San Francisco 49ers: Breaking down the 20 biggest moments of the decade

No. 3: Colin Kaepernick kneels

OK, look, some people will love this and some people will hate this. It’s one of the most divisive things ever seen in sport. I’m writing this as a neutral, and I will not at any stage divulge my feelings about this further than stating the facts of the matter.

Starting before the 49ers preseason games in 2016, Kaepernick knelt (he would initially sit before moving to kneeling) during the national anthem in a protest, as well as to call attention to the issues of racial inequality and police brutality after some well-publicized cases.

The cause has spread, however, sometimes due for other reasons. Controversial comments by President Donald Trump, that football players should be fired for kneeling, have resulted in players joining in protesting the anthem, but more at his speech than for the original causes for the protest.

It hasn’t stopped at football, kneeling in protest had spread across several other sports as people stood (no pun intended) in solidarity.

However, the act is now illegal in football as there is now a controversial rule forcing players to stand or else stay behind in the locker room as the anthem is played.

Some call it disrespectful and it should be banned, others applaud it as an expression of first amendment rights. It has been a deeply divisive issue with arguments for and against both the action and the causes behind it.

Whatever you believe, it was an iconic moment when Kaepernick chose to take a knee.