Corey Taylor: NFL Players Have ‘Every Right to Take a Knee’

As another Sunday begins and inevitably a number of NFL players take a knee during the National Anthem, Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor has weighed in on the controversy, which has stirred up some strong opinions on both sides of the matter.

Speaking with Loudwire Nights host Toni Gonzalez, Taylor stated, "My take on the 'Take a Knee' movement is they have every right to take a knee. We're Americans. It's in the Constitution. We have every right to protest something that's going on, which is police brutality against people of color, and people trying to make it about some slight against the soldiers is them trying to hijack the whole reason that they're doing it in the first place. If you can't support that, then you don't understand what being a real American is all about."

During a chat with Fargo, N.D. station Q105.1, Taylor also addressed the question, adding, "This is a peaceful protest. It is not disrespecting the troops, no matter how much you try to twist it that way."

He continued, "People need to get over themselves. And they need to realize that that president that you're all supporting is taking us even closer to the g--damn brink of war. I'm not saying it's gonna get there, but I think people need to get their g--damn priorities straight before they start bitching about people kneeling for a very good cause."

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started taking a knee during the National Anthem in 2016. He stated in an interview that he did not want to stand for the flag in a country that oppresses people of color, while also pointing out the increasing incidents of police brutality against people of color. In the time since, more players have followed suit with their own forms of protest, but the initial message has taken a back seat at times due to the strong feelings about the flag. Two prevailing thoughts that have emerged in the wake of these actions are that the players have the right to protest and to free speech as spelled out in the Constitution, while others see the move as an offense to American patriotism, the military and those who have fought to protect those rights.

"The whole reason that football players are kneeling during the national anthem is to call attention to the fact that police brutality is out of control. There have already been 712 people killed while in police [custody] this year alone. That is a huge, huge number," says Taylor in the interview, making sure that the initial point the sparked the actions doesn't get lost.

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