My problem with the NFL and Players kneeling in protest during the Anthem.
This is not a free speech issue, as folks would like to spin it. Players absolutely have the right to protest, say whatever they want, kneel, do whatever they want, albeit on their own time. On any given Sunday, I am paying money to watch football, not political protests. While everyone in this great country has the right afforded us by the first amendment to speak our mind, there are certainly times and places when it is not prudent to do so.
One of those times might be when your employer’s views might not be in alignment or you are simply instructed to be on the sidelines and standing in attention. Paraphrasing Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr: “A employee may have a constitutional right to talk politics, but he has no constitutional right to be employed.”
We have stood before the flag during the playing of our national anthem at professional (and most amateur) sporting events for as long as I can remember and I am certain long before I was born. We do so to celebrate our freedom and to honor those who died obtaining it and protecting it. That includes celebrating our freedom of speech and the ability to peacefully protest.
I’m well aware that few other countries play their anthem before sporting events. So what. We are not other countries, we are America.
If I owned a sport franchise, and you kneeled, more than once, you would be fired. Simple as that and I’d be within my rights to do so.
To protest something that is not related during our time of both celebration and remembrance is simply, disrespectful. You do not talk back to your mamma and you do not screw around with the Anthem. Simple as that. I clearly respect their desires to protest and draw attention to some of the issues that face our community, including systemic oppression against people of color, police brutality and the criminal justice system. Absolutely, use your NFL fame and fortune to do just that. To do so durign the Anthem is poor judgement.
This, permitting pro athletes to protest, when they should be honoring our heros who died giving them the ability to play professional sports, live free, participate in any religion they choose, and protest (outside of their employment) is just the continued sissification of America.
It takes on average 2 minutes to play the anthem. Suck it up sissies.
In a perfect world, we’d just stop calling attention to it. Without the platform, it would just go away. We don’t televise streakers anymore or give any drunk who rushes on to the field any air play or publicity. For the most part that seems to happen a lot less these days.
If you’re in sight of the flag when the anthem is playing you need to be standing. Or, go the other way, and choose not to play the anthem. I’d be OK with that too.
The NFL knows better, they call it out in their operations manual. They need to inform teams and owners to do what’s expected (and right) and put a stop to this nonsense.
-=MD