Whether you are a football fan or not, you have undoubtedly heard of the Super Bowl. It is one of the largest sports events in the US, millions tune in to watch from their homes. With so many viewers, clearly, this is an apt platform for getting out your advertisement to show to essentially a third of the US population. The advertising revenue from Super Bowl LI, last year’s Super Bowl, neared 400 million US dollars.
While a stellar platform for advertising products, it is also ideal for spreading powerful messages that extend to much more than just football and beer. In 2015, at the 49th Super Bowl, a commercial was aired supporting the NO MORE movement. This campaign was about raising awareness of domestic abuse and helping people understand the signals of an abusive relationship as well as letting those suffering know that there is help for them.
The NFL is willing to support and play commercials to help send a message and raise awareness for issues in our country such as domestic abuse. As I’m talking about all this your mind is probably jumping to the most recent message that has been spread from the NFL, the Black Lives Matter movement. Professional football players, such as former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, have sat down during the National Anthem to protest the racial inequality in the US as well as police brutality. These protests have received highly mixed reactions, but the movement gained significant traction in 2017 after instigating comments by President Trump were made. These comments insulted players who didn’t stand for the National Anthem and called for their team owners to fire them.
Now, what does all of this have to do with the military you might be asking. Well, quite a lot actually. One of the key issues people have with players sitting during the National Anthem is that they are disrespecting those who serve the country, for example, the military. Lots of hate has been thrown at this act by the players because of how they are disrespecting the nation and those who protect them and allow them the opportunity to protest like this. For the most part, however, this hate is not coming from members of the military. While many disagree with them sitting down, we recognize that this is their right to do so. When you join the military you take an oath to support and defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Being the child of a military family and on the way to joining myself, I am especially aware of the hate I may receive for what I do. But we swore to a duty and the constitution allows for free speech so those serving will take the hate from others because they have a greater realization of what they are fighting for.
Now when I say that members of the military disagree with sports players sitting during the National Anthem that doesn’t at all mean that they don’t think police brutality happens and that the Black Lives Matter movement is stirring up unrest. I personally agree that the nation is messed up right now and that people are being killed by racist cops. These people need to be tried and convicted of their crimes and that just isn’t happening a change needs to be made! I think it is good that popular figures such as NFL players are standing up for this. Other military members are in the same boat as I, such as Nate Boyer. He is a former Army Green Beret, who was drafted as a free agent to the Seattle Seahawks. 
He had a problem with people sitting for the National Anthem, but he didn’t yell or scream at them, instead, he offered another option. He met with Colin Kaepernick to discuss and came to a compromise. He offered the suggestion that instead of sitting down, Kaepernick kneels instead. Here is what Boyer says “Soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen brother’s grave, you know, to show respect. When we’re on a patrol….we go into a security halt, we take a knee, and we pull security.” While Boyer himself stands at attention to the National Anthem, instead of completely disrespecting the anthem, Kaepernick kneels like a soldier would for a lost comrade, he is kneeling for those who have been victims to police brutality in the US.
A similar case to this is that of Alejandro Villanueva and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Villanueva is a former Army Ranger, and a recipient of a Bronze Star. In September of 2017, before a game against the Chicago Bears, Villanueva was seen standing alone at the entrance tunnel to the field, hand over his heart, as the National Anthem played. The controversy arose from the fact that the Steelers had not come onto the field for the anthem in order to avoid being caught up in the issue of kneeling. While this seemed like an act of defiance, that Villanueva was singling out his team for not standing, he was just trying to find a middle ground. He commented “It wasn’t me stepping forward. I never planned to boycott the plan that the Steelers came up with. I just thought there would be some middle ground where I could stand in the tunnel, nobody would see me.” As a soldier he felt that he needed to respect our country and our National Anthem, unintentionally throwing his
teammates under the bus. While people may have made this out to be an act of defiance that is not at all what it is. He was merely fulfilling his duty and calling to the country.
There is lots of tension and seething comments being thrown in this controversy. Should the players and coaches stand or should they kneel? I personally think they yes they should make a public statement about the wrongs that are occurring but they shouldn’t disrespect the nation and the military that protects them. I don’t believe at all that this is their intention, however. I believe a huge miscommunication is going on. Players are kneeling because of police brutality while fans and others are angry that they’re kneeling not because they disagree that police brutality is occurring but because they are disrespecting the country. There are lots of emotion that are occurring and I think thus clouding the judgment of those involved. We need to address the issues of racial violence and police brutality. No matter what your ethnicity is, we are Americans and our brothers and sisters are being murdered in the streets without any justice. The military and the Black Live Matter movement are not opposing forces, they should be working together. Both groups are working to protect the people of our nation and yes both groups mess up and do things they shouldn’t, but in general, we should be helping each other to make changes and ensure each others’ security. Don’t be fooled by those who seek to divide us, our goals are not mutually exclusive. If we can come together for honest conversation we can help each other. The military has already played a small role in helping but we all need to put forth the effort to help change what is going on in our nation. We are a nation united and need to never forget that, we are all brothers and sisters under the American flag.