Football is inconsequential and needs to be reminded of their place in reality.
As a veteran, I do not see dropping to a knee, whether a few players or an entire team, during the national anthem as respectful in any way. These folks are paid to play a game for public entertainment, a meaningless aside where the public gets a break from reality for a few hours (while getting obscenely overcharged for literally everything they want), and not to force their views or opinions on a captive audience who paid money for their product. The players constantly tell us, as they vie for their tens of millions of dollars per year every few years, that football is a business. Since this is true then they should act like the commodity and act and do what they are being paid for: playing football.

I do not agree that people should HAVE TO recite or stand for the anthem, even so the NFL is paid to do this and their elitist, self-important players need to leave their personal non-football opinions outside the stadiums, stand for the pledge as they are being paid to by secret tax payer dollars, and earn their pay.

I'm sick of this crap. I'm boycotting the NFL (even though the Az Cardinals haven't dishonored their professionalism).

Separate sport and state.

Why play the National Anthem and wave the flag at all before a sports entertainment event? Because a large audience is available for patriotic indoctrination? Is a football game symbolic of war and emotionally laden to condition fans to crave conflict and to support the war agenda of the government? The game is the epitome of enshrining enmities and taking sides and the glory of conquest. Is it significant that all the other comments here are by men?

Will we eventually be forced to play the National Anthem before all public and private entertainments, movies, concerts, tournaments? How about making everyone kneel in reverence and submission and declare that as the required gesture of national loyalty? (Handicapped individuals exempt, of course.)

It's still centralized mind control, in whatever guise.

It's time to separate sport and state.

I'm a veteran. I hold the symbol of the flag, anthem and memory of my fellow troopers who did not return, very dearly. No apology. To me, I can't hear whatever cause you may have, real or perceived, because I won't get past the fact that you're disrespecting the flag, anthem and veterans. In my eyes, I do agree that if you disrespect our flag and anthem, you ARE a son of bitch for doing so. No apology there either. If you feel this is an assault on the right to freedom of speech, I'm not, I'm exercising mine.
This all started because a QT that was losing his mojo was pissed because he knew he was going to be eventually cut. Somehow, the media turned it into something bigger than what it was. A contributor to the escalations were the team owners who failed to correct it immediately mistakenly thinking that ignoring the problem child was the politically correct thing to do. The problem was magnified when the league commissioner didn't have the cojones to put an end to it. A simple solution would have been to arrange a conference in support of the players to vent, but have a rule of no protest on game day.

Last Sunday, 3 of my beloved Packers took a knee. I didn't watch game. Later I was happy my Packers won. However, if this continues, it won't matter to me whether they win or lose anymore. I've done quite well without the NFL. If this turns out to be the demise of the NFL, an American family tradition, it will be on the Commissioner and Owner's shoulders. I for one, will continue to do well without the NFL or any other league that shows such disrespect.

Meanwhile, a video of two kids being beaten in a Long Island Burger King offer the other side of the story. (see Drudge)

The older I get, the more it seems America is in deep kimchee. We're just a bunch of violent, dullards.

The athlete is an employee of a private business. The business owner is the one who should be concerned with the actions of his employees while at work, not the POTUS.
Trump has done a fair job of avoiding unwinnable battles with no upside. This one he has stepped in a pile up to his neck and he should be working on killing Obamacare, the EPA, the Drug War, etc instead. Really stupid letting the media lead him astray.

Smoke and mirrors...
This is the beginning of division. You are only a pawn, and you are charging head long into the deception! Good luck to your future! Better start worrying about yourself and not what others think.

Me dino would like to see toilets lined up on the sideline. Each would bear this sign~
Don't kneel. Sit here to crap on your jobs and the future of the NFL.

In my opinion, the title of the post and many of the comments suffer from factual inaccuracies and/or ignorance of relevant additional facts.

First off, the claim that Colin Kaepernick doesn't want to talk about issues is completely wrong. He has explicitly stated that his goal is to bring attention to social issues he's concerned about in his country, and to encourage and participate in a conversation about those issues. (See the video posted below.)

As an example of Kaepernick's willingness to participate in discussion -- which also happens to address the accusations that his behavior disrespects the military -- he invited a former NFL player who was also a veteran to meet with him for a lengthy discussion about his protest shortly after it started. When the veteran voiced his concern that sitting during the flag ceremony was disrespectful to veterans and the country, that is when Colin began kneeling, which the veteran had explained to him is a sign of respect. http://www.snopes.com/veteran-kaepern...

Further, police brutality and oppression of black people are some of the issues Kaepernick is protesting, but they are not the only ones. He is a thoughtful person, and says repeatedly that he wants freedom and justice for all people. He also says he is protesting unfair treatment of veterans by our government, and the corrupt two-party political system of our country: https://youtu.be/ARXQCFRmexY?t=16m27s

The history and purpose of the flag and military ceremonies at football games is also interesting. "Before 2009, football players standing for the national anthem wasn’t even a thing. The teams stayed in the locker room until after “and the hoooome of the braaaave,” and then ran onto the field. No one was offended, and no one was on cable news eliciting tears from disrespected military families. But then, the Department of Defense and the National Guard got involved. They began to pay the NFL millions of dollars to have ostentatious flag ceremonies before games... Americans deserve the ability to assume that tributes for our men and women in military uniform are genuine displays of national pride, which many are, rather than taxpayer-funded DOD marketing gimmicks." https://lawnewz.com/high-profile/here...

I may not agree with Kaepernick on everything he believes, but I respect his desire to peacefully encourage a dialogue about social issues he feels strongly about, and his willingness to be true to his convictions.

If you are commenting on this... Check your Brain!

Shut this OFF!

As I recall from days of old, the vanquished would kneel before the conqueror......
kneel knaves and submit yourself to those of us that honor the American Flag and its Anthem.
Until you submit, you are not worthy to stand in its presence.......KNEEL before the Flag of the United States of America.
And this includes the Monica Lewinsky wannabe types doing this ignorant crap in congress.

If this is correct about NFL Code of Conduct rules, it should not have been more than a footnote in the paper about a few players being fired for misconduct. But I quit watching football years ago when players confessed to and were convicted of fixing games were not banned from playing ever again. Which is also in that Code of Conduct book. They have become leeches on our society, time to remind them of ethics.

I was so disgusted with the sheep mentality of the Cowboys, formerly America's Team, that I watched only part, rooted for them to lose, and threw out my Dallas pillow! I will never see the the same again. To see Jerry Jones give in to such liberal garbage and make such a fool of himself, saying they were standing in solidarity with other teams was ridiculous. Texas used to be about individualism when I lived there. These morons don't even have the same issue, except anti-Trump, anti-America - about which they are ignorant.

I have talked all I want to on the subject of racial inequality. Its been overworked.

These entitled highly paid blacks just want special favors. I am not interested, and think they are paid too much as ghetto sports figures to merit me watching their games any more