The NFL Protests

Ticket sales, revenue sharing, jersey sales, etc. Especially in the markets where Trump is popular. The Patriots could probably flip off the flag and still sell out. Some of the other markets, not so sure.

Well, to be honest, there were a considerable number of people who objected to the kneelings on this ground prior to Trump getting involved. I blame the NFL, they should have done something to mitigate this before now. They should have met with the players before the season began and worked out a compromise that the players would have been happy with.

The NFL always reacts after the fact and they never react in what is truly a positive fashion. Look at how the NFL has handled the concussion problem.

Can you say Roger Goodell?
Another classic example of failing upwards (although how the player union agreed to let him be judge and jury is beyond comprehension.)

The NFL Players Union truly screwed themselves in the last bargaining agreement. I wouldn’t be shocked if there was a strike when the next one comes up simply because of non-monetary items.

I don’t see how the NFL could somehow make police accountable for their actions. Some wishy washy compromise about the protest would defeat the whole purpose.

You don’t think someone at the NFL office last year didn’t bring up the idea of “What should we do if Kaepernick’s protest gets bigger?”. At some point the NFL should have talked to the players or the union and worked something out during the off season. I think the players probably would have gone for anything that was visible, and the NFL would have gone for something that didn’t alienate the “flag is sacred” crowd.

I don’t think anything they’d be willing to do would be enough though. It’s not like they’re protesting against low wages or not enough breaks. This is a cause that many players believe in very strongly.

That certainly seems fair. They should, at the very least, have had a plan going into the season. Doesn’t seem like they did.

I agree with this, however, there are many worse quarterbacks who continue to find work either as starters or backups because there is not enough top flight quarterback talent to go around. A QBR of 43 would be good enough for 25th in the league ahead of:

25 Jameis Winston, TB 39.6
26 Philip Rivers, LAC 39.2
27 Joe Flacco, BAL 37.8
28 Andy Dalton, CIN 33.2
29 Brian Hoyer, SF 32.3
30 Mike Glennon, CHI 24.3
31 Jay Cutler, MIA 21.7
32 DeShone Kizer, CLE 18.4

And those are just the league leaders. There are plenty of gainfully employed journeymen who didn’t make the top 32.

Which is to say that Kapernick is not a great QB but he’s plenty good enough to start in the NFL for a struggling franchise.

I don’t know much about football so I have to ask, how long can someone like Karpernick sit out of the game until he begins to lose his pro athlete mojo? He can still train on his own to ward off atrophy but that alone is no substitute for practicing with fellow pro players. Don’t these guys have relatively short shelf lives to begin with since the game takes a tremendous toll on the body?

NFL solution: those uppity n***ers need to learn to respect our authority.

No wonder they want to spit on your flag, I would too.

It’s more about the potential and relevant compensation. You could have an older player be given a contract, similar to Kurt Warner, but it is rare. Tim Tebow is an excellent example of someone who tried and failed multiple times. Equate it to any other sport. If a big star walks away, it is only a matter of time before lack of training and experience of the game start to affect their performance.

That being said, if that person did have talent and was willing to sacrifice for less money, there is a lot more opportunity. Kaepernick might fill a good backup role somewhere.

Mike Ditka is a shining example of the attitudes and willful ignorance of so many white people over 50 in this country. “I have not personally witnessed a minority being treated differently, so it’s obviously all made up BS. They should just try harder, and everything will work out for them, because this is America, and if you try hard you’ll succeed.”

These are the same people who gave us President Trump. The same people who think millions of illegal immigrants somehow voted in 2016. The same people who feel “economic anxiety” when they see minorities approaching them on the street. The same people who think “brown people”, not globalization and technological advancement, stole all the high paying low-skill jobs that were so prevalent when they were coming up through the working class ranks.

Obviously there are plenty of white people over 50 who DON’T fall into this category. I’m not trying to say Boomers are the problem, or anyone over 50 is racist. What I am saying is that when you scan through all the interviews on TV, all the articles in print media, all the articles written online and all the postings to social media, it quickly becomes obvious that there is a demographic trend among people who think like Ditka thinks, people who support (even now) Trump and his ideas.

Sadly, these folks also make up a very large segment of the NFL fan base, and they are being heard loud and clear by Goodell and the owners. I fully expect the owner’s to issue a blanket agreement soon that requires all players to stand for the anthem, but allows them to kneel (for prayer) prior to it.

I would agree, but, where were they last year while Kaepernick and a very few others did this?

Well, that list demonstrates that stats don’t always tell the truth. I would rank Kaepernick with maybe 1-2 of those guys. Kizer is a rookie, already sitting the bench. Cutler came out of retirement to play. Flacco missed spring training with a back problem and Winston is considered one of the better young QB’s.

But, I do think had Kaepernick not kneeled he would be a backup somewhere. He is as good or better than many 2nd and 3rd stringers who are signed.

There are also an awful lot of people who don’t want politics (no matter how justifiable) mixed in with their entertainment. There are also a lot of people for whom disrespect of the flag is a thing, a very important thing.

I think Trump’s involvement has obviously amplified this. I can’t speak for the individual players as to why they didn’t join in earlier but I’m sure losing their career was a big deterrent. It can’t be easy to stand up for a cause when you risk your life’s work for it.

Yea, I think the average NFL career is 3+ years, so you would have to be damn sure of yourself before you decided to throw away your life’s dream.

It’s unforgivable ignorance. You cannot be unaware of the civil rights struggle, George Wallace, the lynchings of the '30s, etc., and claim to have any knowledge of modern U.S. history.