While there has been no shortage of opinions on the Colin Kaepernick situation over the course of the last two weeks, there has been one person who has been noticeably silent throughout all of the controversy that Kaepernick has caused: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Goodell finally broke his silence Wednesday by telling the Associated Press how he feels about Kaepernick refusing to stand during the national anthem before games. And in doing so, he revealed that, while he respects Kaepernick’s right to protest by sitting or kneeling during The Star-Spangled Banner, he doesn’t necessarily agree with his decision to do it.
"I support our players when they want to see change in society," Goodell told the AP, "and we don’t live in a perfect society. We live in an imperfect society. On the other hand, we believe very strongly in patriotism in the NFL. I personally believe very strongly in that. I think it’s important to have respect for our country, for our flag, for the people who make our country better; for law enforcement, and for our military who are out fighting for our freedoms and our ideals. These are all important things for us, and that moment [when the national anthem is played] is a very important moment. So I don’t necessarily agree with what he is doing."
You can read Goodell’s full statement here:
Well my personal thoughts are... I support our players when they want to see change in society, and we don't live in a perfect society. We live in an imperfect society. On the other hand, we believe very strongly in patriotism in the NFL. I personally believe very strongly in that. I think it's important to have respect for our country, for our flag, for the people who make our country better; for law enforcement, and for our military who are out fighting for our freedoms and our ideals.
These are all important things for us, and that moment is a very important moment. So, I don't necessarily agree with what he is doing. We encourage our players to be respectful in that time and I like to think of it as a moment where we can unite as a country. And that's what we need more, and that's what I think football does - it unites our country. So I would like to see us focusing on our similarities and trying to bring people together.
Players have a platform, and it's his right to do that. We encourage them to be respectful and it's important for them to do that.
I think it's important if they see things they want to change in society, and clearly we have things that can get better in society, and we should get better. But we have to choose respectful ways of doing that so that we can achieve the outcomes we ultimately want and do it with the values and ideals that make our country great.
