The protest overwhelming the start of the NFL season began not with a shout or raised fist but an act so passive it was all but invisible to the thousands who were there. On the night of 26 August, San Francisco 49ers quarterbackColin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthembefore the team's pre-season game against the Green Bay Packers. His defiance was nearly impossible to discern as he sat surrounded by Gatorade containers on the team's bench. It might have been missed altogether had a reporter from the NFL Network not noticed and asked him about it after the game.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernicktold the NFL Network that night. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

A firestorm ensued, igniting a national debate about racial inequality, police brutality and the meaning of the American flag. Kaepernick, a fading football star who had never seemed political, instantly became a nationally polarizing figure, much as Muhammad Ali had been when he refused to fight in the Vietnam war.

Q: How is it best to deal with this situation? Can you think of a theory that would help you make sense of what this football star is doing and the method he is choosing to communicate his message. Is it the right method of communicating? Is it moral? Is it right? Is it legal? Should he be allowed to not honor the flag while the anthem is playing?

Q: Q: Try and link what the symbolic meaning of a national flag means? Wars have been fought for the flag, religious wars have occurred when some burns the flag of another nation.