# Trump Magically Turns NFL Games Into Anti-Trump Rallies **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 24, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216 "2017-09-24T20:34:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/381 "2017-09-27T19:54:39Z")
I’m not entirely clear that “genuflect” is really the word. Seems to me the "knee down’ reflects the gesture made to nullify and set aside a play, as in “this is over and nothing happened”. A negation, rather than an observance. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/382 "2017-09-27T20:40:30Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I’m not entirely clear that “genuflect” is really the word. Seems to me the "knee down’ reflects the gesture made to nullify and set aside a play, as in “this is over and nothing happened”. A negation, rather than an observance. A kneel down is a casual finishing play to end a game that is over in every way but the clock. Any similarity to the protests is coincidental. I was a football referee at the high school level. Whenever any player went down with an injury that required a stoppage, all the other players (both teams including sidelines) were instructed to take a knee while the injury was attended to. You see similar actions in college and pros if it’s something especially serious like a neck injury. The protests take that use of taking a knee. One of concern and respect. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/383 "2017-09-27T22:54:22Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > [Trump's NFL Fight Dates Back to His Failed USFL Experiment in the '80s - Newsweek](http://www.newsweek.com/trumps-nfl-fight-dates-back-failed-usfl-experiment-80s-jeff-pearlman-670843)? > > Yeah, Trump has a long history of wanting his own NFL team and screwing it up. So he made up for it by destroying the USFL. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/384 "2017-09-27T22:59:14Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > They booed the Cowboys when they all knelt in unity before the anthem and then stood while the flag was displayed and the anthem sang. The entire thing is about uppity football players, they’re hiding behind “disrespecting the flag and soldiers”. > > I didn’t join the Army to defend a flag. I joined to defend a people. I never swore an oath to stand for the national anthem - I swore it to protect the Constitution, and all the rights enshrined in it. From General Michael Hayden, retired General, former head of the NSA and CIA: … And then President Trump, before a red-hot Alabama crowd of his political base, decided to treat the “SOBs” who wouldn’t stand for the anthem the way he has previously treated other groups like Mexicans (murderers and rapists), intelligence professionals (Nazis), immigrants (deeply unfair), refugees (dangerous) and Muslims (they hate us). … There were tough choices to make: respect for the flag, respect for the anthem, respect for your teammates, respect for justice, respect for your fans, respect for free speech. The president had created what logicians call a false dilemma, that support for free speech or for teammates equated to disrespect for flag, anthem or country. And he did it for political advantage. My Steelers rejected the false dilemma… But I believe that everyone on the Steelers did the right thing. They were dealt a bad hand and played it as best they could. Or, more accurately, they tried not to play. And the dealer here was President Trump. … … White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday said the president’s Huntsville stand was about “honoring the men and women who fought to defend” the flag. As a 39-year military veteran, I think I know something about the flag, the anthem, patriotism, and I think I know why we fight. It’s not to allow the president to divide us by wrapping himself in the national banner. I never imagined myself saying this before Friday, but if now forced to choose in this dispute, put me down with Kaepernick." ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/385 "2017-09-27T23:02:06Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > The most effective response from the flag festooners would have been simply to ignore Colin Kaepernick in the first place. That’s all it took: No attention at all. A simple shrug. A ‘Meh, whatever.’ > > But that’s not good enough for conservatives because they want to control the way other people think and behave. They want to define America as a place that is culturally theirs and theirs only, and they demand that others show deference to America as culturally Euro-American and Christian. While they goose step around statues dedicated to traitors, waving rebel and Nazi flags. Also, the same people who think there’s nothing wrong with Russia interfering in the election are the ones who would be the first to scream “love it or leave it” in your face. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/386 "2017-09-27T23:54:59Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Aaron Rodgers came out and said he would lock arms in solidarity with the players during the NA, and boy are the pinheads on the Packer’s Facebook page upset. O, how it disgraces the flag, the troops, the country, those that fought and died etc. Plus they says things like “spoiled millionaires”, and mention “black on black violence” and comment that AR doessn’t get along with his own family so how can he talk about unity? > > It’s like they have a script they are following. Or is it really such a large percentage of folks that don’t “get” what the protests are all about? > > So many say they are done watching football. Fine, sez I. Can you send me your unused tickets? Aaron Rodgers also expressed support for Kaepernick and his protest in his last interview with ESPN, which was also rather eye-opening. People booed when the Cowboys joined together to take a knee in silence before the flag was even presented Monday night, then all stood for the anthem. Methinks it has less to do with the flag and more with those uppity players, but what do I know? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/387 "2017-09-28T00:21:13Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > Aaron Rodgers also expressed support for Kaepernick and his protest in his last interview with ESPN, which was also rather eye-opening. > > People booed when the Cowboys joined together to take a knee in silence before the flag was even presented Monday night, then all stood for the anthem. Methinks it has less to do with the flag and more with those uppity players, but what do I know? That’s why I was happy with Rodgers crossing the “color line”, as it were. I thought, now with a very popular, nice guy, top level player, who also is a white guy, on board, these whackadoodles will see it in a different light. That maybe they’ll get passed their prejudices and see the issue for what it is. Ha! They just call AR a traitor, spoiled rich guy, etc, too. And they’re going to boycott. (yeah, right. Sure they will. Until Thursday night!) So much for my theory! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/388 "2017-09-28T03:01:08Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > …were instructed to take a knee while the injury was attended to…the protests take that use of taking a knee. One of concern and respect. This makes sense, and I like it better. Therefore, my previous expression is non-operational, this is my opinion as of now and always was. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/389 "2017-09-28T03:22:52Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > That’s why I was happy with Rodgers crossing the “color line”, as it were. I thought, now with a very popular, nice guy, top level player, who also is a white guy, on board, these whackadoodles will see it in a different light. That maybe they’ll get passed their prejudices and see the issue for what it is. > > Ha! They just call AR a traitor, spoiled rich guy, etc, too. And they’re going to boycott. (yeah, right. Sure they will. Until Thursday night!) So much for my theory! If they’re going to boycott, can I have their season tickets? I wanna get them before my eyesight leaves me, and I only have another 50 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/390 "2017-09-28T13:25:51Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > He’s already deleted the tweets supporting Strange. I guess that wipes the minds of his fans. Tomorrow they will wake up and their man Moore is a winner! We have always been at war with Eastasia. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/391 "2017-09-28T14:13:52Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > That may be a _comforting_ delusion, but it’s a delusion nonetheless. > > The Trumpist minority is trying to push the idea that > _ **‘PEACEFUL PROTEST IS UNPATRIOTIC’** _ > > …and failing. _Americans know better_. This has always been true for Conservatives. Liberals protesting is unpatriotic and sometimes called outright treason. But Conservatives protesting is the very height of patriotism. Stunning levels of disconnect and hypocrisy. “We can do it, you can’t”. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/392 "2017-09-28T14:28:24Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > Oh and just in case you’re wondering if I think that everything Trump does is brilliant - far from it. For example, his support of Luther Strange, as lukewarm as it was, was stupid. I know I’m late to the game on this, but I just cannot believe this one. Who the fuck would back Roy Moore? The guy makes Trump look like Einstein! He is an absolute idiot! He is running for the US Senate and he doesn’t know what DACA is. He pulls out handguns at his rallies. He thinks homosexuals should be locked up. You can go on for a whole day about all the dumb shit he’s done. I am so sad and disgusted that these are the caliber of people that the right is now backing. It wasn’t that Strange wasn’t bad either, but come on! ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/393 "2017-09-28T17:14:07Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > I know I’m late to the game on this, but I just cannot believe this one. Who the fuck would back Roy Moore? The guy makes Trump look like Einstein! He is an absolute idiot! He is running for the US Senate and he doesn’t know what DACA is. He pulls out handguns at his rallies. He thinks homosexuals should be locked up. You can go on for a whole day about all the dumb shit he’s done. > > I am so sad and disgusted that these are the caliber of people that the right is now backing. It wasn’t that Strange wasn’t bad either, but come on! He is the true face of “The Base” in all its hideousness. These ARE the Deplorables. And, he was backed by Steve Bannon (the face and mouthpiece of the alt-right). Bannon, the guy who has plainly stated he wants to burn everything down. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/394 "2017-09-28T17:18:15Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > This has always been true for Conservatives. Liberals protesting is unpatriotic and sometimes called outright treason. But Conservatives protesting is the very height of patriotism. Stunning levels of disconnect and hypocrisy. “We can do it, you can’t”. It’s getting interesting, in a predictable way. Now people are calling for the NFL players and supporters to be KILLED. > **[Reefpoint Brew House co-owner suggests killing kneeling NFL players in...](https://journaltimes.com/news/local/reefpoint-brew-house-co-owner-suggests-killing-kneeling-nfl-players/article_743f36e4-87f6-51ff-a64c-07319e2a6a60.html)** > > RACINE — A co-owner of a popular lakefront restaurant advocated for the killing of kneeling NFL players in a Facebook comment posted Monday, according to multiple screenshots circulating on social People like Wisconsin restaurant co-owner John Valko have taken to Facebook to share exactly what should happen to these “ungrateful” protestors. The Racine Journal-Times reports: The owners of Reefpoint Brew House, 2 Christopher Columbus Causeway, acknowledged the comment from fellow co-owner John Valko in a statement released on their Facebook page Tuesday evening. In the comment, which has been deleted but appears as a screenshot multiple times in the comments on the statement, Valko advocates for the killing of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem before games, something more than 200 players did Sunday. “Kill the idiot players,” Valko wrote. “Execute them. They are nothing but garbage. The league is screwed up if they think it is their right. It is their duty to respect our country and our flag. They should go kneel in front of a freight train. Shame on these stupid misfits of society. They need to die.” This is The Base. This is what “conservatism” has mutated into. This is what passes for “patriotism” now. It’s disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/395 "2017-09-28T17:27:03Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > It’s getting interesting, in a predictable way. Now people are calling for the NFL players and supporters to be KILLED. > > [Reefpoint Brew House co-owner suggests killing kneeling NFL players in Facebook comment](http://journaltimes.com/news/local/reefpoint-brew-house-co-owner-suggests-killing-kneeling-nfl-players/article_743f36e4-87f6-51ff-a64c-07319e2a6a60.html) > > People like Wisconsin restaurant co-owner John Valko have taken to Facebook to share exactly what should happen to these “ungrateful” protestors. The Racine Journal-Times reports: > The owners of Reefpoint Brew House, 2 Christopher Columbus Causeway, acknowledged the comment from fellow co-owner John Valko in a statement released on their Facebook page Tuesday evening. > In the comment, which has been deleted but appears as a screenshot multiple times in the comments on the statement, Valko advocates for the killing of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem before games, something more than 200 players did Sunday. > “Kill the idiot players,” Valko wrote. “Execute them. They are nothing but garbage. The league is screwed up if they think it is their right. It is their duty to respect our country and our flag. They should go kneel in front of a freight train. Shame on these stupid misfits of society. They need to die.” > This is The Base. This is what “conservatism” has mutated into. This is what passes for “patriotism” now. > > It’s disgusting. There is violence on many sides. On many sides. Ever watch a football game? There’s some violence goo ng on there. These players are violent thugs, and some of those calling for the players to be executed are very fine people. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/396 "2017-09-28T17:44:02Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > There is violence on many sides. On many sides. Ever watch a football game? There’s some violence goo ng on there. These players are violent thugs, and some of those calling for the players to be executed are very fine people. Hey, they are just exercising their freedom of expression. Calling for others to be killed because you don’t like how they are demonstrating their rights is an american tradition. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/397 "2017-09-28T18:20:48Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > It’s getting interesting, in a predictable way. Now people are calling for the NFL players and supporters to be KILLED. > > [Reefpoint Brew House co-owner suggests killing kneeling NFL players in Facebook comment](http://journaltimes.com/news/local/reefpoint-brew-house-co-owner-suggests-killing-kneeling-nfl-players/article_743f36e4-87f6-51ff-a64c-07319e2a6a60.html) > > People like Wisconsin restaurant co-owner John Valko have taken to Facebook to share exactly what should happen to these “ungrateful” protestors. The Racine Journal-Times reports: > The owners of Reefpoint Brew House, 2 Christopher Columbus Causeway, acknowledged the comment from fellow co-owner John Valko in a statement released on their Facebook page Tuesday evening. > In the comment, which has been deleted but appears as a screenshot multiple times in the comments on the statement, Valko advocates for the killing of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem before games, something more than 200 players did Sunday. > “Kill the idiot players,” Valko wrote. “Execute them. They are nothing but garbage. The league is screwed up if they think it is their right. It is their duty to respect our country and our flag. They should go kneel in front of a freight train. Shame on these stupid misfits of society. They need to die.” > This is The Base. This is what “conservatism” has mutated into. This is what passes for “patriotism” now. > > It’s disgusting. Imagine what that guy would say if a presidential candidate talked about how the USA is terrible and weak during every campaign speech. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/398 "2017-09-28T20:41:48Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > This has always been true for Conservatives. Liberals protesting is unpatriotic and sometimes called outright treason. But Conservatives protesting is the very height of patriotism. Stunning levels of disconnect and hypocrisy. “We can do it, you can’t”. I try to be compassionate about their mental limitations, what with those authoritarianism-oriented brains of theirs being so dominated by fear. But it ain’t easy. > [@wguy123](#): > > I know I’m late to the game on this, but I just cannot believe this one. Who the fuck would back Roy Moore? The guy makes Trump look like Einstein! He is an absolute idiot! He is running for the US Senate and he doesn’t know what DACA is. He pulls out handguns at his rallies. He thinks homosexuals should be locked up. You can go on for a whole day about all the dumb shit he’s done. > > I am so sad and disgusted that these are the caliber of people that the right is now backing. It wasn’t that Strange wasn’t bad either, but come on! We’re all looking forward to hearing Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell defending whatever latest hate-mongering has come out of Roy Moore’s mouth, no doubt. They can’t let that Senate seat go to a Democrat, so they _have_ to defend him. Won’t _that_ be an edifying spectacle? ---
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/399 "2017-09-28T20:50:31Z")
“The PC elites only allow protests of our cops and our flag.” “I hope Brady gets knocked out for the season.” “Learn to speak English and learn to respect the flag you worthless POS.” Bandwagon fans. OMFG. The most triggered white people mass freakout I’ve seen since that time McCain saved their health insurance. I absolutely love this. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216/400 "2017-09-28T21:07:17Z")
[man kneeling during taps at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier](https://americanmilitarynews.com/2017/09/picture-of-man-kneeling-during-taps-at-tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier-is-sparking-outrage-following-nfl-protests/) So - disrespectful? Or was he “genuflecting”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-magically-turns-nfl-games-into-anti-trump-rallies/797216.md?page=21)