Chapter 2: Landmark events. "The Star-Spangled Banner" is played at a sporting event for the first time (1918) -- "The Star-Spangled Banner" becomes the National Anthem (1931) -- The NFL mandates the National Anthem be played before games (1945) -- Smith and Carlos give the Black Power salute at the Olympic games (1968) -- The Olympic games protest (1972) -- The NBA suspends Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf for not standing during the anthem (1996) -- The NFL mandates players be on the field for the National Anthem (2009) -- St. Louis Rams protest police brutality (2014) -- University of Missouri protests force president's resignation (2015) -- Colin Kaepernick refuses to stand for the National Anthem (2016) -- Trump calls for the firing of protesting NFL players (2017) -- NFL protests spread in response to Trump criticism (2017) -- The NFL creates a controversial new anthem policy (2018) -- The White House cancels its Super Bowl championship party (2018).

Chapter 3: Impact of the NFL national anthem protests. NFL protests impact corporate sponsors -- NFL protests affect national politics -- Impact on other sports leagues -- Debates on patriotism and constitutional rights -- How people perceive the national anthem -- NFL protests and race relations -- Issues of racial inequality and police brutality -- The NFL's image and popularity.

Chapter 4: Profiles. Nate Boyer (1981-): former NFL player and military veteran who inspired Colin Kaepernick to kneel in protest -- Roger Goodell (1959-): NFL Commissioner since 2006 -- Malcolm Jenkins (1987-): NFL player who knelt in protest in 2016 and cofounded the Players Coalition -- Christopher Johnson (1959-): chairman and CEO of the New York Jets who chose not to fine or suspend protesting players -- Jerry Jones (1942-): owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys who claimed NFL protests negatively affect the league -- Colin Kaepernick (1987-): former NFL player and the first player to kneel in protest during the National Anthem -- Robert Kraft (1941-): New England Patriots owner who supported players' right to protest but remained concerned about financial implications for the league -- Chris Long (1985-): first white NFL player to participate in protests during the National Anthem -- Eric Reid (1991-): former teammate of Colin Kaepernick and second NFL player to kneel in protest during the National Anthem -- Donald J. Trump (1946-): forty-fifth U.S. president, made the NFL protests a national political issue by criticizing protesting players -- Alejandro Villanueva (1988-): Pittsburgh Steelers player who stood visibly at the front of the players' tunnel during the National Anthem while teammates remained out of sight inside the tunnel.