In September 2016, Colin Kaepernick began his silent protests of the National Anthem. He was the first professional athlete to refuse to take a knee during the National Anthem, and that sparked a wave of various protests by athletes across the sports world. Now, taking a knee during the national anthem at the Super Bowl has become a massive topic of conversation, and it is one of the more controversial 2018 Super Bowl props on the board at BetDSI.eu.
History of Players Who Take a Knee During the National Anthem
Had last year’s Super Bowl been played between teams with more progressive players, perhaps we would have seen some quiet protests during the Star-Spangled Banner. It feels like forever ago, but in actuality, we’re only one season removed from Kaepernick’s demonstrations and the subsequent reactions. If there was a year that players would have taken a knee for the national anthem at the Super Bowl, last year would have been it.
Instead, the Patriots and Falcons played by the books, and all of the players on both sides quietly stood for the anthem.
That’s largely why BetDSI Sportsbook has upped the price this year on whether anyone will be kneeling at the Super Bowl during the national anthem to +275. A bet against players kneeling at the Super Bowl pays -350.
Last year, BetDSI.eu featured a price of 3/2 on a player kneeling for the national anthem against a price of 1/2 on no players being seen kneeling.
Will a Player Take a Knee During the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in 2018?
With the Patriots involved in the big game once again this year, it’s unlikely that we’re going to see any of their players do anything but stand solemnly for P!NK’s performance of the national anthem. New England was one of the few teams in the NFL that didn’t feature a single player taking a knee for the anthem all season, and there’s no reason to believe there will be kneeling at the Super Bowl from anyone in blue.
But the Eagles might be a different story.
Malcolm Jenkins has been one of the more outspoken protestors of social injustice. Though he has not been known to take a knee for the Star-Spangled Banner, he has raised his fist in protest several times since Kaepernick first took a knee in 2016. Jenkins’ protest stopped in December when the NFL pledged to contribute approximately $100 million to charities for African-American communities.
But will Jenkins or any of his teammates have something up their sleeve on the biggest stage of their careers?
It’s worth remembering that Donald Trump has done little to endear himself with NFL players. The President of the United States is only four months removed from calling players who protested the national anthem “sons of bitches”, a quote that predictably sparked more outrage amongst the predominantly black NFL player pool.
A few weeks after Trump’s remarks, Vice President Mike Pence walked out of the 49ers-Colts game after protests by both San Francisco and Indianapolis players.
No sitting president has ever been to the Super Bowl, and Trump is a 4-to-1 longshot to attend Super Bowl 52. However, if Trump does appear at Super Bowl 52, you can bet that blood will be boiling with the hard feelings that still exist between a sizeable portion of the professional athletes in this country and the POTUS.
