Athletes, activism and the First Amendment: A conversation with Nate Boyer

  When Nate Boyer sat down with Colin Kaepernick in a hotel lobby in 2016, just days before the 15-year anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, and suggested that the San Francisco 49ers quarterback kneel, rather than sit, during the national anthem, he couldn't have imagined the backlash that would follow.

  Seven years later, the U.S. Army veteran and former NFL player says he "would not have done anything different," and that's due in large part to one thing: The First Amendment.

Lata Nott: Shouting down free speech

  Is the First Amendment truly in danger? It can certainly seem like it when every week some new and alarming event happens that makes people wonder if our freedom to express ourselves is slipping away.

  But is that just a feeling that we get from being plugged into the 24-hour news cycle, or from listening to pundits argue with each other on cable television?

The Little Rock Nine – and America – 60 years later

  Sixty years before Colin Kaepernick took a knee, nine black teenagers in Little Rock, Arkansas, took a stand.

  The pictures have since become iconic: Elizabeth Eckford stoically walking as a white mob jeers and shouts at her; Terrence Roberts and Carlotta Walls LaNier clutching textbooks under the cover of armed soldiers; Minnijean Brown arriving at Little Rock Central High School, escorted by the 101st Division of the Airborne Command.

Gene Policinski: Patriotism, respect for flag cannot be ‘ordered’

  Donald Trump is singing the wrong song about freedom, patriotism and First Amendment values.

  Over the weekend, Trump:

    -Called on NFL owners to fire players who kneel or otherwise protest during the national anthem and display of the American flag

    -Said fans should stop going to games to punish NFL team owners who fail to dismiss those players

    -Observed that patriotism should be required of athletes in return for “the privilege of making millions of dollars” on the field.

Sam Fulwood III: Football fever and patriotic fervor

  San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the playing of the national anthem before preseason NFL games has football fans—and nonfans—flapping their jaws about something that has nothing to do with punting, passing, or running. Rather, Kaepernick has sparked a debate about the meaning of protest and patriotism in sports.

  The playing of the national anthem is a pre-kickoff ritual that goes back decades, usually without notice or comment. In fact, Kaepernick’s silent protest drew little attention until he was asked about it after the third preseason game. According to an ESPN transcript of an interview with Kaepernick, the quarterback explained he was making a personal statement to draw attention to social injustices in America. He said: