I don't think anyone who understand what the actual message is (a protest of police killing of unarmed black people, mostly men and boys) has lost the message. Those who think the black players kneeling shows disrespect to our flag or to our military, also haven't lost the message, they never had it right in the first place.

The players hurt no one with their protest. When the anthem is over, they go out and play the same as always. Trump is making a big deal of this in order to distract attention from how he is screwing up absolutely everything he can lay his hands on. We're lucky to have this little controversy; otherwise, like the last Republican president, Trump might need a very expensive war to take everyone's minds off his screwups.