Players taking a knee hurting NFL

On a recent Saturday afternoon in Portland, a young woman stepped onto the playing field at the beginning of the University of Montana versus Portland State football game and started singing our national anthem.

She immediately drew a blank on the words and briefly stopped, but as she started apologizing, the fans spontaneously took up the singing.

After the song ended, they gave her a huge ovation: clapping and cheering. For a moment, they were not Grizzlies or Vikings, they were all just proud American patriots at traditional college football game.

When the teams ran onto the field, the lead...