-If we are the flag-waving NFL, every chance possible,
we try to conflate football
with a certain kind of sense of American patriotism.
Think of every Super Bowl you've ever seen.
If you feel that way, why do you have to be paid to do it?
-The same pride that other people might feel
when they stand up and hear the national anthem
or when they say the Pledge of Allegiance,
I don't feel that sense of pride.
I understand that sense of pride.
I understand why people love that moment.
But it's hard to stand up and feel that way about the flag
or the song being played or sung
when you don't feel like you're being treated fair
or equally or paid attention to in the same way.
-Viewed with any kind of sense of history
or any appreciation of nuance, patriotism and loving America
and believing in American ideals has many aspects to it.
In the context of sports,
it's pretty much been narrowed down to flag, the military.
Certainly that's an aspect of what patriotism is.
But when that's reinforced over and over and over again,
it may obscure or even blind people to the idea
that there's a lot more to the story than that.
-Oh, my God. Please don't tell me he's dead.
[screaming] -It's okay.
I'm right here with you. -I can't breathe.
-No, no, look at him.
He's not responsive right now.
-I can't breathe. -Turn towards me!
[gunshots]
-We're not out there just on a knee to be on a knee.
We recognize and see that we have a problem
systematically in our country
in the way that we are policing our communities.
-I don't see a riot here, so why are you in riot gear?
-The type of training that we're giving our officers
and then also with our laws.
-Displays of patriotism -- national anthem,
"God Bless America" especially after 9/11 --
can sometimes be very meaningful and moving.
And other times, they're used cynically.
Cynical on the part of the Department of Defense.
Cynical on the part of the NFL.
-It wasn't until 2009.
No NFL player stood for the national anthem
because players actually stayed in the locker room
as the anthem played.
The players were moved to the field during the national anthem
because it was seen as a marketing strategy
to make the athletes look more patriotic.
-Every fan, whether united by team or divided by rivalry,
comes together to thank those who have served
and sacrificed on our nation's behalf.
That's why I and so many other Americans were shocked
and disappointed to learn
that several NFL teams weren't sponsoring these activities
out of the goodness of their own hearts,
but were doing so to make an extra buck.
-Federal contracts show that the Defense Department,
from 2011 to 2014, paid nearly $5.
5 million for sponsorships, deals with 14 NFL teams.
-The Bruins were paid close to $300,000
for the use of luxury boxes for the military
and an executive suite for Military Appreciation Night.
That's just wrong.
The Celtics were paid $195,000,
the Red Sox 100 grand for similar services.
-The national anthem issue
has become an American flash point
in the country's ongoing reckoning with racial injustice.
-Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners,
when somebody disrespects our flag, to say,
"Get that son of a bitch off the field right now.
Out. He's fired."
-No matter what Kaepernick may have said,
"This is what I'm protesting,"
people conflated it with the anthem,
with the military, with love of country.
-I think that he went about it the wrong way.
I don't think he understands -- -What is the right way?
When people say that, I'm always fascinated.
What is the right way?
So here's a black man in America who says,
"I don't know how to get a message across.
If I march in the streets, people say I'm a thug.
If I go out and I protest, people say that it's a riot.
If I bend down on one knee, then it's not --"
What is the right way?
That is something I've always wanted to know.
What is the right way
for a black person to get attention in America?
-We were definitely asked not to protest,
to not demonstrate anymore.
There was all types of different tactics
used to try and get us to stop.
-If anyone is on the field and is disrespectful
to the anthem or the flag,
there would be a fine from the league against the team.
-None of the tactics were listening to us about the issue.
-We, the National Football League, condemn racism.
We, the National Football League,
admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier
and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.
-Many of those who have challenged the existing
social order are viewed by history as patriots,
as bold-faced, top-rank patriots.
What else would you call Martin Luther King?
Wasn't Susan B Anthony a patriot?
The original patriots, okay, at the Boston Tea Party,
they were certainly revolting against an established order.
And they helped to establish the country.
The country was born on forms of protest.
Those who have been agents of change,
even if they made society as a whole uncomfortable for a while,
are often viewed very favorably through the prism of history.
To protest, especially peacefully,
is a form of patriotism,
and especially when you have a legitimate point
about a legitimate issue.
-If you are willing to kind of open your mind
and your heart to understanding
and seeing something outside of your views or your opinion,
you might be able to see that there's some substance
to what we're saying and that there needs to be some change
and that, yes, we do live in a great country,
and it might, you know, be the best country,
but there's always room for growth.