With all the uproar about NFL players kneeling when the national anthem was played before games, there is much fake and suspect support for those kneeling and the cause they support, the shooting deaths of black men by law enforcement. Let’s examine this situation.
The players supporting the cause by kneeling, interlocking arms, or any other type of action thought inappropriate while the national anthem is played is certainly their right. These are men, supposedly mature professionals (OK, let’s give them the benefit of doubt) in their sport of professional football, where salaries sitting the pine are more than most of us will ever make in our lifetimes. Those players who have been coddled and told they are stars at every step of the way to the NFL. Regardless of being paid huge sums for their football abilities and prowess, they can protest. Their management even supports the protests, as evidenced by owners being present on the field and sometimes participating while the protest occurs.
The only problem with the protest is that it is done without regard to the feelings of the paying spectators in the stands, the viewers watching television, or those listening to radio coverage commenting on the activities on the field during the anthem. You know, the people that pay the freight.
Those huge salaries to players and payouts to owners by sponsors and television/radio contracts are paid through us, those that support the NFL by our viewership. Those that do the living, working, and dying – those rubes in America that believe in something greater than themselves; God, Mom, flag, and apple pie. And if you want to protest at work on our time by showing disrespect to the national anthem and the flag, you do so at your own peril.
These overblown, junior high kids in adult bodies, are “at will” employees and can be fined or fired for any offense outside of the NFL handbook for players. If they are injured beyond repair, or can’t measure up to past performance on the field, they are traded or cut from the roster. Out of a job, many through no fault of their own other than through playing the game. The vast majority of these players are not Rhodes scholars and are mostly followers, not leaders.
To trivialize any deaths by law enforcement without putting the situation into context is wrong, but President Barack Obama did it many times. He accused law enforcement before he knew all the facts. He couldn’t wait to get his face in front of a camera to comment. Is it a tragedy when a person, regardless of color or race, is killed? Of course. All lives matter.
With all the concern about head trauma and incidents about concussions and how they affect athletes later in life, the NFL is dealing with enough without protests. Declining participation in lower level football; pee-wee, junior high, high school, college – all numbers have been reduced for feeder programs for the NFL. At this point in time, there is a real fear full contact football, the game I and many of you participated in and love, is in decline.
Has there been any in-depth interviews with those protesting to understand why they were protesting? Not much. Is there a solution brought forth by those protesting to address the problems and what they can do to help? Crickets. Have any of them contributed any money to help those traumatized by killings?
Hundreds of innocent people die every year in the city of Chicago at the hands of their own citizens and law enforcement, what do they propose to alleviate the killings and help those affected? Nothing. No monetary help, no bling given, no wallets being opened and cash flowing to help. More crickets chirping. Silence.
Let’s call this what it is, a misdirected attempt to harm the NFL — management and players to support a movement that is misdirected, confusing, and non-descript. It has no leaders and no real meaning except yelling slogans, participating in protests, misdirected anger against something endemic in American culture. Violence on the field is helping to kill the NFL. Violence on the streets is killing people. Protests do nothing to right the wrong that is in the culture. The wound is being picked at in intervals and eventually the scab is removed to bleed society and no matter what is tried, the wound will not heal.
Whose fault is that? Everyone should look in the mirror, especially Democrats and the willing media whom encourage, enflame and support these protests.
The rotting of America from within continues…
You made several pertinent comments with regard to the protests of Black athletes. Most pertinent is their choice of protest rather than any financial or community support. And you briefly touched on the issue of inner city violent crime. Here are a couple of facts (statistics if you will) :
1.) Data shows that 93 percent of black homicide victims are killed by other blacks.
2.) There were almost 6,000 blacks killed by other blacks in 2015.
3.) Final tally: Police shot and killed 986 people in 2015. The Post found that the vast majority of those shot and killed by police were armed and half of them were white. 258 Black Americans were shot and killed by Police Officers in 2015. It also means that approximately 23 times as many Black Americans were killed by other Blacks, than by Police Officers.
4.) The Post also found that in three-quarters of these incidents, police were defending either themselves or someone else who was, at that moment, under attack.
5.) Despite making up just 13% of the population, blacks commit around half of homicides in the United States.
6.) Despite the fact that black people commit an equal or greater number of violent crimes than whites, whites are almost TWICE as likely to be killed by police officers.
7.) In 2016 64 Police Officers were fatally shot, 21 were killed in ambush attacks often fueled by anger over police use of force involving minorities.
Most of these statistics were published by the Washington Post, a known liberal leaning newspaper. And here is one final eye opener. There are currently 1696 players under contract in the NFL. 871 of those players have been arrested for such things as public intoxication, assault, possession of drugs, spousal abuse and carrying a concealed weapon (51.4% from USA Today).
All that being said, it appears to me first of all, that the NFL owners overlook a lot of crime, as well as back these player protests, to keep the cash rolling into the coffers. When Dallas players wanted to put a decal on their helmets to honor those 5 police officers in Dallas that were shot, the league (owners) denied the request, because it violated league rules prohibiting such a display on an NFL uniform, which seems rather hypocritical to me.
And secondly, if NFL players are serious about the plight of Black and/or ethnic minority Americans, when it comes to violence and death as a result, they would better show their concern by more community activism and financial support to those organizations committed to easing that plight. I would be way more supportive of their public displays of dismay if they did more than make gestures before a football game. They need to be more open and honest as to the greater cause of death and violence to minorities in America. Not to say that police brutality or bias should be ignored, but let’s get real, if we want to help those that suffer from acts of violence. And a good starting place would be Chicago.