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<p>Denver Broncos players, including Jamaal Charles (28) kneel during the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)</p>

Denver Broncos players, including Jamaal Charles (28) kneel during the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

You remember when you were a kid and you’d get caught in a lie?

You didn’t want to get in trouble, so you’d start muddling the truth with something entirely different, hoping to divert attention away from the initial lie. Smart kid logic.

That’s pretty much what’s going on in the world today, except it’s our president who is doing the muddling.

In the 2016 NFL preseason, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a stand against racial inequality.

He took a seat during the national anthem, and proceeded to kneel during the anthem in later weeks.

Kaepernick’s message was loud and clear, and he never wavered from his initial mindset.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said to reporters after a preseason game in August of 2016. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Never once did he say he was protesting the national anthem. Never once did he say he was anti-military.

As the national media covers nearly every NFL team “protesting the anthem,” the reasoning for why they’re doing it has been completely shifted to the backburner.

It’s more about “they’re protesting,” rather than “they’re protesting because…”

And according to the loudest voice in our nation, Donald Trump, this has nothing to do with inequality, but rather disrespect toward the American flag.

In any of his fiery tweets, you’ll never see Trump actually acknowledge what the movement is for, but you’ll sure as hell hear him call for their jobs.

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“If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL…he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag (or Country)…If not, you’re fired,” Trump tweeted on Saturday. “Find something else to do.”

This is the same man who tweeted just a day after officially taking office that he supported peaceful protests. The same man that said that there were “fine people” on the side of white nationalists when they were marching through the streets with weapons in hand and lit torches.

Those actions are meant to induce fear. Kneeling doesn’t. Yet the latter is a no-no?

I heard ESPN radio host Mike Golic say earlier this week he hopes NFL players got the protest out of their system and are now ready to put the focus back on football.

That’s missing the entire point. Players and people alike are trying to force change. This isn’t a one-week ordeal, and it shouldn’t be.

These “millionaire, disrespectful” athletes are trying to provide a voice for countless others who have none.

And this is just the beginning.

Skyler Lebron is a sports writer. Contact him at slebron@alligator.org.

Denver Broncos players, including Jamaal Charles (28) kneel during the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

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