As NFL kicks off, many Texans say athletes should not kneel during the national anthem, poll finds - The Dallas Morning News

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Since Colin Kaepernick first took a knee during the national anthem in 2016, the football field has become an unlikely arena for social justice.

And as the National Football League season kicked off with the Houston Texans playing the Kansas City Chiefs Thursday night, many Texas residents say athletes should not kneel during the national anthem, according to a poll conducted by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler.

The poll found that 46% of respondents said players should not kneel to bring about change in society, and 27% said they should. But when asked whether they support players' right to kneel, 45% said yes, and 37% said no.

The poll last month was done amid a national push for social justice reforms fueled by Black Lives Matter protests this summer after the death of George Floyd. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he encourages players to "speak out and peacefully protest.” The league had not previously supported Kaepernick or other players who chose to kneel during the anthem.

In a later interview, Goodell said he "will support” players who take the knee as a form of protest.

According to a poll by The Washington Post, 56% of Americans said “it is appropriate for athletes to kneel during the national anthem to protest racial inequality,” reflecting a change in the way the protest is viewed in the country. In a 2018 poll by NBC and the Wall Street Journal, only 43% of voters found kneeling appropriate.

But many Texans say social justice issues should be disputed independently of the American flag.

Vincent Riggs, a retired veteran from Royse City, was among the poll respondents saying he thinks it is “inappropriate” for athletes to protest during the anthem. As a former member of the Navy with relatives who continue to serve in the military, this is a personal issue for him.

“My view is that athletes can protest any other time than the national anthem,” Riggs said. “I don’t think it’s the correct time to do it. It’s a solemn ceremony.”

The poll showed a partisan split between Republicans and Democrats surveyed — 67% of Democrats supported athletes kneeling during the anthem, compared to 13% of Republicans.

Whether athletes should take a knee was a key factor in the 2018 Senate race between Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke. At the time, Cruz said O’Rourke was “out of step” with the majority of Texans for saying that those who chose to kneel during the anthem were “no less American” than those who chose to stand.

“Protesting the national anthem and the flag, protesting law enforcement ... is inconsistent with where most Texans are,” he said.

But Kay McGregor, a 61-year-old from Randall County, said she believes taking the knee is not disrespectful to the flag or the military because players are not walking off the field or talking during the anthem. They are kneeling in silence.

“I am pro-police, I am pro-military, but that doesn’t mean when they do wrong, you ignore it,” she said.

Sandra Heath, a 76-year-old from El Paso, said she thinks kneeling during the anthem furthers division in the country, and athletes shouldn’t do it while they are on the job. She and Riggs both said they agreed that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had a right to tell players they could not kneel.

Jones has since said he and the team will approach the situation with “grace,” and that the team’s policy might change along with the times.

Destiny Cannon, a student from Austin, said she has supported kneeling as a protest since Kaepernick first took a knee in 2016, and that the protest symbolizes “frustration that has come to a head” after years of police violence. As a Black woman, she said she has experienced racism, and she believes those who criticize the protests as divisive are missing the point.

“Racism is divisive,” she said. “...The Black Lives Matter movement is part of a greater movement that has been in existence since the Middle Passage: Black liberation. We call it by a different name every few generations, but this is not something separate in and of itself. This is a continuation of the civil rights movement. It’s a continuation of a movement that has been in existence for 400 years.”

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As NFL kicks off, many Texans say athletes should not kneel during the national anthem, poll finds - The Dallas Morning News
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