Protesting of the National Anthem has been a trend amongst NFL players for the past couple years. In Noah Fox’s article, “Take A Stand?”, the origin and initial consequences of these protests are brought forth. However, since this article was published the situation has gotten a lot more chaotic.

With each new season arrives a new set of rules. As the 2018-2019 season ensues, a rule has been placed to regulate how much freedom players have to perform peaceful protests. This rule, approved by NFL Owners, states a player is no longer allowed to kneel or sit during the national anthem, or else a fine will placed on the team. However, the rule also states that players will be allowed to remain in the locker room during the anthem if they wish to do so. The NFL wants no players to protest on the field, or on national television.

On top of these rule changes, Donald Trump is butting into the action as he disinvited the Super Bowl winning, Philadelphia Eagles, from visiting the White House. A large portion of the Eagles roster didn’t plan on visiting the White House as Donald Trump has made clear, over social-media, that he disapproves of players protesting the National Anthem.Trump decided to disinvite the Eagles, in response to the players who didn’t want to show their face.

Following the disinvitation of the Eagles, defensive back Malcolm Jenkins decided not to speak to the media after practice, nut rather hold up signs to express himself. He held up sign that read, “You aren’t listening” and “More than 60% of people in prison are people of color”, amongst other powerful remarks.

As you could imagine, social-media had an array of reactions from people praising Malcolm for who he is and others shaming him for protesting at his job. @KyleNeubeck tweeted, “There has not been a better representative for Philadelphia in my lifetime than Malcolm Jenkins. Go argue with your dog”. Meanwhile, @LO_maintenience told the other side of the argument by tweeting, “It’s not freedom of speech if work for company that established a policy and are paying them to do a job. Go tell your boss your going to protest during working hours and see how long u have a job”.

We live in a nation bursting with millions of people, bursting with strong and considerable mindsets, but if we fail to listen to those opinions and they’re reasonable, then, it’s obvious our nation will suffer. As long as people keep talking and don’t listen, nothing will change. Nowadays, it is a lot easier to get in contact with those around the world and on other sides of the country, yet most of us fail to see the significance in another person’s view. One can only hope that opinions will be heard and a mutual agreement will be found on our world’s problems.