NFL players who kneel for the National Anthem are almost nonexistent nowadays.
There are only a handful of players who do it before every single game like Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid.
But it just took an unexpected turn when this surprising person kneeled for the National Anthem before the Thursday night 49ers game.
The main reason for that is because almost every player stands for the National Anthem.
Fans started to watch the games again because only a few football players continue to kneel for America’s song.
And that’s why it wasn’t a surprise that it happened here again.
On Thursday Night Football, a 49ers cheerleader took a knee for the National Anthem instead of a player.
49ers cheerleader took a knee for the National Anthem instead of a player
That was the first protest by an NFL cheerleader.
A group of high school cheerleaders made national news this year when they did the same but they obviously weren’t professionals.
The San Francisco 49ers cheerleader was identified as Kayla Morris.
Kayla, a 49ers Gold Rush Girl cheerleader, takes a knee during the national anthem. pic.twitter.com/mvWpxG7vXY
— Tony Bravo (@TonyBravoSF) November 3, 2018
In May, Commissioner Roger Goodell created a new policy that required players to stand for the National Anthem.
Players faced fines or suspensions if they chose to kneel.
But the league also gave them the option to stay in the locker room before the pregame tradition.
That rule crumbled when the Associated Press got their hands on the Miami Dolphins’ rules of conduct.
It said that players would be suspended four games if they didn’t abide by it.
Liberals were furious.
As a result, the NFL folded and put the new rule on hold.
Dolphins’ players Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson still kneel.
However, one NFL owner completely ignored the league.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones enforced an even stricter rule.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones enforced an even stricter rule
He said that his players will not play if they kneel for the anthem.
Jones said his players will stand and “toe the line.”
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott agreed with Jones too.
He said in August, “I never protest during the anthem, and I don’t think that’s the time or the venue to do so. The game of football has always brought me such at peace, and I think it does the same for a lot of people, a lot of people playing the game, a lot of people watching the game, a lot of people that have any impact of the game.”
A lot of people demonized Prescott for his comments.
He was called an “Uncle Tom,” on several different occasions.
That’s a racist reference to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, an anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852.
Other people claimed he was in the “Sunken Place” as well.
That’s a reference to the recent Get Out film.
There was even a mural that popped up in Dallas with his face as the protagonist.
That’s where everyone is so completely wrong.
Race has nothing to do with it.
This is about appreciation for the military veterans and nothing more.
Anybody who tells you differently is race-baiting.
Do you think the NFL should ban kneeling altogether?
Let us know in the comments below!