On Monday, Dallas sportscaster Dale Hansen had a lot to say about the peaceful protest within the NFL community after players were kneeling during the National Anthem. A controversial subject in the media at the moment, the sportscaster gave his full and honest opinion without hesitation on Fox News. Hansen is in support of the protest, believing it is an expression of an American’s First Amendment rights (freedom of speech and of peaceful protest).
In his opinion, the military and its soldiers serve in order to protect the freedoms of United States citizens.
The men have chosen to serve in order to protect the rights of these protestors.
Hansen includes in his rant the subject of President Trump’s speech concerning the protestors. He did not believe the words said by the leader of the free world were appropriate, nor were they morally sound. On Friday, the president made the comment, “get that SOB off of the field,” in reference to his goal of firing or suspending the players who chose to kneel during the anthem.
The sportscaster was surprised at the comment, saying “he called those players a name I never the thought the President would say.” In the opinion of Hansen, these words are targeted at the wrong people. President Trump had nothing to say on the bigotry that happened in Charlottesville, yet he opted to use such colorful language towards people attempting to make a statement on racial inequality.
President Trump opposes the protest
Most of the contempt toward the protest is based on the idea that those who kneel during the playing of the national anthem do not care for the sacrifice made by the troops. Amongst those who share this idea is Fox Newscaster Tomi Lahren, who has been active on social media supporting the President and his opinions on the protest.
In a long Facebook post, Lahren stated, “We stand for the anthem and salute the flag out of respect for those who have fought, died and sacrificed so we can live and flourish in the greatest nation on the face of the earth.”
As a man who served in Vietnam himself, Hansen believes these players have every right to protest in a peaceful manner.
Hansen says passionately that his best friend "did not die so [Trump] could decide who is a patriot and who loves America more." These players are not kneeling for the purpose of disrespecting the flag and those who believe in what it represents. It seems a disconnect has been created behind the purpose of the movement and the way the media has chosen to portray it.
The focus of the movement carried out by these Nfl Players has shifted from a narrative of the racist culture in this country. Now, the general public has become concerned with the implications of kneeling during the playing of National Anthem, questioning the morality of this action.
A herald of President Trump’s opinions, Lahren’s long Facebook post goes on to say that Colin Kaepernick “made hatred of America the new celebrity fad.” Comments such as this one have managed to guide attention away from the original movement, making the intended message from these players that much harder to be received by the general public of America.
Strength of the movement
President Trump has guided most of his attention toward the progression of this movement lead by NFL players, even at the cost of time dedicated toward solving the worsening situation in Puerto Rico. Sending out a plethora of tweets and now publicly commenting on the protest, it is clear that he is not supporting the actions of these players.
But such opposition to peaceful protest seems out of character for the president. In the past, he has seemed fairly nonchalant about such protests. In reference to the events in Charlottesville, President Trump only could say that it was “very sad” that people had to die at the hands of a racist. There was no use of vulgar language. Trump would rather save those words to describe peaceful protesters attempting to bring attention to the inequity within the United States.
Although opposition has erupted throughout media for protestors kneeling during the national anthem, it is important to consider the massive amount of attention it is gaining. Regardless of whether the attention is positive or negative, national movements such as the one being carried out by these NFL players, need the attention of the media in order to be effective.
As long as people talk about these issues, they will stay relevant. The only hope for those in support of this protest is that the movement can hold on to its original message: to end inequality in the United States.
