'Take a Knee' protests compared to James McClean's stance on 'God Save the Queen'

A Derry politician has compared the recent 'Take a Knee' protests in the USA with the stance taken by James McClean during a rendition of the British national anthem in 2015.
By The Newsroom
Published 26th Sep 2017, 13:59 BST
Updated 27th Sep 2017, 11:52 BST
The Buffalo Bills take a knee during the American national anthem and James McClean stands with his head down during a rendition of God Save The Queen in 2015.The Buffalo Bills take a knee during the American national anthem and James McClean stands with his head down during a rendition of God Save The Queen in 2015.
The Buffalo Bills take a knee during the American national anthem and James McClean stands with his head down during a rendition of God Save The Queen in 2015.

Sinn Fein MLA for Foyle tweeted: "Interesting the media response to protests in the US over anthems and emblems! Compare it to similar protests nearer home."

READ MORE: MCCLEAN LABELLED 'SCUM' FOR NOT TAKING PART IN GOD SAVE THE QUEENMr. McCartney included two photos in his tweet; the first showing NFL players taking a knee to protest at comments made by U.S President, Donald Trump.

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The second image shows James McClean standing with his head bowed while 'God Save The Queen' was played during a West Bromwich Albion friendly fixture in the U.S.A. in July 2015.

The 'Take A Knee' protests started more than a year ago when, protesting against police brutality, NFL player, Colin Kaepernick, refused to stand during the Star-Spangled Banner.

However, the protests picked up momentum last week when U.S. President Donald Trump said any NFL player refusing to stand during the American national anthem should be fired.

“Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b**** off the field right now, out, he's fired. He's fired,'” said President Trump on Friday.

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American athletes from a variety of different sports and sports fans have supported the protests but others have labelled the demonstrations as "unpatriotic" and "disgusting".

In 2015, Derry man and Republic of Ireland international footballer, James McClean, opted not to face in the same direction as his West Bromwich Albion teammates during a rendition of 'God Save The Queen'.

McClean's actions received widespread support and praise but there were some who labelled him as "scum".

Related topics:Donald TrumpDerryNFL