Seventeen players from the Augsburg football team joined the movement Colin Kaepernick started over a year ago, kneeling while the national anthem is played before a game.

President Donald Trump recently issued statements criticizing NFL player protests of the national anthem. Trump’s view that all protesters should be fired has sparked divisive dialogue across the nation. At a time when racially charged protests are snatching up headlines, kneeling during the anthem has helped the Auggie football team come together, according to Augsburg wide receiver Ray Guyton Jr..

“The disagreements that we had on our team have actually helped to make us closer,” Guyton, a junior, said. “It has sparked a lot of discussion. I have teammates that used to disagree with us now agree with what we’re doing because of the discussion that we’ve had sparked by us taking a knee.”

Guyton began kneeling during the national anthem at last year’s Oct. 1 game against St. Thomas. He said the passion he and his teammates have for creating a change has helped them persevere through harsh criticism. Misunderstandings of their motivations for protesting has been one of the most challenging parts of the Auggies’ protesting journey, he said.

Many critics of the NFL’s kneeling movement deem the protest to be highly disrespectful toward the armed services. The Auggies participating in the protest believe their actions line up with the military’s mission.

“We’re actually doing this for (the military) in large part. They’re going to fight for a message that’s supposed to say freedom and justice and liberty for all, and that’s not what is happening here in this country,” Guyton explained. “ I don’t think it’s right to stand for a country that doesn’t stand for the people that look like, talk like and act like me.”

Several coaches and owners of football teams see these protests as a distraction from the ultimate goal of winning games. Augsburg’s football coach Frank Haege disagrees.

“In a democracy, if you’re unhappy and think there is something wrong, it’s not just your right, it’s your responsibility to bring that to the forefront in as loud of a voice as you can muster,” Haege said. “I’m in full support of these guys and proud of them for having the courage.”

Keeping the locker room unified during this time of polarizing protest is no small task. Haege says the culture set at Augsburg has eased his load.

“Everyone is real respectful of each individual’s stance. I think that’s just the mantra here at Augsburg and I think that spills out into the football team.” Haege said.

The St. Thomas football team has not participated in protesting by kneeling or linking arms. St. Thomas coaches and players TommieMedia contacted declined to comment on the topic.

With four games remaining on Augsburg’s 2017 schedule, fans can expect to see the protests continue through the end of the season.

“I plan on doing this until I see significant change in America,” Guyton said. “I plan on doing this until people are held accountable for actions against African Americans, when African Americans are paid the same for the same jobs, and when crimes are punished the same way for African Americans as they are for everyone else… that’s when I’ll stop taking a knee.”