Although reports earlier this week indicated that the NFL may force players to stand for the national anthem, the NFL and NFLPA today released a joint statement indicating that the league’s policy has not been altered.
“Commissioner Roger Goodell reached out to NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith today and both he and player leadership will attend the League meetings next week. There has been no change in the current policy regarding the anthem.
The agenda will be a continuation of how to make progress on the important social issues that players have vocalized. Everyone who is part of our NFL community has a tremendous respect for our country, our flag, our anthem and our military, and we are coming together to deal with these issues in a civil and constructive way.”
Goodell released his own memo earlier this week in which he stated the following: “Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand for the National Anthem.” That, combined with indications that the NFL itself would mandate standing for the anthem, generated a round of controversy on top of what has already become a hot-button issue.
1. Who cares? They shouldn’t have to stand, and fans shouldn’t have to watch.
2. Trump has hijacked the conversation so much at this point that it likely doesn’t even make sense to kneel anymore. The Cheetoh in Chief has made this all about the military and patriotism for the general fan, which isn’t the issue the protest wanted to highlight. They need to find a new way to highlight the issues they want, and in the meantime, stand to stop feeding the trolls.
If it’s not about the flag, or the anthem, then why do it during the display of the flag, during the singing of the anthem? Why not kneel with a raised fist after a touchdown? Why not speak up during a post game press conference? Why not use any of the hundreds of platforms available to be a voice for change? How about one of those “foundations” players love to start so much as a tax shelter for actual good? Fans are being alienated, and players are talking tough but when it starts hitting their wallets, they’ll fold like a chair. They always do. Just like the strike season, or the last lockout, they’re all millionaires living check to check. They’ll lose all semblance of a conscience when it hurts the bottom line.
Because this one obviously gets people talking. It’s pretty obvious they aren’t protesting the flag, it’s only the vehicle they’re using.
And if athletes did use the other metods, you would still be complaining at that point too. If most athletes talked about the issues during the post-game press conference, that defeats the purpose of talking about the game in the POST-GAME press conference. If they used their foundation to talk about issues (which you call tax shelters, which almost every other celebrity/athlete also uses it for) then people would complain about what the issues have to do with the foundation/charity. You act like athletes only speak out about these issues during the national anthem during a game. Plenty of athletes talk about these issues at other times aside from the game, it just isn’t reported by national media, nor would most people care about an athlete speaking out about issues unless he/she played for their favorite team/played in their city. Richard Sherman uses his during-the-week press conferences to talk about issues like these, but it won’t get reported by the media outside of Washington unless he says something that’s headline grabbing. It all comes down to whether or not the media wants to report it. If the media/TV crews didn’t even show players kneeling, half the people complaining about the players kneeling wouldn’t even know whats going on.
Thank Thor there are still reasonably minded Americans watching football. I raise my glass to you!
I want nothing to do with any of this. I just want to watch the Cowboys.
I agree, I respect their right to free speech and message but it doesn’t need to take over the league and the way it operates