Commentators on MSNBC’s "Deadline: White House" compared NFL players protesting during the national anthem to civil rights icons.
Discussing the NFL’s new rule to levy fines for kneeling during the national anthem, the panelists said former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and others are continuing the battle for civil rights. Comparing the protesters to Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., MSNBC legal analyst and law professor Paul Butler said they exemplify American values.
"What these players are doing is in the proudest tradition of not only civil liberties and civil rights, but what it means to be an American. Dissent is an act of faith," he said. "These dissenters are in the tradition of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks."
"In many ways, they are expressing their belief in our democracy way more than President Trump and Vice President Pence," Butler added.
Later, host Nicolle Wallace compared the protesters to three-time heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, who influenced social and political thought with his activism.
"When you look back at the life of legends like Muhammad Ali, we talked a whole lot about the ground he covered in this space as much as we did about his athletic accomplishments," Wallace said.
Sports writer Kevin Blackistone also discussed the matter by saying that the anthem protests were part of the heritage of African Americans using sports as a social platform.
"It is a long tradition, a long heritage among us, among athletes to use their platforms to say something about what is going on around them rather than just stick to the games," Blackistone said.
Kaepernick has not played since 2016 and last year filed a grievance against the NFL, alleging he was blackballed by NFL team owners. He said his protest was about police brutality and racism.
President Donald Trump inserted himself into the controversy last year by saying the NFL should get rid of players who kneel during the national anthem.