This past National Football League gameday, millions of football fans witnessed a mass statement of solidarity by NFL team owners and players: protesting the national anthem. This action came in light of President Donald Trump’s recent Twitter comments condemning Colin Kaepernick for kneeling during the national anthem throughout the 2016 football season. He went even further by requesting that NFL owners cut players who kneel during the national anthem. Trump’s authoritarian request did not stand so well among football players and owners, and as a result, they all defied him. However, in doing so, everyone who participated inadvertently shifted the spotlight away from the real issue — police brutality.

Make no mistake — the players’ actions were noble. They successfully kept Trump in check by demonstrating that he has no influence on restricting the actions of any player who wishes to express his feelings during the national anthem. More importantly, it highlighted the hypocrisy present among conservative free-speech advocates — many who stood by the first amendment rights of alt-right protesters at Charlottesville abandoned this principle once an NFL player “disrespected the flag” by kneeling during the national anthem.

While these actions might have successfully addressed the heart of these two issues, the timing of it was flawed. Yes, the players might have protested Trump and his comments, but why are they only kneeling now? Why did they not kneel back in 2016 when Kaepernick kneeled every game of the season to protest police brutality among people of color? Why did they not kneel after Trump’s earlier tweets and comments regarding Kaepernick kneeling during the nation’s anthem?

The timing of this event demonstrates the selfishness of NFL players and team owners. By kneeling after Trump’s comments, they have made protesting the national anthem about their right to expression rather than the initial issue of police brutality. They took the president’s comments personally and as a threat to the sovereignty of the league and its players. In doing so, they altered the meaning of protesting during the national anthem. Before this Sunday, kneeling was a symbol for bringing awareness to the police brutality experienced by many people of color in this nation. It forced white people who are not of color to confront this injustice that our fellow citizens are facing. The hope was that by addressing it, we could change it. However, what we saw this past Sunday was a departure from this original symbol.

Opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them. Email Michael Ellis at  [email protected].