing about the newest anti-patriotic act that has been committed and I think the biggest reason we Americans always hear about this is because these acts are performed in the biggest events: major league sports. Sports is a huge part of our country and starts with our youth. It is more often than not a young kid idolizes an athlete or several that play professional sports and want to grow up to eventually be just like them. Some athletes don’t really know the impact that they make on the youth as well as middle schoolers, high schoolers, or even college kids. The actions that these athletes make are huge on the youth today. These athletes are some kids' biggest role models perform always find a way to rub off on certain kids all in a unique way. When kids see their favorite athlete do something during the game, or hear of something controversial they do off the field it affects the kids. A lot of kids want to mirror their favorite athletes and do everything they do.
In most traditional families Sunday night football is a big deal to them, so it's not surprising when almost the whole country is tuned in watching the big game during dinner time. Today one of the most influential athletes in the world is now known not because of his play on the field, but for what he is known for doing on the sidelines. His name is Colin Kaepernick, Quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Kaepernick, as you are probably well aware, has been kneeling during the "National Anthem" since week one of the NFL season. Kaepernick was the first to perform this act in the NFL and in the weeks to follow gained a lot of followers all around the league instantly. Colin has been the leader of this operation and I don’t know if he truly knew how big of an impact this would be in today's world. Whether he knew or not, he took the world by storm. Actions speak much louder than words. This off-the-field controversial movement also attracted a colossal amount of attention towards Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick jerseys sales shot through the roof. These purchased jerseys represented supporters of Kaepernick's movement, but don’t be fooled, a lot of these jerseys were purchased strictly just to be destroyed and lit on fire for videos to be put online, and they went viral (Forbes 2016). Since Kaepernick is the face of this project
and leader of this massive on going anti-patriotic display, there's bound to
be followers to something this large. Kaepernick's followers stretch out all
over the world, whether they are fellow teammates, rivals in the NFL, other
professional athletes in different sports, or could even be the youth of this
generation. So many new stories have been surfacing around the game of
football at every level. Almost every week you hear of a new school
buying into Kaepernick's
protest. There have been
several cases in which high
school football players or
cheerleaders have taken a
knee during the
"National Anthem" and
take a stand to be
anti-patriotic (ESPN 2016).
Anti- Patriotic Events in Sports
By: Adam Murphy