On Sunday September 26th, the Eagles defeated the Giants after a 61 yard field goal, Odell Beckham Jr. made a spectacular one handed catch, and a football game was played across the pond in London. However, the most headlines on Monday did not focus on that, and opted to write about the 130+ football players that kneeled during the national anthem before the game even started.

It seems surreal that so many high profile athletes would voice their opinion in unison, but the display was not completely motivated by issues regarding race, although a large portion of the athletes were kneeling to promote specifically that issue. Donald Trump issued a tweet attacking kneeling NFL players, calling them “son[s] of b****[es]” and stating that the NFL should fire those kneeling during the national anthem. This was seemingly meant to divide the NFL, pitting corporate staff against the players themselves, but unexpectedly, it unified the league. Coaches, owners, and players stood (or kneeled) with interlocked arms, symbolically showing support for each other. Some teams, such as the Titans, Seahawks, and Steelers, even stayed in the locker room for the duration of the national anthem and only came out after it was finished. In London, the Jaguars and Ravens both knelt for the US national anthem, and stood up for national anthem of England.

The act of kneeling for the national anthem as a form of protest is not new, and was first done by Colin Kaepernick, former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, when he took a knee in September 2016 to protest the mistreatment of the black community. He was heavily condemned for his actions, and was asked to leave the 49-ers after the 2016 season. Critics of Kaepernick stated that football was no place for politics, a statement Trump disproved with a single tweet.

These protests caused a split between those who support them and those against them. Those against the demonstrations claim that the American flag should not be disrespected and there are other ways to spread awareness about an issue without directly disrespecting America. Those supporting the football players who kneel, such as 12th grader Trevor Brooks, say “they have a right to protest and stand up, or kneel, for what they believe. In the end, they’re showing their support for a cause in a peaceful way that raises awareness.”