TEXAS – Amid his bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz, U.S. Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke is gaining national attention for his stance on NFL players kneeling during the national anthem.
- Asked if NFL players kneeling is disrespectful
- “I can think of nothing more American”
- Major celebrities now want to meet O’Rourke
In a Now This viral video with more 11 million views, O’Rourke was asked if he thinks the NFL players kneeling are disrespectful to veterans and the country.
O’Rourke said “I can think of nothing more America than to peacefully stand up, or take a knee for your rights anytime, anywhere, any place.”
Delving into the historic struggle for people to gain civil rights, O’Rourke detailed the blood trail left behind spanning multiple decades. Citing the Freedom Riders “who took their lives into their hands riding those Greyhound buses,” O’Rourke said they stood up for what they believed in knowing that they would be arrested.
According to O’Rourke, peaceful protests continued into the 60s in the deep South despite black people being “punched in the face, spat upon, [and] dragged out by their collar” for sitting at the same lunch counter as a white person.
This issue has not dissipated over the years, as the peaceful protests have extended onto the football field. As the eyes of the country are watching the football games, O’Rourke said they are bringing our attention to an issue in need of a resolution.
“Peaceful, non-violent protests, including taking a knee at a football game to point out that black men, unarmed, black teenagers, unarmed, and black children, unarmed, are being killed at a frightening level right now, including by members of law enforcement without accountability and without justice,” said O’Rourke as he was met with cheers from the audience.
O’Rourke said the “grave” problem also brings frustrations with politicians “like me and those in positions of public trust and power who have been unable to resolve this to bring justice for what has been done.”
In opposition, Cruz said while most Texans stand for the flag, “Hollywood liberals are so excited that Beto is siding with the NFL players protesting the national anthem.”
Reactions:
"The freedoms that we have were purchased not just by those in uniform, and they definitely were. But also by those who took their lives into their hands riding those Greyhound buses, the Freedom Riders in the deep South in the 1960s who knew full well that they would be arrested, and they were serving time in the Mississippi State Penitentiary. Rosa Parks getting from the back of the bus to the front of the bus. Peaceful, non-violent protests, including taking a knee at a football game to point out that black men, unarmed, black teenagers, unarmed, and black children, unarmed, are being killed at a frightening level right now, including by members of law enforcement without accountability and without justice.
And this problem as grave as it is is not going to fix itself and they’re frustrated frankly with people like me, and those in positions of public trust and power who have been unable to resolve this to bring justice for what has been done, and to stop it from continuing to happen in this country
And so non-violently, peacefully while the eyes of this country are watching these games they take a knee to bring our attention and our focus to this problem to ensure that we fix it. That is why they’re doing it and I can think of nothing more American than to peacefully stand up, or take a knee for your rights anytime, anywhere, any place. So thank you very much for asking the question."