By: Elora Nicholas / Staff Writer

     NFL players throughout the past week have been dealing with the wrath of President Trump. Trump has been giving speeches and has been speaking his opinion about the kneeling of the players.

    The first player to kneel during the national anthem was Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers. Kaepernick has said he sat and kneeled during the anthem because he refuses to show honor to a country that oppresses black people and people of color. His action caused much controversy among fans and others not impacted by the NFL.

    In recent news, players have started doing this action again for the same reasons stated before. This past Sunday the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, and many other teams showed their stand against their right.

    Throughout the league, players, coaches and owners decided what was best for the team.

    Trump took to Twitter to say the kneeling was unacceptable.

    President Trump has been expressing his viewpoint towards the players’ behavior. He believes players who disrespect the flag should be fired from their team. However, he supported those players who chose to lock arms due to the showing of “solidarity.”

    The Oakland Raiders offensive line is the only line in the NFL made up entirely of African-American players, all chose to kneel during the national anthem joined by their team. The team hosting, Washington Redskins, chose to link arms on their side of the field. The act was shown as one of the strongest visual display of a protest today.

    Coach Jack Del Rio of the Raiders said the players would have rather stayed in the locker room, but it would have likely delayed game time.

    All protests were a viewing of solidarity against the criticism of President Trump.

    The players within each team had their own personal view of why they knelt during Sunday’s game. Most of their opinions all looped back around to their disagreeing with the president. Each player felt that if they would have stood, it would have shown support towards Trump.

    Some players even chose to celebrate a touchdown in a certain way. Odell Beckham Jr. raised his fist after scoring, a protest done by black athletes dated back to the 1960s.

    The controversy of this situation continues to expand day by day, what will our president say next? Will the players continue these actions? Viewers will see as the season continues.