One of the biggest stories in the NFL over the last few years was and still is the Colin Kaepernick saga. The hotly debated story is of course well-known by now. It all started early in the 2016 season, when Kaepernick began protesting during the National Anthem: the then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback knelt as a symbol of his fight for criminal justice reform as well as improved police/community relations and community engagement.
The protests quickly became a nationwide story primarily due to a change in narrative and the polarization it caused: the issue of “disrespecting the flag/country/military” was pushed into center stage by pundits and even the president, turning the NFL sidelines in the place to watch on Sunday.