--- title: Cheerleader Takes Knee During National Anthem at 49ers Game description: An NFL cheerleader kneeled during the National Anthem before the San Francisco 49ers beat the Oakland Raiders on Thursday night. canonical: https://time.com/5442913/san-francisco-49ers-cheerleader-takes-a-knee-during-national-anthem/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-02T14:30:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:12.394Z og:title: San Francisco 49ers Cheerleader Takes a Knee During National Anthem og:description: Here's what we know so far og:url: https://time.com/5442913/san-francisco-49ers-cheerleader-takes-a-knee-during-national-anthem/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: San Francisco 49ers Cheerleader Takes a Knee During National Anthem twitter:description: Here's what we know so far twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # San Francisco 49ers Cheerleader Takes a Knee During National Anthem > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b0f990ed-dcb6-4521-92fa-8f97a74f0898&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The NFL’s National Anthem Non-Policy [Watch (HLS stream): The NFL’s National Anthem Non-Policy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IB6HsmNQ.m3u8) (3:22)  _Published 2018-09-12. New Nike ad featuring Kaepernick puts the NFL in an awkward spot._ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Nov 2, 2018 2:30 PM UTC by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Nov 2, 2018 2:30 PM UTC An [NFL](http://time.com/5364093/trump-nfl-players-define-kneeling-national-anthem-protests/) cheerleader kneeled during the [National Anthem](http://time.com/5430336/amy-shumer-super-bowl-maroon-5-colin-kaepernick/) before the San Francisco 49ers beat the Oakland Raiders on Thursday night. NBC Bay Area’s Damian Trujillo reported on the moment at Levi’s Stadium and fans at home were quick to notice and capture the move. The cheerleader for the 49ers – who was still unidentified as of Friday morning – was the only member of her squad to take a knee. > [](https://twitter.com/newsdamian/status/1058152930082058240) She also appears to be the first [NFL cheerleader](https://www.elle.com/culture/a12786986/why-nfl-cheerleaders-dont-protest/) to kneel. And while she has not yet been vocal about her act, the stage she chose to make the statement is significant. Athletes have a long history of taking political action, and kneeling was a part of the [civil rights activism](http://time.com/4956014/history-anthem-protests-nfl/). Kneeling during the “Star Spangled Banner” started in August 2016 when Colin Kaepernick, a former quarterback for the 49ers, chose not to stand for the National Anthem. He said the action was meant to call attention to police brutality and racial inequality. Athletes across the country are still following in his lead. This may be a first for NFL cheerleaders, but it’s not for cheerleaders in general. ([Georgia Tech dancer Raianna Brown went viral](https://www.thecut.com/2017/09/georgia-tech-cheerleader-kneeling-nfl-kaepernick-raianna-brown.html) in 2017 for kneeling and linking up her arms at Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, one of a number of cheerleaders at the college level to kneel.) > [](https://twitter.com/freeSPIRIT%5F5678/status/911801140693659648) The NFL’s [National Anthem policy](https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/09/09/national-anthem-policy-hold-2018-nfl-season), which would have required players to stand for the Anthem or stay in the locker room, is currently on hold as the league negotiates with players. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] The 2018 NFL season marked several updates to the rule bob, but one glaring omission was the implementation of a National Anthem policy. As it stands, the NFL will not have a policy this season that requires players to stand during the pre- game ceremonies The league has been grappling with how to handle the anthem rules since 2016 when then 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began a social movement by first sitting, then kneeling during the National Anthem of a pre- season game to protest police brutality and racial injustice. During the third week of the 2017 season President Donald Trump incited league wide demonstrations after he targeted protesting players at an Alabama rally saying this. Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners when somebody disrespects our flag to say get that son of a bleep off the field right now out he's fired. He's fired! League owners have been in talks with the NFL Players Association regarding the demonstrations that have yet to reach a compromise. A public statement released on Twitter last month the NFLPA said they remain committed to working together on solutions. Earlier this year NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced a policy requiring all players on the field to stand during the National Anthem. And players can choose to remain in the locker room if they preferred. But the decision was put on hold after it was met with backlash from both fans and athletes alike. League owners are reportedly divided on the issue and players are looking to shift th overall rhetoric around the movement. During the first week of this year's season ten players protested and only two Miami Dolphins receivers, Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson, took a knee throughout the anthem. That's a sharp contrast to last season where over 200 players took part in demonstrations. Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, who stopped taking a knee, said players are trying to move past the rhetoric of what's right or what's wrong, in terms of the anthem, and really focus on the systematic issues that are plaguing our communities. While the movement of on- field protests seemed to be waning, Seattle Seahawks lineman and protester Duane Brown said he hasn't received any message to dial it down from the NFLPA. The NFL's non- policy comes in the wake of a Nike ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick. Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. The ad, which has given Nike a 31 % increase in sales since its release, has also been met with fierce criticism online and offline. With some going so far as burning their Nike apparel. Trump called the ad a terrible message. The President also criticized the NFL's television ratings, pointing blame to networks' decision to not televise the National Anthem. But this is not the first time athletes have protested during the National Anthem. In what would become one of the most famous political protests in the history of sports Medalist Tommy Smith and John Carlos raised their fists to the sky during the anthem at the 1968 Olympics. And four years later Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett were banned from the Olympics for not the flag during their medal ceremony. While the anthem policy remains largely unsolved for the NFL, Brown believes the protests continue to be relevant saying, the country hasn't moved on from it, so I'm not going to move on from it, either. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5442913/san-francisco-49ers-cheerleader-takes-a-knee-during-national-anthem/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5442913/san-francisco-49ers-cheerleader-takes-a-knee-during-national-anthem/"},"headline":"San Francisco 49ers Cheerleader Takes a Knee During National Anthem","datePublished":"2018-11-02T14:30:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:47:12.394Z","description":"An NFL cheerleader kneeled during the National Anthem before the San Francisco 49ers beat the Oakland Raiders on Thursday night.","url":"https://time.com/5442913/san-francisco-49ers-cheerleader-takes-a-knee-during-national-anthem/","keywords":["Newsfeed","NFL","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5442913/san-francisco-49ers-cheerleader-takes-a-knee-during-national-anthem/","name":"San Francisco 49ers Cheerleader Takes a Knee During National Anthem"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The NFL’s National Anthem Non-Policy","description":"New Nike ad featuring Kaepernick puts the NFL in an awkward spot.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/IB6HsmNQ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-09-12T20:36:01.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IB6HsmNQ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5442913/san-francisco-49ers-cheerleader-takes-a-knee-during-national-anthem/","duration":"PT3M22S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5442913/san-francisco-49ers-cheerleader-takes-a-knee-during-national-anthem/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```