Ask anyone for two key facets of America and patriotism and football would rank highly.

Patriotism and football have clashed recently with the protest of kneeling during the national anthem at professional football games. Many players, owners, and cheerleaders kneeled to protest the racism and police brutality against African American citizens in America.

As a starting note, the U.S. Flag Code lists disrespectful actions towards the flag and anthem, including putting flags on clothes or laying them horizontally. The NFL does both of those things, and kneeling during the anthem is never mentioned.

To be completely clear, kneeling is a protest of racism in this country. Not our flag. Not our president. Not our troops. Colin Kaepernick, the first one to kneel, started his protest during the Obama presidency.

When asked about his possible disrespect, Kaepernick stated simply: “I have great respect for the men and women that have fought for this country. I have family, I have friends that have gone and fought for this country. And they fight for freedom, they fight for the people, they fight for liberty and justice, for everyone.”

Kaepernick didn’t even originally kneel at all. At the beginning Kaepernick simply sat during the anthem. This changed when fellow player —and army veteran— told him that sitting was disrespectful, but that soldiers kneel by the graves of their fallen comrades in respect.

Kaepernick promptly changed his manner of protest in order to show more respect.

This is not an issue of the flag, or the soldiers, or even respect, and calling it this is ignoring, willingly or otherwise, that there is a serious problem in our great nation that disproportionately affects our minority citizens. People who are angry with those who kneel seem to be more enraged by the thought of black “disrespect” than of black death.

These freedoms are prohibited from even Kaepernick, who managed to overcome his circumstances to become very successful. Opposers might claim that because he is successful he should be “grateful” or “protest on his own time.” I ask, does personal success negate the racism of an entire nation? Can a successful person not advocate for those less fortunate?

Kaepernick himself puts it that “this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” Kaepernick used his platform to speak out for fundamental human rights.

The purpose of a protest is to be heard and seen. Not many plan a protest in their basement, painting signs and whispering their rights. Kaepernick had the ability to peacefully reach millions, and so he did. People say that this is still not the right way, not the right time.

When is the right time? What is the right way? Marching in the streets is called a riot. Organizing Black Lives Matter creates cries for All Lives Matter. Surely simply kneeling, respecting the wishes of veterans, surely that’s enough?

There are only so many times that a person can say “No. Don’t protest this way.” before they must admit that they mean “No. Don’t protest at all.”

And if this is still not the right way, and there is one, then what is it? No one has offered one thus far, and no one seems likely to. So the players kneel, they lock arms, they raise a fist, and they try to make a difference in a world where Tamir Rice, a 12 year-old-boy, was killed. Philando Castille’s girlfriend and daughter witnessed his death. In 2015, almost 1,000 people died, and “a hugely disproportionate number — 3 in 5 — of those killed after exhibiting less threatening behavior were black or Hispanic.”

To be absolutely clear, I am not anti-police. I realize that the police have a hard and scary job, but once again, this isn’t a protest of all police. This is a protest of systemic racism that permeates the institution and undermines the honor of our respectable force.

There is no pretending that this is not a problem in America. A true citizen, one who truly loves their country, would be able to realize its flaws and move forward to try and make it a better place. America will never be the land of the free if all our citizens are not safe and equal. We still have rights that we need to fight for in America, just like the fight for freedom that inspired our glorious anthem.

Athletes should not kneel, sit, or do anything other than stand, face the flag, and hold their hand over their heart with pride.

They are lucky enough to be American.

Athletes have an obligation as American citizens to stand during the “Star Spangled Banner” to honor their freedom and the people who sacrifice their lives to protect the rights of citizens.

Some athletes, however, refuse to take part in this sacred tradition of our country. Refusing to take part in the National Anthem is disrespectful to our freedom and the 1.1 million people that protect our freedom.

This also brings politics to an activity that most people do to escape it.

My grandfather is a veteran, so I asked him what his view was of the NFL players kneeling. He responded that he will always stand for the National Anthem to honor the people that make America great. He believes in freedom of speech, but thinks it is disrespectful to use the flag and the anthem to make that point.

Kneeling is a disrespectful notion to the flag because they aren’t even acknowledging the people that let them thrive in the perfect bubble we live in. Without these people, the freedom we are have would be gone. Whenever I stand for the flag, I think about how crucial all of our veterans were to the success of our county.

Athletes that kneel claim that they are not disrespecting the flag. Many players have said that they are not disrespecting the flag, and that they are only kneeling to protest police brutality.

The freedom of our country is more important than police brutality. Without freedom, there would not even be any police to protect us. A better solution would be to take a short knee after the anthem is over. Therefore, players can still voice their opinion without disrespecting veterans.

While police brutality may be a problem in certain parts of the United States, it should not be protested against by kneeling for the flag. Just because some officers have made mistakes in the past, it does not mean you should disrespect them. When people are kneeling for the flag, they are being ignorant to a lot of people that dedicated their lives to protection of the public. In no way should any athlete or American ignore the people that put their lives on the line. You should acknowledge them by at least standing during the song they dedicated their lives too.

What about some of the wrongdoings the United States has done that I don’t want to stand for? Yes, when you are standing for the National Anthem you are standing for bad causes too. Sometimes our country makes mistakes, but everyone make mistakes. That is the great thing about this country, and it is why you should show some pride for it by standing during the National Anthem.

Another reason to stand for the anthem is that it is the one thing our nation does together. It is something that brings people together, even if they are the biggest enemies. We don’t have too many things left like that in America, so there is no reason to take it away.

So what other sports have this problem? None. There have been a few instances where this has happened in baseball, but not every game. In the NHL the players stand not only for our National Anthem, but also for Canada’s National Anthem when a Canadian team is present. Most of the players are from other countries too.

In the NHL, if you sit, you’d be doing the same thing for the whole game on the bench.

The same concept is present within the NBA as well. In fact, the NBA has had a rule in place since nearly the start of the league that states that all players have to stand on the sideline during the anthem. It is an old rule though, so there is uncertainty about whether the NBA will enforce it or not. We will have to wait until the season starts to see if any players will kneel.

So who am I mad at? The players of course; they are setting a bad example for children that look up to them, and use them as inspirations.

There is a group of people I get more annoyed with though, and that is that people who support them. There is absolutely no reason big enough to dishonor an American soldier that has died for our country… sorry, 1.1 million of them.