Roberto Firmino, Gary Hper, Max Power and Shay McCartan have been named the PFA Fans Players of the Month for January. Firmino, who moved to Anfield last summer from Hoffenheim in an initial £21.3m deal, hit the headlines in January by scoring four goals in as many games in the Premier League.The Brazilian, who beat Manchester United captain Wayne Rney and Tottenhams Harry Kane to the top-flight award, scored twice in his sides 3-3 draw with title challengers Arsenal, before firing another double in his sides thrilling 5-4 win at Norwich. Firmino (right) scored four goals in four league games in January The Championship accolade has been picked up by Sheffield Wednesday striker Gary Hper, who scored five goals in January to help his side stay unbeaten during the month.The 28-year-old, who joined Wednesday on a three-and-a-half-year permanent deal from Norwich in the transfer window, saw off competition from Hull City striker Abel Hernandez and Birmingham midfielder Maikel Kieftenbeld. Gary Hper (No 14) picked up the Sky Bet Championship award In League One, Wigan midfielder Max Power topped the poll ahead of Port Vale forward Ajay Leitch-Smith and Barnsley striker Sam Winnall.Power scored two goals as Wigan moved up to third in the league following an unbeaten six-game run during January. Max Power was a key figure in Wigans unbeaten run in January Finally, the League Two award went to Accrington Stanley forward Shay McCartan after his three January goals helped him claim more votes than Oxford United striker Kemar Rfe and Plymouth Argyle midfielder Gregg Wylde. Accrington Stanley forward Shay McCartan led the vote in League Two Every month throughout the English ftball season, fans will have the opportunity to vote on skysports.com for who they think has been the best player in the Barclays Premier League, Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League One and Sky Bet League Two, after Sky Sports teamed up with the PFA to be the digital platform for the Awards.Before the vote opens each month, an expert panel produce a shortlist of contenders. Fans are then able to vote for the player they think deserves the award.The panel includes Sky Sports ftball pundits Paul Merson, Ian Holloway and Peter Beagrie.That trio are then joined by Mike Riley, general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials, and Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Ftball Supporters Federation, as well as the winning fan from each month. Mesut Ozil receives the PFA Fans Player of the Month award for December The winning fans who will take their places on next months shortlisting panel and make the awards to players will be announced in due course.PFA Fans Player of the Month awards for JanuaryPremier League: Roberto Firmino (Liverpl)Championship: Gary Hper (Sheffield Wednesday)League One: Max Power (Wigan Athletic)League Two: Shay McCartan (Accrington Stanley) Also See: Past results Meet the panel PFA Fans PotM news Live on Sky m.com/Chris-Bosh-City-Edition-Jersey/" target="_blank">Chris Bosh Heat Jersey . Its an influence in ftball and a big part of the game. m.com/Wayne-Ellington-City-Edition-Jersey/" target="_blank">Wayne Ellington Heat Jersey . DAmigo scored twice in regulation and added the shtout winner as the Toronto Marlies edged the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in American Hockey League action. m.com/Glen-Rice-City-Edition-Jersey/" target="_blank">https://www.heatlockerrm.com/Glen-Rice-City-Edition-Jersey/ . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Gdell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. m.com/Glen-Rice-City-Edition-Jersey/" target="_blank">Glen Rice Jersey . A big centre with all the tls to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. m.com/Edrice-Adebayo-City-Edition-Jersey/" target="_blank">Edrice Adebayo Heat Jersey .ca lks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. SAN FRANCISCO -- The oldest Latino civil rights group in the United States opens every meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, a tradition resulting from a long fight to prove Hispanics belong in this country.In the San Francisco Bay Area, a white father of two says he would never require his young daughters to recite the pledge to show their patriotism.And in North Dakota, Native American protesters whose ancestors were here long before there was a United States waved American flags as they fought a proposed pipeline near sacred tribal land. Some demonstrators flew the flag upside down as a distress symbol.San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernicks refusal to stand during The Star-Spangled Banner in protest against racial oppression and police brutality has brought to light deep and sometimes surprising differences in the way Americans view the flag, the national anthem and the pledge.The symbols, people say, inspire skepticism and heartbreak, pride and joy, sometimes all at once in the same person. Some minorities, in particular, have conflicted feelings about symbols honoring a country that has not always treated all people equally.The flag is important to us because we have so many relatives in the military, said Justin Pr Bear, a 38-year-old member of the Oglala Lakota tribe from Allen, South Dakota. There is also a lot of pain.Following Kaepernicks example, pro athletes and high schl students across the country are taking a knee or linking arms during the national anthem before sporting events.The protests have raised questions of who gets to be called a patriot.Jason Pontius, a 46-year-old white resident of Alameda, California, said the U.S. of all countries should realize that blind devotion is not the American way. Sometimes when he drops off his second-grader at schl, he sticks around while she recites the Pledge of Allegiance with her class. But he doesnt join in.What makes America great, he said, is that people have always challenged the idea of what America stands for.Yet there are organizations that embrace the flag precisely as a way to declare that their members, t, are Americans.The League of United Latin American Citizens -- the nations oldest Latino civil rights group, founded in Texas by World War I veterans -- has historically opened all its meetings with the pledge and a prayer similar to one George Washington is said to have recited.Dennis W. Montoya, the leagues state director in New Mexico, said the groups emphasis on American pride is connected with a long fight by Latinos to prove they belong in this country.If someone doesnt stand for the pledge at one of our meetings, that person will probably be kicked out, Montoya said. Its disrespecting LULACs rituals and traditions.African-Americans have been moveed to create symbols that better reflect their history.dddddddddddd.The national anthem, for example, was written by a slave owner and contains a painful reference to slavery in its little-known third stanza. The NAACP dubbed Lift Evry Voice and Sing the black national anthem in 1919.The hymn is a staple of African American singers and is so important that the clergy member who gave the benediction at President Barack Obamas 2009 inauguration opened with lines from the song.After Kaepernick started his protest in August, C.C. Washington of Waco, Texas, read all the stanzas of The Star-Spangled Banner, including the one that refers derisively to slaves who fought for the British in exchange for their freedom.The 65-year-old African-American retiree -- fresh off visiting the Statue of Liberty last week -- felt betrayed.All this time, Ive been posting on Facebk: Respect our flag, respect our national anthem. Now its totally different, she said, choking up. Ill stand out of respect for the people standing next to me, not because I believe it.Pr Bear said he started lking at the anthem differently after he tk a group of Oglala Lakota students to a minor-league hockey game last year. A man yelled slurs and sprayed the children with beer, incensed that one of them did not stand for the national anthem, Pr Bear said. The student had been putting batteries into a camera.So I still stand for the national anthem, Pr Bear said. But I no longer put my hand over my heart.Linda Tamura, a retired professor of education in Portland, Oregon, has no personal objections to the anthem or the flag, even though her family was among tens of thousands of Japanese-Americans put in internment camps by the U.S. government during World War II.Her father volunteered for the military, along with her uncle and other Japanese-American men who felt it was their duty. When she lks at the Stars and Stripes, she says, she feels pride, instilled in part by her parents, who more than anything wanted us to believe in our country.At the same time, she salutes the growing protest movement and hopes it triggers broader discussions about how to improve relations.Thats why my father was in the military. Thats why were part of America. Thats why we believe in America, she said. Because we have the right to say what we believe.---Contreras reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico. AP staff writer Deepti Hajela and stringer Rachelle Blidner contributed to this story from New York. Staff writers Errin Haines Whack contributed from Philadelphia; Jesse J. Holland and Noreen Nasir from Washington.---Follow Janie Har on Twitter at www.twitter.com/byjaniehar ' ' '