…I’m predicting this:
As long as the protesters are safely hidden away, where no one has to see them. People in this country really are fucked up. Cops kill black people with no consequence: Oh, that’ll happen. Pro athletes kneel during our omnipresent Anthem: By gum, that’s an outrage and I won’t have it!
I certainly think you’re right, by the way, that this won’t make the issue go away. If nothing else, with the Jets not enforcing, that guarantees New York media attention every week. Catnip for Trump in the weeks before the election, too.
Well, that’s simple: it’s because they think that there is no such thing as systemic racism in America, and all minorities shot by police deserved it, so the players are just trying to stir trouble and insult white people for absolutely no reason (maybe “they’re animals” or something).
Is anyone reminded of the “super-patriotic” scenes in Catch-22? When the generals competed for who would be the most patriotic? Sign this loyalty oath to get your breakfast! Salute the flag for your lunch! Sign, salute and pledge allegiance for dinner or you’ll starve!!
and they can play with themselves in the locker room while the anthem is played.
Heh. I did think of that earlier, and I expect to see it, too!
It’s already happened.
As for staying in the locker room - that’s how it was years ago, so what’s the big deal now? Assuming there’s nothing else players are missing, then to hell with it.
If certain players are not being introduced because they’re in the locker room, it’s just going to paint a big target for snowflakes to cry about again.
I misread this as “Sign this loyalty oath with your breakfast”…
How the hell could he do THAT? What kind of “sanctions” is he claiming he’s going to impose?
That sounds like a bunch of bullshit.
According to the OP’s linked article -
*"NFL owners have unanimously approved a new national anthem policy that requires players to stand if they are on the field during the performance but gives them the option to remain in the locker room if they prefer, it was announced Wednesday.
The policy subjects teams to a fine if a player or any other team personnel do not show respect for the anthem.*
The NFL owners agreed that their team should be fined for any on-field, disrespectful behavior shown by their team’s players or personnel. The individual NFL teams, or their owners, are free to deal, or not deal, with any disrespectful player’s, or team personnel’s, behavior as they see fit.
Holy shit. Professional football is starting to mirror a lot of what I despise the most about USAian culture generally - woman beaters, serial animal killers and abusers, and fools who shoot themselves in the ass with their own illegal concealed weapons are not only permitted to play, but get cut fat-ass paychecks and honored for their contributions to the game, while other men are severely sanctioned by the same organization for exercising their* right* to express their opinions and voice their dissent, or use a botanically derived substance that’s legal in my home state. USA all the way - adulation of violence, brutal competition, conformity and authoritarianism, while simple innocent pleasures are looked down on with a weight of righteousness.No wonder I’ve always had a gut-deep distaste for the game and everything connected with it.
I remember reading a story about a dude that worked for some big box store. All of the employees had to wear badges that stated: “X” days with out a safety incident. When the number got to 666, one of the employees made a stink about it and refused to wear the badge.
He was fired. And lost his civil case against them in court.
Sounds like an urban legend to me. Got a reference link?
All I have is my word sir. I know for a fact, it’s not an urban legend. Because we saw the guy in question being interviewed on CNN.
After watching the interview, my BIL, and I came to the conclusion that the dude got fired for being so annoying. We thought his boss just used the badge thing as an excuse to fire him.
I’ll try to Google something. But this story is about 10 or 15 years old, so I’m not sure how much luck I’ll have.
You already hated the game before Kaepernick made the anthem an issue. So, what’s changed?
Regardless,if Kaepernick thought at any point that he was making a positive contribution to political debate, you’d think he’d have figured out by now he was wrong.
If you give your Mom the finger, imagining its going to spark “dialogue” on adjusting your curfew time, you’re a fool. Kind of like a guy who thinks portraying the police as pigs is going to accomplish anything useful.
There are a million ways a black athlete could use his fame to promote worthy causes. Disrespecting the flag isn’t one if them, and any smart person (yes, Kaepernick is very smart) should have known that.
You’re assuming that kneeling during the anthem shows disrespect for the flag. It does not, nor does it show disrespect for the nation nor the troops that so many worship. Instead of castigating those who call attention to our shortcomings, how about spending that energy trying to make the nation a place where people WANT to stand for the anthem.
And he does many of them, including donating large sums of his salary.
He does know that, which is why he isn’t disrespecting the flag. Kneeling isn’t a disrespectful gesture; the whole reason he chose it is that he sought the advice of a former Green Beret on how to protest without being disrespectful.
I’m curious - are there any means of protesting that you’d be okay with that don’t basically boil down to “anything I don’t have to see, don’t care about and doesn’t affect me in any way”?
Kap talked to a vet to make sure that his protests weren’t disrespectful. As a vet, I agree that kneeling as a peaceful protest is not disrespectful in the least, and in fact is entirely in keeping with the American tradition of peaceful protest. Others might disagree. Just like many think that criticizing Trump is disrespectful to the country.