# Were you surprised by the backlash from Kaepernick, other athletes kneeling vs. the public **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 22, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146 "2019-10-22T17:20:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/181 "2020-05-29T22:16:19Z")
JT Brown is a black NHL player who protested. His father was an NFL running back [J. T. Brown (ice hockey) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._T._Brown_(ice_hockey)) ---
**Author:** ![Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yankees_1996_Champs)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/182 "2020-05-29T22:39:54Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Some sports fan. > > Coughlin was fired by the Jags almost 6 months ago. He’s not “involved” in the league except as an ex-coach and failed executive. I guess you could make a stretch and say he ‘mentors’ younger coaches. I’d wager not half the regular watchers of the NFL could tell you who he was anyway. > > And I had to look up who Tom Torotello was. I don’t watch hockey, and he’s not exactly a household name. > > Jeez. It’s not like there’s a lot of sports on right now. Maybe update that section of your “Act like Regular American Joe” notes. Coughlin is still relevant because they are a lot of white men in the sports industry with his mentality, even if he is no longer employed in the league. His mentality still exist. That is what I am trying to say. ---
**Author:** ![Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yankees_1996_Champs)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/183 "2020-05-29T23:35:39Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Tortorella is a NHL coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets. I have no idea why he’s even mentioned in this thread as the percentage of black NHL players is extremely small and as far as I know there haven’t been any player protests. > **[U.S. coach still says: Sit for anthem, sit game](https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/17487174/us-world-cup-coach-john-tortorella-stands-anthem-comments)** > > John Tortorella, the United States World Cup coach, isn't backing off his comments that if a player sits for the national anthem, he'll sit for the game. He was the 2016 Team USA hockey coach, he said if any of his players knelt, they would be benched ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/184 "2020-05-29T23:37:56Z")
I think hockey is bigger in Russia than it is in the US. Do they play the Russian national anthem before hockey games in Russia? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/185 "2020-05-30T00:57:13Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > And I had to look up who Tom Torotello was. I don’t watch hockey, and he’s not exactly a household name. John Tortorella. And he’s a giant douchebag. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/186 "2020-05-30T14:30:59Z")
> [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > Coughlin is still relevant because they are a lot of white men in the sports industry with his mentality, even if he is no longer employed in the league. His mentality still exist. > > That is what I am trying to say. We need to work against this stupid fucking kind of “patriotic” authoritarianism. The “viscerally patriotic,” as you put it, make me sick to my stomach. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/187 "2020-05-30T14:41:58Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > There is a country-wide backlash against kneeling players right now? That’s weird, I’m not seeing it in the media. They seem focused on the actual death of a black man at the hands of the police. You may have heard of it in passing. I’m seeing a [backlash](https://i.imgur.com/gRZWcbv.jpg) against conservatives who are pointing to the current violent protests and saying they should protest peacefully to which many reply they bitched endless about too (kneeling, #BlackLivesMatter, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/188 "2020-05-30T18:16:52Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’m seeing a [backlash](https://i.imgur.com/gRZWcbv.jpg) against conservatives who are pointing to the current violent protests and saying they should protest peacefully to which many reply they bitched endless about too (kneeling, #BlackLivesMatter, etc.). I’d go so far as to criticize the so called “moderates,” who may sympathize with oppressed groups but not enough to actually help them achieve justice. If you value order more than you hate injustice, then your empathy bone needs medical assistance. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/189 "2020-05-30T18:22:24Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > My God, but you’re a dumb motherfucker. > > You have 250 posts on this message board, and by my count 50 of them are thread-starting OPs, and another 151 are posts in your own stupid fucking threads. > > You’re clearly obsessed with sports, but even when you post about sports you have no fucking idea what you’re talking about, and when you venture into other topics you display a level of dumbfuckery that is truly a marvel to behold. You’re either a master troll, or as dumb as a bag of hammers. He’s not obsessed with sports. Sports is his cover. He can post stupid things about sports so no one notices he actually obsessed with stirring up race issues in the U.S. in advance of an election. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/190 "2020-05-30T23:56:10Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > John Tortorella. And he’s a giant douchebag. Ok, thanks. But the point stands. Who the hell cares? And why are we supposed to consider him a paragon of coaching? Likewise Coughlin. He’s yesterday’s news. Why is he even being brought up? Seriously, our would-be American sports fan here could stand to try harder. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/191 "2020-05-30T23:58:50Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > We need to work against this stupid fucking kind of “patriotic” authoritarianism. The “viscerally patriotic,” as you put it, make me sick to my stomach. I call it fakeriotism. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/192 "2020-05-31T00:00:01Z")
By the way, who the fuck cares what any professional sports coach thinks about anything, aside from their own sport and their own team? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/193 "2020-05-31T01:04:31Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > And to think, if people had listened to Kaepernick’s message, rather than vilifying him, Minneapolis may not be on fire right now. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’m seeing a [backlash](https://i.imgur.com/gRZWcbv.jpg) against conservatives who are pointing to the current violent protests and saying they should protest peacefully to which many reply they bitched endless about too (kneeling, #BlackLivesMatter, etc.). Yeah, this. The alleged motivation for reviving this thread aside, I don’t think reviving it is actually a bad idea. As has been pointed out, people tried to protest this problem in a non-violent manner, and got nothing but grief for it. Violence is what happens when you choose to ignore the non-violent protests. > [@Wolf333](#): > > I call it fakeriotism. “faketriotism” reads better. The “t” emphasizes the proper symbolization. I initially read this as “fake-riot-ism”, which just make it sound like you’re a Riot Truther, or some shit. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/194 "2020-05-31T01:47:37Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > By the way, who the fuck cares what any professional sports coach thinks about anything, aside from their own sport and their own team? Bingo. ( and clap clap ). And WT everloving F does any of that have to do with patriotism? I’m constantly goaded into debates I don’t want to have by these sports-fascists; about this or that figure of what he did or did not do, as if it all f\*cking matters. I tell them I do not care what this or that player/coach/whatever says, does, puts in their bodies. Why does it matter in daily life? _He’s just a freaking football player_! ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/195 "2020-05-31T02:37:05Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > Bingo. ( and clap clap ). And WT everloving F does any of that have to do with patriotism? > > I’m constantly goaded into debates I don’t want to have by these sports-fascists; about this or that figure of what he did or did not do, as if it all f\*cking matters. I tell them I do not care what this or that player/coach/whatever says, does, puts in their bodies. Why does it matter in daily life? _He’s just a freaking football player_! What does it have to do with patriotism? Whining about players who are affected by and who have family and friends who are affected by the dangers of being Black in a country that’s supposed to not treat them as disposable is a very cheap, easy, and–for the whiners–non-consequential method of showing how patriotic those very same whiners are. It’s comfort patriotism, if I may coin such a term. Comfort patriotism does not require the CP to actually go out and join the military, attempt to stop injustice, or even actually treat a victim of institutionalized or society-rewarded prejudice as a fellow human being. It’s just comfortable. And it’s a great way to feel even more comfortable when the CP raises his or her voice to join all those other CPs, he or she will feel that someone is listening to him or her and validating his or her view on patriotism, on how _other people_ should display _their own_ patriotism. And what’s more validating than one’s hero\*, the president of one’s country, joining the CP in mouthing the same view? Of course that viewpoint ignores nifty little facts such as actual military veterans, actual war heroes (IIRC), supporting the protestors’ stance and methods, Supreme Court cases addressing one’s right to not participate in a forced display of [del]worship to a piece of cloth and/or piece of music[/del] patriotism, and the actual words of the Constitution of the United States of America. \*Note that jackass is not my hero; he is the CP’s hero. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/196 "2020-05-31T02:52:37Z")
As [Counterpunch](https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/05/29/protest-uprisings-and-race-war/) published this week: > [@](#): > > The moralizing has begun. > > Those who have rarely been the target of organized police gangsterism are once again lecturing those who have about how best to respond to it. > > Be peaceful, they implore, as protesters rise up in Minneapolis and across the country in response to the killing of George Floyd. This, coming from the same people who melted down when Colin Kaepernick took a knee — a decidedly peaceful type of protest. Because apparently, when white folks say, “protest peacefully,” we mean “stop protesting.” > > Everything is fine, nothing to see here. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/197 "2020-05-31T08:00:03Z")
> [@yankees 1996 champs](#): > > this is a debate that will continue for decades. ФЙlҰ ЇҒ ЧФЏ ҜЭЄp БЦԠpЇЍg ЇГ. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2020, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/198 "2020-05-31T15:00:49Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > What does it have to do with patriotism? Whining about players who are affected by and who have family and friends who are affected by the dangers of being Black in a country that’s supposed to not treat them as disposable is a very cheap, easy, and–for the whiners–non-consequential method of showing how patriotic those very same whiners are. It’s comfort patriotism, if I may coin such a term. > > Comfort patriotism does not require the CP to actually go out and join the military, attempt to stop injustice, or even actually treat a victim of institutionalized or society-rewarded prejudice as a fellow human being. > > It’s just comfortable. And it’s a great way to feel even more comfortable when the CP raises his or her voice to join all those other CPs, he or she will feel that someone is listening to him or her and validating his or her view on patriotism, on how _other people_ should display _their own_ patriotism. And what’s more validating than one’s hero\*, the president of one’s country, joining the CP in mouthing the same view? > > Of course that viewpoint ignores nifty little facts such as actual military veterans, actual war heroes (IIRC), supporting the protestors’ stance and methods, Supreme Court cases addressing one’s right to not participate in a forced display of [del]worship to a piece of cloth and/or piece of music[/del] patriotism, and the actual words of the Constitution of the United States of America. > > \*Note that jackass is not my hero; he is the CP’s hero. Comfort Patriotism. I’ve not heard that phrase, and a quick google doesn’t turn it up as very relevant. I like it, it fits. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/199 "2020-05-31T17:10:41Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > What does it have to do with patriotism? Whining about players who are affected by and who have family and friends who are affected by the dangers of being Black in a country that’s supposed to not treat them as disposable is a very cheap, easy, and–for the whiners–non-consequential method of showing how patriotic those very same whiners are. It’s comfort patriotism, if I may coin such a term. > > Comfort patriotism does not require the CP to actually go out and join the military, attempt to stop injustice, or even actually treat a victim of institutionalized or society-rewarded prejudice as a fellow human being. > > It’s just comfortable. That’s it alright. ( My “question” was rhetorical ) I like that term “Comfort Patriotism”, and resolve to keep it well honed to better use it against those that bombard me with that shit. First it was was glurge-y email forwards bombarding my inbox, then on to stupid glurge-y memes they bounce off of each other on facebook ( which, though I’m not on, I’m exposed to it here and there ) to finally sucking me down and every which way into the rabbit-hole of baiting and debating in-person. Comfort Patriotism: so much more effective a term and more wide-ranging than the old “chicken hawk”. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146/200 "2020-05-31T21:14:02Z")
**k9befriender** : That’s why I said “if I may coin such a term”. Thanks. It literally came to me around 10:00 yesterday morning (Beijing time). **BrickBat** : Thanks. I’d not be adverse to you, along with anyone else, spreading it far and wide. Comfort patriots are the worst; they’re just bullies, lazy bullies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-surprised-by-the-backlash-from-kaepernick-other-athletes-kneeling-vs-the-public/842146.md?page=11)