In the article “It's actually very strange that sports games start with the national anthem”, written by Beauchamp, he talks about the ongoing protest among NFL players kneeling or sitting during the national anthem and President Trump. This protest began when NFL player, Colin Kaepernick, began protesting due to racism and police violence against African Americans. “We will not stand for the injustice that has plagued people of color in this country,” Kaepernick said in an op-ed on Sunday. The protest really heated up when President Trump called Kaepernick a “son of a bitch” during a protest. Trump believes that the problem with kneeling during the national anthem is not because of racism, but because they want to disrespect the country, the flag and the national anthem. The author's opinion is that playing the national anthem before sporting events is indeed "strange". Beauchamp delves into the history of the national anthem starting to be played at sporting events. It all started during World War I and World War II because they needed the public to help the war effort. Playing the national anthem continued only because it instilled patriotism in the sport, which was great publicity. (Beauchamp). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay A different article titled “ 4 Reasons Trump Thinks NFL Players Are a Good Target (& 1 Big Reason He's Wrong), by Chris Cillizza argues that Trump is continuing this battle between him and NFL players just because it's a good distraction from other news. Trump targets NFL players just because they're just rich people who get paid a lot of money to play, when other people in America would do it for free. Another reason why Trump continues this battle is because players are supporting racism and police violence towards African Americans in America, Trump is turning the tables and using it as a battle for patriotism Disgrace against patriotism is more of a disgrace to the country, as people in America see it. (Cillizza) Both articles deal with the same topic: the battle between Trump and the NFL players' protest by kneeling during the national anthem. Personally I'm against Trump but I think this whole protest is nonsense. It's not that hard to stand during the national anthem like everyone else does in America. I understand why some players protest, but during a sporting event it is not the right time to do so. I don't really agree with the first article because the author says that playing the national anthem before sporting events is "weird", we've been doing it for so long that it would be strange if they suddenly stopped. I can agree more with Cillizza's second article because I see how Trump is avoiding other storylines that are more about America as an excuse not to talk about it. Parts of our country are on fire, destroyed by water, and citizens killing many innocent citizens at concerts, not to forget the whole situation with North Korea, which are all much bigger problems that Trump should be trying to solve but which however he is fighting with NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem. This shouldn't be as big of a deal as it has become. NFL players need to protest their concerns elsewhere that is more important, and Trump doesn't need to get involved in petty problems when he should be trying to fix our country..