After a rally in Alabama on Saturday September 23, where President Donald Trump denounced professional athletes kneeling during the national anthem, players from the NFL and NBA united to protest against his comments.

  These protests were started by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began kneeling during the national anthem of his games to protest police brutality against African-American people last season.

  In this past week NBA players, such as  Lebron James and Stephen Curry voiced their disappointment regarding  the President’s statements. This led Curry himself, an NBA champion that traditionally gets invited to the White House, to proclaim in an ESPN interview,  

  “By acting and not going, hopefully that will inspire some change when it comes to what we tolerate in this country. I don’t think us not going to the White House will miraculously make everything better, but this is my opportunity to voice that.”

   During this Sunday’s NFL games, many players, owners, and coaches kneeled together or did not come out for the national anthem at all. While most teams support the protests like the Ravens and the Jaguars, others have stayed silent like the Bears or the Cardinals.

  Student Riley Jussila (11) stated “As long as players donate to help their communities as well as kneel then I support it, but if all you do is kneel you’re not doing enough.”

   Some people are supporting the protests because they believe that kneeling is free speech.  Sophie Credo (11) stated, “I believe that people should have the right to protest peacefully and publicly.”

  These protests have no sign of stopping because President Trump has not issued a formal statement apologizing for his comments and more athletes are joining the cause.