Not having any immediate family that served in a war or in the military, I never understood the big deal when famous athletes wouldn’t participate in the National Anthem. People say it’s disrespectful, but why? Everyone who’s anyone, even non sports watchers, know who Colin Kaepernick is for his signature, sit down during the National Anthem. An act like that is expected from someone who is a person of color, it shouldn’t have come as a shock to people. Yet, who would have thought a white person would kneel during the national anthem? Seth DeValve, Cleveland Browns tight end, shocked most people when he made the decision to support his teammates, wife, and beliefs. It was August 21, DeValve alongside his teammates were getting ready to play the New York Giants, when he and many other players decided to take a knee during the National  Anthem, making him the first white football player to ever do so.  

Is taking a seat during the national anthem really such a bad thing? I mean what is the harm, is it really so terrible and disrespectful as raging nationalists make it seem to be? No physical harm is being done to anyone, freedom of expression, right?

DeValve comes from a white family and background but his wife, Erica Harris DeValve, is African American.

“I myself will be raising children that don’t look like me,” said DeValve.

DeValve wants to lead by example and try to help create a better society for his future kids and many other biracial people that have to face the issues of racism today.

With the political leaders we have currently, non colored Americans have been abusing their rights of the First Amendment. They do this because our own president supports white-nationalists before any other ethnic group. This makes that certain group feel “superior” and makes them believe they can get away with anything since they are “above” everyone else. Many hate groups have came out of hiding, such as the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville. What can be done to stop this since it’s technically their “right” to express their opinions and beliefs?

Legal action cannot be taken, but we can raise awareness, just like DeValve has done. His actions were “disrespectful,” but they were reasonable and I can see why he did what he did and I agree with his actions. If sitting down for a minute and thirty seconds during a song is what it takes to get people’s attention to address a serious problem among mankind, then so be it and take a knee.