The first Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, and Team USA’s coach exercises this right by forbidding any form of protest during the national anthem. John Tortorella, newly appointed head coach for Team USA in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey explicitly told SportsCenter in an interview with ESPN that if any of his players sat during the national anthem, they would sit out for the entire game. Tortorella’s stance followed 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the anthem as a response to police brutality, which had elicited protest and disagreement from many individuals including Tortorella.

Kaepernick’s controversial gesture was also met with approval and praise. Kaepernick’s teammate Eric Reid, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane, and US Women’s National Team midfielder Megan Rapinoe also knelt during the anthem for the same cause. African American forward J.T. Brown of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team challenged Tortorella’s rule in a tweet to Tampa Bay Times by stating that he [Brown] doesn’t want minorities who watch hockey to think that the subject of racism is going unnoticed and that although he has great respect for this country, it doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t acknowledge police brutality. “Wouldn’t benching a black man for taking a stance only further prove Kap’s point of oppression?” Brown said. With many star athletes and people who are supportive of Kaepernick, it is with no doubt that Tortorella has also received some backlash over social media. However, the hockey coach did not offer an apology and stuck with his original position of rejecting the kneeling movement.

Tortorella combated the negative comments by expressing his respect for the flag and the anthem. According to ESPN, he believes that the most disrespectful thing that anyone can do as a US citizen is to sit or kneel during the anthem. “There are men and women that give their lives for their flag, for their anthem, have given their lives, continue to put themselves on the line with our services for our flag, for our anthem, families that have been disrupted, traumatic physical injuries, traumatic mental injuries for these people that give us the opportunity to do the things we want to do,” Tortorella said. He stated that the flag and the anthem are symbols of courage and bravery for these families, and that protesting against police brutality should have nothing to do with aforementioned patriotic objects. Tortorella claims that he is very supportive when it comes to people physically expressing their feelings or thoughts, but not when it involves the American flag or anthem.

However, among the voices of disapproval, there are some who are in support of Tortorella’s decree. According to ABC news, Seth Jones of the Blue Jackets who will be playing in the World Cup of hockey under Coach Tortorella approves of his coach’s stance. “That’s Tortorella’s way of doing it, and obviously they’re comparing it to the whole Colin Kaepernick thing, but he’s got a right to believe whatever he wants,” Jones said. Patrick O’Sullivan, former NHL player, also defends Tortorella in this debate, as reported by CBS Sports. “First amendment is great, it protects you from the government but in pro sports coaches make the rules,” O’Sullivan said.

John Tortorella’s words of warning and Colin Kaepernick’s controversial gesture summarizes the split in beliefs within the field of professional sports. Although police brutality and racism have existed for a long time, athletes are just now using their fame as a way to publicize and spread awareness of said social conflicts. Whether or not it is morally correct to involve the national anthem and flag as a part of these peaceful protests still remains a heated topic of debate not only among athletes, sport fans, and associations, but in this modern and racially diverse society as well.