Jophiel wrote:
Also of note: We have a president who has spent more time and energy condemning people who peacefully protest by kneeling during a song than he has Alt-Right terrorist who murdered a woman.
If someone was murdering a woman every week on national TV, you'd have a better comparison. One time event gets a one time condemnation. Something happening every week, by the same people, for the same reason? Different response.
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But, you know, the problem is REALLY all about how people aren't protesting the "right way".
Honestly, the whole "display of protest during the national anthem" bit isn't so much about protest as it is about speech. I have no problem with someone choosing to do that, on their own time, and with their own microphone (so to speak). The issue here is that the moment they put on those uniforms, they aren't just speaking for themselves, but for their teams, and the NFL, and every sponsor, and the networks, and every advertiser, every merchandiser of their gear, every retailer of said merchandise, etc, etc, etc.
Obviously, they're doing so for exactly that reason (greater visibility and all that). But it's also for that reason that it falls to the league, networks, teams, etc to police the actions of their representatives (which is what the team members are when they're doing this). I don't think that calling on those organizations to do something about it is out of line. Every team member signs contracts that have clauses about how they represent the team, league, etc, and can be fined, suspended, and fired for taking an action which portrays those organizations badly. And no matter what your feelings on the cause they are protesting about, disrespecting the flag of the nation they are playing in, definitely qualifies. It isn't about how they personally feel about the US, it's laws, etc. It's about respect for the nation you are playing in. When US players play in Canada, or the UK, despite not being citizens of those nations, you still stand and be respectful when those nations anthems are played at the start of a sporting event.
You aren't required to salute, but you should at least be respectful. These actions they are taking are designed to be specifically disrespectful. That's the whole point. But it's also why they are wrong to do so. And yeah, I happen to be of the mindset that every player who does this should be suspended by the league. Period. Playing in the NFL is a privilege. There's a dozen players who'd gladly step into every one of those players shoes and play if they had the opportunity. At the end of the day, it'll come down to how upset the fans/viewers are about this, but if the current mood I've seen is any indication, there are a lot of fans who are fed up with the players doing this. I don't know if it's reached the point of "boycotting the games, cancelling season tickets, refusing to buy merchandise" level, but I would not be surprised if it reaches that point pretty soon.
Trump's nothing if not consistent. He's ratcheting up the rhetoric in an "us versus them" way. Not sure if that's the right approach (it's basically a page out of the liberal playbook, but as I've pointed out many times before, Trump is basically using liberal tactics to push a conservative agenda), but I think that the players who are protesting are thinking that as long as they keep things to a dull roar, they get their protest and they get to keep playing. Trump is upping the ante. And I think that if you make the fight about "players who want to protest" versus "fans who don't want to pay to see players who protest", and eliminate the middle ground, the players will lose. Big time. At the end of the day, it's the fans who fund the game, not the players. They get to say what is acceptable behavior and what is not.