Recently, there has been much controversy over professional athletes not participating in the national anthem, many calling it disrespectful to the brave soldiers that fight for this country.  President Donald Trump even made such a claim at a recent event, asking the audience, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say get that son of a bitch off the field right now?” But I think people need to understand why athletes are doing this before passing judgment.

They’re not disrespecting the flag or the people that fight for our country; instead, they’re using their platform to fight against racism, inequality and police brutality.  This trend isn’t a new one resulting from Trump’s presidency either; NFL player Colin Kaepernick started kneeling during the national anthem when Obama was in office, and many WNBA players have protested before our president was elected as well. We’re in America, the land of the free, and we should be able to exercise our freedom of speech and right to protest, which is exactly what these professional athletes are doing. Trump is very concerned with athletes peacefully protesting in a symbolic way, but relatively silent when Nazi supporters and the KKK are holding hateful protests and rallies.

The U.S. Flag code also says nothing about sitting or kneeling during the national anthem being disrespectful. Things listed on the U.S. Flag Code (Title 4, Chapter 1, Code 8)  that are described as disrespectful are actions such as having the flag flat or horizontal, putting the flag on advertisements or clothing/uniforms, and anything disposable like paper plates and napkins. This is ironic, as you have probably seen many “patriotic” people support these dishonorable acts.

Declining to stand for the national anthem is a peaceful way that athletes are shining the spotlight on a problem that needs to be stopped. The idea that innocent lives are being taken based on the color of their skin needs to be brought to attention. The man that is supposedly running our country is more worried about rescinding an invite to the White House from a basketball team than the disasters that are affecting America in a horrendous way.