The anthem itself honors the Americans who fought the British at Fort McHenry.
It was adopted as the national anthem so now it honors the whole nation.
The police are generally selfless and their service and diligence is part of what makes American great. Safety and sacrifice are a big part of greatness.
But a tiny minority of cops have needlessly harassed black people, up to and including shooting them when they weren't doing anything wrong, and, rather than being selfless and putting the public first, the benevolent unions and other police orgs have closed ranks and adopted a "with us or against us" attitude.
It's right to protest against that. In my job and daily life, I don't have a way to protest that. Some players feel the national anthem is a time to protest. I don't know if it is or isn't. If it isn't, where's a better time and place to send the message to a lot of peoplethat you appreciate cops, but want the cops to start discarding the bad apples more rapidly and openly? I genuinely don't know.

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