She Will Stand

From the beginning, I have maintained the same position about the athletes and celebrities who have chosen not to stand for the national anthem. I don’t agree with kneeling, but it is their right. I fought for that right. I defended that right. I support their right to do it, even though I disagreed.

I know from personal experience, seeing the worst parts of the world where people were aching for freedom, that what we have here in the United States is special. Brittney Griner didn’t realize how special our freedoms were, until they were taken away from her. She was one of the athletes that chose not to stand for the national anthem. It was a form of protest for the oppression she felt she had been subjected to.

After spending time as a prisoner in Russia, living in a cage too small for her 6’9” frame, she has changed her tune. To her credit, she has done it publicly. Just this past week, Ms. Griner admitted she will now stand for the national anthem because it means a little more. The flag means a little more. It’s amazing what a little bit of perspective will do.

I am curious, though, how it will impact other athletes and celebrities. Will they listen to her? Will they follow her lead? Will they shun her and call her a sellout? There were so many athletes and celebrities demanding the United States do everything in their power to get her home. They supported Brittney. They believed she was wrongfully imprisoned because they disagreed with the Russian laws. It was unfair. It was terrible.

What about now? Will they still support Brittney now that she stands for the national anthem? What does Megan Rapinoe have to say? Or Colin Kaepernick? Will they listen to what Brittney has to say? Will she convince them their perspective may be a little skewed? Will they even bother?

Honestly, I don’t expect any of them to change. I expect them all to keep doing what they have been doing. Living in their mansions, driving their expensive cars, feeling oppressed. They will keep kneeling.

I hope they never have to go through what she went through. I hope they don’t have to go to jail in a foreign country. I hope they don’t have to lose their freedoms to come to the same conclusion Brittney Griner came to.

I hope they come to the same conclusion she came to without having to suffer like she did. Hopefully, they pay attention and they follow her lead.

She said it herself, from now on when she hears the national anthem…She Will Stand.