Wow, thats actually a sane response to a frikkin crazy rule. I hope the Lions make a similar choice. Outside of the military, no one should be forced to pay homage to a flag and no one should be fined for kneeling during the anthem.
It is. Kudos to him.
And agree with the pouring gasoline on a fire analogy. Jeezus, let’s make a mess worse.
Eagles’ Malcolm Jenkins:
https://twitter.com/MalcolmJenkins/status/999395253751812096
Not to nitpick, but they actually play it at the beginning of the local symphony I attend sometimes! I don’t know, maybe the retirees like it.
So there’s one place. Woohoo!
I’m old enough to remember having to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning at school. There may have been one or two rods-up-their-ass kids who took it seriously, but most of us mumbled through it like zombies and got back to ignoring the teacher as soon as it was over.
We had a few mumblers, but more snarky kids who made up their own words
I think many of us gray haired members are in the same boat. I still hate the pledge of allegiance to this day.
This is going to provoke a boycott of its own, and probably a more damaging one than what happened last year. Those folks were wanting to come back.
The folks who boycott this time, they’re a lot less likely to come back. They got more alternatives and care more about the brain trauma issues.
I’m perfectly fine with giving the players the option to not be on the field if they wish. Very much not ok with fining teams if players do not stand. Terrible decision.
If this stays the status quo by the time my yearly fantasy draft happens, I think I’m bowing out of my league. I refuse to support a bunch of greedy, amoral fascists who pretty much run a sharecropping system for the benefit of their pocketbooks and a gaggle of knuckle-dragging Neanderthal fans.
To change the topic slightly, the latest Real Sports on HBO has a story about former NFL players mostly getting rejected by the panel setup by the NFL. So those that developed Alzeimer’s are having a really tough time getting the NFL to pay up from their billion dollar fund that they setup. And for players suffering from depression and other things, those weren’t part of the settlement with the player’s union, so many of the former NFL players aren’t even eligible under that settlement. And it sounds like even those that do get approved from the panel have to wait years and years for their settlement money. And with all the mental issues these people have had, and high medical bills over the years, it sounds like the people in the story really needed that money to help cover the costs.
Anyway, it’s an interesting piece, I recommend seeking it out.
The NFL has had a horrible record on player support in regards to injuries, for years now. Denial, rejection of claims, everything the fatcat owners can think of to avoid paying their tenant farmers.
While its impossible to separate politics from the recent NFL rule, it is easy to separate patriotism from it. This is because this whole issue is not about patriotism. Patriotism is simply an excuse used to fight a peaceful legitimate protest. Kneeling is not disrespectful to the flag. In fact Kap choose to kneel because it was a sign of respect. It wasnt being done to insult america, it was being done to bring awareness to an issue of social injustice. To be honest, this peaceful form of protest is, in fact, an act of patriotism because it is all about making america a better place for all of its citizens by treating all equally. And isnt that what the constitution demands? What is truly unpatriotic is using a false flag of “patriotism” to forcibly hide an issue that many find unpleasant, because it does not affect them. I am done with the NFL as long as they choose to allow this policy to stand. And I am doing it because of patriotism.
I’m sorry @rshetts, your views are too moderate and logical to be considered as part of today’s debate on the issue.
Yeah I agree and appreciate the nonviolent approach Kaep took, though I think he could have picked a more topically relevant venue. Perhaps picketing a police station or government building related to law enforcement; he could probably have gotten as many cameras if he promoted it.
I disagree - how many young black kids are watching NFL games vs. the news? There was no better venue for his protest in my opinion. The issue deserves the nation’s attention and he got it. Unfortunately those in power disagree with his views, to say the least.
Happy to agree to disagree (and not about the core cause, just the approach). My thought is just that when I think about fighting police corruption I don’t connect that to a guy kneeling at a sporting event that I enjoy but is ultimately just a game. Like the kids marching against gun violence; they did it in Washington not at Disneyland (although you could perhaps argue politicians live in fantasyland!).
It’s a bit different in that the kids didn’t achieve their “fame” from Disneyland. Kaepernick is an NFL QB so that would be his natural means of protest. It’s the means by which he achieved his fame and status. I believe that thinking the NFL players shouldn’t bring their personal views into the workplace runs too close to the whole ‘minorities need to stay in their place’ trap, given the importance of the issue. It’s clearly how the NFL and Trump are responding to it. Instead of actually dealing with the very real issue that he’s protesting, they just want it to go away and stay out of their sight.
Was thinking the same thing. As for Kaepernick, I think he simply did what he felt was right. I could be wrong, but I don’t think he was trying to make some larger point to anyone but himself or had any idea how big the thing would get.
Oh I certainly hope you didn’t think that’s where I was going with that because it hadn’t even crossed my mind. For me it’s not about inappropriateness in the workplace, it’s about effectiveness of the message. I think what’s happened here is that the fight against police corruption, which is a cause everyone should be for, is being confused with patriotism, which I think has nothing to do with the real issue Kaep is trying to promote.
The NFL being nutty about it has of course pushed this into full Streisand effect, so whether Kaep was prescient enough to have seen this happening or not, it’s worked in pulling in eyeballs. But it’s also confused the message with controversy about patriotism, when it should be about fixing the police.
That’s not Kaepernick though - that’s the White House and the insane right-wing propaganda machine. It was never about patriotism until they rammed that theory down everyone’s throats. The problem is that Trump & minions obviously don’t believe in Kaepernick’s message and have gone out of their way to twist and subvert it. It’s horribly disgusting. I don’t think anyone would have normally expected the President of the United States to weigh in on this issue on the side of excessive police violence.