A Texas congresswoman took a knee on the House floor Monday night in defense of the NFL players who kneeled during the national anthem over the weekend.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) kneeled as she used a special order of the Congressional Black Caucus to denounce President Donald Trump.
Trump ignited a firestorm of protest and debate last week when he asked a crowd in Huntsville, Alabama, if they would “love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he’s fired’?”
https://twitter.com/nick_ramsey/status/911391835888726017
It was a veiled shot at quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who first began kneeling during the national anthem in August 2016 and is now jobless. Following Trump’s remarks, more players chose to take a knee or sit out during the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
“There is no basis in the First Amendment that says you cannot kneel on the national anthem or in front of the flag,” Jackson Lee said. “That is racism. You cannot deny it, you cannot run for it.”
Jackson Lee took a knee toward the end of her comments.
“I kneel in front of the flag and on this floor, I kneel in honor of the First Amendment, I kneel because the flag is a symbol for freedom, I kneel because I am going to stand against racism, I kneel because I will stand with those young men and I’ll stand with our soldiers and I’ll stand with America because I kneel,” Jackson Lee said.
Her fellow Congressional Black Caucus member, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), supported the kneeling protests in a series of Tweets Monday.
During another period, we knelt. There is nothing wrong with kneeling down to stand up against injustice. It’s protected by the Constitution pic.twitter.com/HgxqkOsqPU
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) September 25, 2017
The young people kneeling today are following a long tradition. #TakeAKnee #goodtrouble pic.twitter.com/kxZDMfrGF5
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) September 25, 2017
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also voiced support of the NFL athletes’ right to protest.
“That’s their right to do what they want to do as citizens,” McCain TMZ on Tuesday.
H/T Huffington Post