Should Athletes Be Allowed To Stand For The National Anthem?

(4 points) Provide 2 reasons why you think professional athletes should take political stands. Include some examples from the articles or elsewhere of when athletes took a political stand. Feel free to conduct your own secondary research (and properly cite it!) to help inform your view.

I think professional athletes get paid too much, I am going to give you three reasons why I think that professional athletes get paid too much. First, this is my reasons why professional athletes get paid too much, they are just playing a sport and other people are risking their life to keep us safe. For example, cops are risking their life for us and don’t get paid enough while athletes are doing something fun. In addition, the athletes are risking their health but, people who are risking their life for our country and nation they are making a quarter of what the athletes are getting paid.

Athletes and other individuals should be able to kneel for the national anthem to bring attention to the social injustice that exists in our country today. There is a clear problem that exists in many parts of the United States of America, and many are uncomfortable talking about it. African Americans and other minorities have been unfairly targeted and discriminated against throughout this country’s history, and this difficulty can still be found in the present. One way athletes and others have been protesting police brutality that has erupted a nationwide controversy is kneeling while the national anthem is being played. Kneeling during the national anthem is a peaceful form of protest that is effective as it brings attention to the problem.

For years, the National Anthem has been seen as a sign of respect to those who have fought for our country's rights and safety. Standing and being quiet during the anthem has been a custom to the citizens of America at events like concerts and sporting events. Recently, many pro athletes have taken a stand against the racial problems in our country by kneeling during the National Anthem. Many see this as a peaceful form of protest, as opposed to not playing or beginning violence in games. But others have different opinions to the subject and have become enraged with the “lack of respect” that this displays.

There are twenty seven Amendments in the Constitution. In my personal opinion I think all of them are important. I think the first Amendment is a little more important than the other twenty six and this is why. The First Amendment in the Constitution establish a set of rules that the State or Federal Government can not change. For example freedom of religion is very important because no one can force other people on their religious beliefs.

Is It Worth It? Have you ever felt as if your freedom of speech as been criticized or taken away? Sometimes in high school we like to express our opinions and it gets rejected. I have been through this exact experience whenever I bring my ideas into a project and my other group members look at me as if I was stupid.

In today’s society, entertainers and professional athletes earn millions of dollars per year, while other professionals who provide essential services, such as teachers and nurses, make a much lower salary. I think this is extremely unfair because certain professionals, like teachers, have so much to offer the world, while entertainers and pro athletes simply provide a source of entertainment. It is absolutely absurd to think that the lowest paid NFL player is still making more than most highly educated doctors. In my opinion, one should be paid according to the job’s economic importance and their value to society. Teaching is one of the most important jobs because our economy relies on the education of its youth, yet teachers are paid less than the average professional athlete is.

Kneeling for the National Anthem is disrespectful in many ways. There are pros and cons to every protest. It is very hard to find the pros in this one. The National Anthem represents our freedom and our liberty as a country. Kneeling for it is just saying one is not proud to be an American.

Remember High school. Each person had their own group of people of close friends. Each day you would have eight total periods a day, including lunch and that one random class to make sure you have your arts and english classes passed before graduation. The only real time you had any time that was not about school was when there were assemblies and activities such as Prom/Homecoming or basketball games. The assemblies were always either something related to regulation, such as bullying or drug prevention, or a celebration for basketball/football.

The world today is a rollercoaster that goes in all different directions all the time. Everyone has an impact on where the rollercoaster goes and how it impacts the world. Two of the major things that impact this rollercoaster can be: actions and words. Just one person’s opinion can impact so much that will happen in the future. That is why expressing your opinion is such an important thing to do in today’s society, but doing it in a civil matter is more important.