Taking a knee: What Jehovah’s Witnesses, NFL players have in common

I am not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV, but with a simple check of the internet I found you cannot be fired for not standing during the National Anthem.

In fact, after the U.S. Supreme Court kicked the case back to him, Los Angeles federal judge William Mathes ruled in 1963 that three Jehovah’s Witnesses did not need to stand during the National Anthem at their school.

Yes, there is a section of U.S. code that addresses this. According to Title 36 (section 171) of the United States Code:

“During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in (military) uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.

“Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should render the military salute at the first note of the anthem and retain this position until the last note.

“When the flag is not displayed, those present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed there.”

Notice the word “should” in the first line. That infers that it’s not mandatory. There is also nothing I could find in the code that requires or even suggests any sort of penalty for not standing or saluting.  

{mosads}There was the same type of protest during WWI, WWII and it was commonplace during the Vietnam War. I remember watching sit-ins at virtually every type of public event in the 60’s. There’s also a little item called the First Amendment which allows for freedom of speech. Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda did a touring anti-war show which included a segment about not standing for the national anthem and the list goes on and on.  

You can argue the President Trump was using his “freedom of speech” in address NFL players and team owners, but with the entire resources of the federal government at his command, not to mention the White House counsel, you would think the president would know this legal precedent. Trump supporters cheered the president when he criticized the players kneeling, but his words are creating deep divide in the moral fiber of our great country.

JUST IN: Trump tweets about NFL for fifth day in a row https://t.co/vRiCTs9Czl pic.twitter.com/YhwWxA8JFt

— The Hill (@thehill) September 26, 2017

And using Twitter to spout out edicts may not be the best use of communicating to the public. A good old fashion press briefing has always worked in the past allowing the media to ask questions that need to be asked.

I spent 50 years of my life in the media, most of it without the internet or smartphones or Twitter. Journalists contributed to the political discussion while today we are reacting to it.

At a time when we are all worried about where the president’s war of words with North Korea is going and hackers taking over 140 million files from a credit service, do we really need a national debate over the National Anthem and our freedom of speech?

President Trump, with all due respect, cut it out or at least watch what you say. Please work within the decorum that is expected from the leader of the free world.  

Jeff Alan is a multiple Emmy-winning journalist and best-selling author.