The Importance Of The National Anthem

Did you know that the first time the National Anthem was played at a sporting event was in 1862 at a baseball game? The National Anthem’s most prominent first steps toward becoming a tradition dates to Game 1 of the 1918 World Series. Fans and players were swelling with World War 1 patriotism, both standing with direct attention on the flag to honor our country. One of the players from the Red Sox even gave a military salute which allowed the National Anthem to become a tradition for baseball games, especially. Even after this, the Anthem was still reserved for more important events that took place. It was played for special moments like opening day, holidays, and the World Series. Due to new technology and loudspeakers, the National Anthem

Since then, the nation’s pride as a whole has taken a dramatic downfall, especially in professional sports. Many reporters and journalists have experienced different issues and protests about kneeling for the National Anthem. Altogether, it is a nationwide issue, and it has affected the way citizens view the patriotism of our country. All Americans should recognize the flag during the Pledge of Allegiance or the National Anthem because American citizens should show respect and honor towards the men and women who have fought and sacrificed their lives for the country to still be standing. A wide diversity of athletes have voiced their opinions on the subject of kneeling for the National Anthem. “I know what it’s like to look at a flag and not have all your rights,” Megan Rapinoe tells Time Magazine (Gregory et. al.). Rapinoe is a gay member of the U.S. women’s soccer team. She felt obligated to kneel during the National Anthem before her game against Thailand because she has struggled with having equal rights just because she is a gay female athlete. The protest of kneeling for the flag has spread grounds to many other

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people” (Gregory et. al.). With this point, it provides the idea of the reasoning behind the protest of not standing for the flag. For the majority of the protestors, they are protesting African American rights of American citizens. For NFL player, Colin Kaepernick, this is a major issue. He expresses this protest as “much bigger than football,” and he believes it would be selfish of him to not take a stand (Gregory et. al.). Many professional athletes would agree with Kaepernick about the protest, and they believe that they are not held at an authority in this country, and they have unequal rights compared to the average citizen. Other than the NFL, these protests have carried on to lower levels of athletics and education, even high schools. At Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden, New Jersey, Coach Preston Brown and his coaching staff took a knee along with their high school players during the National Anthem. Their school district strongly supports standing for the flag, but they believe that it is a personal issue, and they respect their students’ experiences and exercising our country’s First Amendment rights (Byas). In addition to Woodrow Wilson High School, Maury High School in Norfolk,