NFL Players Respond to Trump on Anthem Protesters… + Kroenke

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  • #74962
    Herzog
    Participant

    Just one thing to say. If it’s voluntary, and has been voluntary….then why do you care if it’s done or not.
    Seems like a contradiction.

    #74977
    Avatar photoZooey
    Moderator

    https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/yp89dj/stephen-a-smith-points-out-nfls-paid-patriotism-problem

    Players used to come out on the field after the National Anthem. The Department of Defense and National Guard started paying teams to come out for military displays – for recruitment purposes – in 2009.

    It. Was. Already. Political.

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by Avatar photoZooey.
    #74979
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    Players used to come out on the field after the National Anthem. The Department of Defense and National Guard started paying teams to come out for military displays – for recruitment purposes – in 2009.

    DoD paid $53 million of taxpayers’ money to pro sports for military tributes, report says

    November 6, 2015

    http://www.post-gazette.com/news/nation/2015/11/06/Department-of-Defense-paid-53-million-to-pro-sports-for-military-tributes-report-says/stories/201511060140

    On-field events recognizing military service members — including ceremonial first pitches, honor guards and Jumbotron tributes — have become common at professional sports venues over the past several years.

    Many in the stands assume the team or league puts on the tributes, but often it has been the Department of Defense, meaning tax dollars were used to foot the bill.

    A report released Wednesday criticized the Department of Defense for spending millions in sports marketing contracts and called to task the professional sports teams that took the money, saying they were engaged in “paid patriotism.”

    Prepared by U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, both Arizona Republicans, the report found that all military branches reported spending $53 million on marketing and advertising contracts with professional sports organizations between 2012 and 2015. More than $10 million of that went to the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA and Major League Soccer.

    “Given the immense sacrifices made by our service members, it seems more appropriate that any organization with a genuine interest in honoring them, and deriving public credit as a result, should do so at its own expense and not at that of the American taxpayer,” the report said. “Americans deserve the ability to assume that tributes for our men and women in military uniform are genuine displays of national pride, which many are, rather than taxpayer-funded DOD marketing gimmicks.”

    In Pittsburgh, the amounts spent were small in comparison with contracts elsewhere. The Pittsburgh Steelers received $27,000 in fiscal year 2014, and the Pirates received $18,000.

    But the report found higher spending by many entities, including the Georgia Army National Guard paying the Atlanta Falcons $879,000 in fiscal years 2012 to 2015, and the Massachusetts Army National Guard paying the New England Patriots $700,000 in fiscal years 2012 to 2014.

    Since reports on the contracts first came to light last spring, the Defense Department has banned the practice, and the NFL has called on its teams to stop taking payment for such activities.

    A Sept. 14 memo from the Under Secretary of Defense office said a review of sports marketing and advertising contracts revealed “some areas of concern,” that “could give rise to the perception that the department had paid for patriotism.

    “Sports marketing and advertising is too important to the recruiting mission to allow these perceptions to detract from our message,” the letter said. “Our actions must be transparent, and our intent consistently focused on our mission: Sustaining the All-Volunteer Force.”

    New interim rules require the service not to pay as part of any contract to honor Armed Forces personnel, including playing the national anthem, color guard demonstrations or enlistment ceremonies.

    In a letter dated Nov. 2, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote that an audit of all club contracts with the military is being conducted to ensure that recruitment efforts are kept separate from the NFL’s recognition and appreciation events for military members. Any inappropriate payments will be refunded in full, he said.

    In the NFL’s AFC North, the Ravens had the biggest contracts, receiving $534,000 from the Maryland Army National Guard in fiscal years 2012 and 2013.

    The Steelers came in second at $27,000 in fiscal year 2014; the Cleveland Browns were paid $10,000 by the U.S. Air Force for one color guard ceremony in fiscal year 2012; and the Cincinnati Bengals got $4,960 for 60 club-level seats bought by the 338th Recruiting Squadron in Fiscal Year 2013.

    Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said he believes the Senate report mischaracterizes the team’s relationship with the military.

    “The advertising and promotion the military does with the Steelers to advance its recruiting efforts has no connection to the programs the Steelers have that provide an opportunity for our fans to salute our military veterans and active service members,” he said.

    In Major League Baseball, the Atlanta Braves received the biggest contracts, getting $450,000 in fiscal years 2013 to 2015 from the Georgia Army National Guard.

    The Pirates received $18,000 from the U.S. Air Force in fiscal year 2014, which included an Air Force performance of the national anthem and on-field swearing-in for the delayed entry program as well as 250 game tickets for members and their friends and family.

    According to Brian Warecki, a Pirates spokesman, the contract also gave the Air Force the right to set up a booth for recruiting on Federal Street for six games and to present the colors at several games.

    “Our small marketing partnership agreement with the Air Force is consistent with similar agreements with organizations looking to engage with the thousands of fans who attend Pirates games and is insignificant in relation to our support of the military,” Mr. Warecki said.

    He listed a number of military appreciation events hosted by the Pirates throughout the year, including every Thursday home game. The team also donated raffle proceeds to military and veterans charity programs and raised funds for veterans programs at PirateFest, as well as giving away tickets.

    “In short, the Pirates and Pirates Charities are meaningful supporters of the military and honor, recognize and contribute to its causes in very real and significant ways and all outside of any marketing partnership,” Mr. Warecki said.

    In the senators’ report regarding the National Hockey League, the Penguins were not mentioned.

    Tom McMillan, vice president of communications for the Penguins, said none of the veterans appreciation events that occur with the team come from paid military contracts.

    The team regularly includes a “Hometown Hero,” who is invited to join Jeff Jimerson as he sings the national anthem, and other military members are chosen to ride on the Zambonis at intermission. For Veterans Day, the team normally brings in 10 to 15 soldiers injured in the line of duty to watch the morning skate and then meet the team and get personalized jerseys.

    #75003
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    #75017
    Avatar photowv
    Participant

    Personally, I think players should leave their political protests off the field. And again, millions of people feel the same way.

    =================

    Standing for the “National Anthem” IS a ‘political’ act.
    Not standing is a political act.

    Kneeling for that political-song is a political act.
    Not Kneeling for the song is a political act.

    Etc.

    Its a political Song. The song is not like ’99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall’ or the Barney Song. Its totally political. Hand over your heart, gettn all misty eyed — politics. Kneel down, raise your fist in the air — politics.

    So if you dont want Politics in football, the NFL should stop bringing politics into it, by doing the whole “National anthem” ritual.

    I for one, would rather see a William Blake poem read at each NFL game. But thats just me 🙂

    #75039
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    Are NFL Players Required to Stand on the Field During the National Anthem?
    Confusing claims about whether the NFL’s rulebook or game operations manual specifically requires players to stand on the sideline during the pre-game playing of the U.S. national anthem.

    http://www.snopes.com/must-nfl-players-stand/

    CLAIM

    The NFL’s rulebook contains a regulation specifically requiring players to stand on the sideline during the pre-game playing of the U.S. national anthem.

    WHAT’S TRUE

    The NFL’s rulebook says nothing about player conduct during the pre-game playing of the U.S. national anthem.

    WHAT’S FALSE

    The NFL’s game operations manual may contain a regulation stating that players must be present on the sidelines during the national anthem, but not that they must stand.

    ORIGIN

    Partway into the 2017 NFL season, the practice begun by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick during the previous year’s exhibition season — of kneeling on the sidelines (rather than standing) during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before games in order to symbolize opposition to racial injustice in America — had become widespread around the league. Many players — and some whole teams — had similarly started “taking a knee” on the sidelines, or staying in the locker room, while pre-game renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” were played in football stadiums.

    The protest gained momentum after United States President Donald Trump issued comments prior to the NFL’s Week 3 schedule suggesting that football players who declined to stand during the national anthem should be fined, that fans should boycott games, and that the league should alter their policy to force players to stand during pre-game ceremonies:

    Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
    If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL,or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect….

    …our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU’RE FIRED. Find something else to do!

    Sports fans should never condone players that do not stand proud for their National Anthem or their Country. NFL should change policy!

    During that weekend’s games, an item began circulating via social media proclaiming that the NFL League Rulebook specifically required that all players must be on the sideline during the playing of the national anthem, and that “failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s)”:

    The specific rule pertaining to the national anthem is found on pages A62-63 of the NFL League Rulebook. It states:

    ‘The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition … It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.’

    However, no such wording appears in the 2017 version of the Official Playing Rules of the National Football League (which the NFL also sometimes refers to as an “operations manual”): Pages 62 and 63 contain only regulations about the enforcement of fouls committed on the field during gameplay, and nowhere else does that document specify anything about the either the playing of the national anthem prior to games or the required behavior of players and team personnel during that ceremony. In fact, the rulebook makes no mention of the national anthem at all.

    Rule 4, which covers Game Timing, states only that both teams must be on the field before the scheduled start time of the first and second halves, and must initially appear on the field at least 10 minutes early in order to allow sufficient time for warming up:

    Both teams must be on the field to kick off at the scheduled time for the start of each half. Prior to the start of the game, both teams are required to appear on the field at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled kickoff in order to ensure sufficient time for proper warm-up. Designated members of the officiating crew must notify both head coaches personally of the scheduled time for kickoff prior to the start of each half.

    Rule 5, which covers Players, Substitutes, Equipment, and General Rules, does include (in Article 8) a section prohibiting players from “conveying personal messages” throughout the game day while they are visible to fans in attendance and television audiences, and from “convey[ing] messages, through helmet decals, arm bands, jersey patches, or other items affixed to game uniforms or equipment, which relate to political activities or causes …”:

    Throughout the period on game-day that a player is visible to the stadium and television audience (including in pregame warm-ups, in the bench area, and during postgame interviews in the locker room or on the field), players are prohibited from wearing, displaying, or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration, unless such message has been approved in advance by the League office. Items to celebrate anniversaries or memorable events, or to honor or commemorate individuals, such as helmet decals, and arm bands and jersey patches on players’ uniforms, are prohibited unless approved in advance by the League office. All such items approved by the League office, if any, must relate to team or League events or personages. The League will not grant permission for any club or player to wear, display, or otherwise convey messages, through helmet decals, arm bands, jersey patches, or other items affixed to game uniforms or equipment, which relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns. Further, any such approved items must be modest in size, tasteful, non-commercial, and noncontroversial; must not be worn for more than one football season; and if approved for use by a specific team, must not be worn by players on other teams in the League.

    However, some sources have confusingly stated that the NFL has a separate game operations manual, and it is that document, not the rulebook, which supposedly includes the wording in question regarding player conduct during the national anthem:

    It’s important to know that NFL football games are governed by multiple codes of conduct. One is the NFL rulebook; another is the NFL game operations manual. The rulebook is concerned with in-game actions by players and coaches (like scoring, penalties, challenges and so on), whereas the game-operations manual dictates how NFL games should be run in the bigger-picture organizational sense.

    “The league’s Game Operations Department uses the manual to govern the conduct of home clubs, to ensure they protect players and provide the conditions for a fair and fan-friendly contest,” reads the NFL’s website. “Clubs face warnings and other penalties for noncompliance.”

    The NFL rulebook makes no mention of the national anthem. But the game operations manual does.

    Here’s what the game operations manual says regarding the national anthem, according to an NFL spokesperson:

    ‘The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem.

    ‘During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.’

    We have not yet been able to independently confirm the existence and wording of this second document (the NFL has not responded to our query), but the proffered wording states that players must “be” on the sideline for the national anthem, not that they must “stand” on the sideline (the latter is listed as something players “should” do). It also states that players “may” (not “shall”) be penalized for not observing the regulation, and indeed the NFL announced that they would not hand down any discipline over players’ remaining in the locker room before Week 3 games:

    The NFL will not discipline those teams and players who refused to be on the field for the playing of the national anthem before games Sunday, league spokesman Joe Lockhart said.

    “There will be no discipline handed down this week,” Lockhart, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications and public affairs, said in a conference call with reporters.

    The Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans were not on the field for the anthem.

    When Colin Kaepernick first made waves by kneeling during pre-game ceremonies back in August 2016, the NFL issued a statement proclaiming that “Players are encouraged but not required to stand during the playing of the National Anthem.” NBC News similarly observed that “The NFL has no such rule, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement is silent on the subject.”

    Nonetheless, could Article 8, Rule 5 of the rulebook itself be interpreted as requiring NFL players to stand on the sidelines during the national anthem? The latter part of it would not seem to apply, as players who kneel or remain in the locker room during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” are not wearing, or affixing to their uniforms, any symbols related to their protest. The first part seemingly provides league officials broad latitude to determine what constitutes a “personal message,” but as James Dator noted in addressing this issue on SBNATION, it’s unlikely that section could or would be applied to the current protests:

    Despite claims over what is or isn’t “acceptable,” none of them hold weight. Potential disciplinary action over how players act during the anthem would need to be in place under the collective bargaining agreement with the NFLPA, and to make matters more complicated, several states that have teams also extend first-amendment protection to employees of private businesses while at work.

    #75051
    Avatar photowv
    Participant

    So the Cardinals locked arms with the military reps on the field,
    and the Cowboys all locked arms and took a knee?

    Weird and interesting stuff going on, as the NFL-Corporate-PR-experts try to devise an approach that will basically make all the hard issues just ‘go away’.

    “look were all holding hands, everything is fine now…”

    w
    v

    #75055
    JackPMiller
    Participant

    Key word in conduct is should, not have to or must do it. Take it as you see it

    Chapter 10 of the US Flag Code

    http://www.usflag.org/us.code36.html

    §171. Conduct during playing
    During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should render the military salute at the first note of the anthem and retain this position until the last note. When the flag is not displayed, those present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed there.

    §175. Position and manner of display
    The flag, when carried in a procession with another flag or flags, should be either on the marching right; that is, the flag’s own right, or, if there is a line of other flags, in front of the center of that line.

    (a) The flag should not be displayed on a float in a parade except from a staff, or as provided in subsection (i) of this section.
    (b) The flag should not be draped over the hood, top, sides, or back of a vehicle or of a railroad train or a boat. When the flag is displayed on a motorcar, the staff shall be fixed firmly to the chassis or clamped to the right fender.
    (c) No other flag or pennant should be placed above or, if on the same level, to the right of the flag of the United States of America, except during church services conducted by naval chaplains at sea, when the church pennant may be flown above the flag during church services for the personnel of the Navy. No person shall display the flag of the United Nations or any other national or international flag equal, above, or in a position of superior prominence or honor to, or in place of, the flag of the United States at any place within the United States or any Territory or possession thereof: Provided, That nothing in this section shall make unlawful the continuance of the practice heretofore followed of displaying the flag of the United Nations in a position of superior prominence or honor, and other national flags in positions of equal prominence or honor, with that of the flag of the United States at the headquarters of the United Nations.
    (d) The flag of the United States of America, when it is displayed with another flag against a wall from crossed staffs, should be on the right, the flag’s own right, and its staff should be in front of the staff of the other flag.
    (e) The flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from staffs.
    (f) When flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of societies are flown on the same halyard with the flag of the United States, the latter should always be at the peak. When the flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed above the flag of the United States or to the United States flag’s right.
    (g) When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal size. International usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace.
    (h) When the flag of the United States is displayed from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle from the window sill, balcony, or front of a building, the union of the flag should be placed at the peak of the staff unless the flag is at half staff. When the flag is suspended over a sidewalk from a rope extending from a house to a pole at the edge of the sidewalk, the flag should be hoisted out, union first, from the building.
    (i) When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union should be uppermost and to the flag’s own right, that is, to the observer’s left. When displayed in a window, the flag should be displayed in the same way, with the union or blue field to the left of the observer in the street.
    (j) When the flag is displayed over the middle of the street, it should be suspended vertically with the union to the north in an east and west street or to the east in a north and south street.
    (k) When used on a speaker’s platform, the flag, if displayed flat, should be displayed above and behind the speaker. When displayed from a staff in a church or public auditorium, the flag of the United States of America should hold the position of superior prominence, in advance of the audience, and in the position of honor at the clergyman’s or speaker’s right as he faces the audience. Any other flag so displayed should be placed on the left of the clergyman or speaker or to the right of the audience.
    (l) The flag should form a distinctive feature of the ceremony of unveiling a statue or monument, but it should never be used as the covering for the statue or monument.
    (m) The flag, when flown at half-staff, should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day. On Memorial Day the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff. By order of the President, the flag shall be flown at half-staff upon the death of principal figures of the United States Government and the Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a mark of respect to their memory. In the event of the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed at half-staff according to Presidential instructions or orders, or in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law. In the event of the death of a present or former official of the government of any State, territory, or possession of the United States, the Governor of that State, territory, or possession may proclaim that the National flag shall be flown at half-staff. The flag shall be flown at half-staff thirty days from the death of the President or a former President; ten days from the day of death of the Vice President, the Chief Justice or a retired Chief Justice of the United States, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives; from the day of death until interment of an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, a Secretary of an executive or military department, a former Vice President, or the Governor of a State, territory, or possession; and on the day of death and the following day for a Member of Congress. As used in this subsection –
    (1) the term ‘half-staff’ means the position of the flag when it is one-half the distance between the top and bottom of the staff;
    (2) the term ‘executive or military department’ means any agency listed under sections 101 and 102 of title 5; and
    (3) the term ‘Member of Congress’ means a Senator, a Representative, a Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico.
    (n) When the flag is used to cover a casket, it should be so placed that the union is at the head and over the left shoulder. The flag should not be lowered into the grave or allowed to touch the ground.
    (o) When the flag is suspended across a corridor or lobby in a building with only one main entrance, it should be suspended vertically with the union of the flag to the observer’s left upon entering. If the building has more than one main entrance, the flag should be suspended vertically near the center of the corridor or lobby with the union to the north, when entrances are to the east and west or to the east when entrances are to the north and south. If there are entrances in more than two directions, the union should be to the east.

    §176. Respect for flag
    No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional flags are to be dipped as a mark of honor.

    (a) The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
    (b) The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.
    (c) The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free.
    (d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker’s desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general.
    (e) The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in such a manner as to permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way.
    (f) The flag should never be used as a covering for a ceiling.
    (g) The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.
    (h) The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything.
    (i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard. Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is flown.
    (j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart.
    (k) The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.

    #75056
    Avatar photoZooey
    Moderator

    Should an American soccer player who plays for, say, AC Milan stand during the Italian national anthem? Should he put his hand on his heart? Should he sit?

    I wonder how Trump is taking this past weekend. I can’t imagine he was indifferent to that display. Pretty sure he’s happy when he is bullying people who are outnumbered and powerless, but that was a very public demonstration of direct defiance of Donald J. Trump, and the whole country saw it happen.

    It’s been suggested he was deliberately divisive with his comments (I’m not sure; he reportedly went off script), but the motive behind divisiveness is to create a larger “us,” and a smaller “them.”

    And…yeah…the owners are probably happy that the kneeling has just been largely neutralized by this. At least as a liability.

    #75058
    Avatar photoZooey
    Moderator

    So the Cowboys knelt before the national anthem, and there were some boos that made Trump happy.

    Then they actually stood for the national anthem. They STOOD for the anthem.

    So…basically…they were booed for the protest, not for disrespecting the anthem and flag.

    Which just goes to show…it’s not the disrespect of the country that bothers him. It’s the protest itself. The problem is what they are protesting, not how they are protesting.

    #75059
    PA Ram
    Participant

    Trump has hated the NFL ever since he could not buy the Bills.

    This, of course, has nothing to do with the flag and anthem, where Trump is concerned. It’s good politics for him.

    Who is more American?

    Are YOU a real American or do you hate our flag too?

    If you ARE a real American you’d better be with Trump.

    Trump is REAL America.

    Vote Trump.

    Praise Trump.

    Hate anyone against him. Because he IS America.

    And you do love your country–right?

    The supporters dig in harder–and fence sitters are forced to choose and well…they do love the flag. They ARE American–real American.

    So Puerto Rico is ignored.

    The President’s legal legal troubles are ignored.

    Health care failure is ignored.

    This is all about America and that is the most important thing ever.

    Trump is America. Where do you stand?

    "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. " Philip K. Dick

    #75066
    Avatar photoEternal Ramnation
    Participant

    #75068
    Avatar photojoemad
    Participant

    Should an American soccer player who plays for, say, AC Milan stand during the Italian national anthem? Should he put his hand on his heart? Should he sit?

    1) I don’t think that US Soccer players are good enough to play for Milan……..

    but the reverse happens, put a Russian on a US Hockey team and they don’t give a rats ass about USA’s pregame ceremony.

    I’m not a big hockey fan, but I used to take the kids to 1 or 2 San Jose Sharks game per year….. one season, my kid noticed the goalie (Evgini Nabokov used to be the Sharks goalie), he’d rest his elbows on his knees and not face the flag during the sharks pre game ceremony, I remember my asking me why he wasn’t standing….,…

    I replied, “He’s Russian and doesn’t care about the anthem” ….

    I looked for a photo… found this one where Nabokov continued his M.O. during Francis Scott Key’s anthem in the finals for the N.Y. Islanders…..

    http://www.gettyimages.com/event/new-york-islanders-v-pittsburgh-penguins-game-two-167901790?#evgeni-nabokov-of-the-new-york-islanders-stands-during-the-national-picture-id167984682

    #75069
    Avatar photowv
    Participant

    Someone sent me this. Havent read it, but the angle made me smile for some reason:

    Tebow:https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/09/24/colin-kaepernick-vs-tim-tebow-a-tale-of-two-christianities-on-its-knees/

    Colin Kaepernick vs. Tim Tebow: A tale of two Christians on their knees

    By Michael Frost

    September 26, 2017

    They’re both Christian football players, and they’re both known for kneeling on the field, although for very different reasons.

    One grew up the son of Baptist missionaries to the Philippines. The other was baptized Methodist, confirmed Lutheran, and attended a Baptist church during college.

    Both have made a public display of their faith. Both are prayerful and devout.

    This is the tale of two Christian sports personalities, one of whom is the darling of the American church while the other is reviled. And their differences reveal much about the brand of Christianity preferred by many in the church today…see link….

    #75154
    Avatar photoZooey
    Moderator

    I just came across this one last night. This is exactly what I’ve been thinking, but this is the first time I’ve heard anybody say it.

    http://www.foxsports.com/watch/undisputed/video/1054207043815

    #75157
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Personally, I think being more concerned about rituals and symbols than people is deeply alarming. These players have received death threats for daring to speak out about systemic racism and police brutality.

    The other side can’t point to anything of importance, IMO. Nothing. At least not relative to the oppression of human beings.

    And you can’t “disrespect” a piece of cloth, an inanimate object, an abstract symbol of another abstraction (nations). It’s logically impossible. You can “disrespect” human beings, but not things.

    I honestly can’t see how or why anyone could let an emotional attachment to a thing override a sense of compassion and empathy toward fellow humans. It makes no sense to me whatsoever.

    Symbols versus humans. What really matters?

    Beyond all of that, none of the players are talking about the anthem itself, and that puzzles me too. I think they have a legit gripe about it being played at all, especially because of its third stanza, championing slavery, and its author, Francis Scott Key, being a slave-owner and someone who later defended slave-holders, in court, seeking to recapture escaped, former slaves.

    It’s time we jettison all the political, pregame pomp and ceremony and just play the game.

    #75160
    Avatar photowv
    Participant

    I just came across this one last night. This is exactly what I’ve been thinking, but this is the first time I’ve heard anybody say it.

    http://www.foxsports.com/watch/undisputed/video/1054207043815

    ==============

    Wow. Good stuff. I will never think of Shannon quite the same way again. Impressive.

    w
    v

    #75161
    Avatar photojoemad
    Participant

    I just came across this one last night. This is exactly what I’ve been thinking, but this is the first time I’ve heard anybody say it.

    http://www.foxsports.com/watch/undisputed/video/1054207043815

    ==============

    Wow. Good stuff. I will never think of Shannon quite the same way again. Impressive.

    w
    v

    Impressive indeed… Shannon is Sharp… pun intended.

    #75164
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    I just came across this one last night. This is exactly what I’ve been thinking, but this is the first time I’ve heard anybody say it.

    http://www.foxsports.com/watch/undisputed/video/1054207043815

    Yeah that’s an impressive one. He dropped being an opinionated sports talking head /slash/ clown and put on an entirely different face. He could run for office with that face on.

    #75166
    Herzog
    Participant

    Yeah, that was impressive.

    #75177
    Avatar photowv
    Participant

    Yeah, that was impressive.

    ===============

    There may be some subtle or not-so-subtle consequences in store of Shannon.

    The powers-that-be dont like that kinda talk.

    w
    v

    #75179
    Avatar photoInvaderRam
    Moderator

    that was good stuff. it wasn’t about injustice. it was about a bully trying to bully a bully.

    #75186
    Avatar photoZooey
    Moderator

    Well, I liked how he called out people for their motives, and (imo) nailed that.

    I mean…where were these guys over the past 14 months? When it was difficult to make a stand?

    Trump’s comments just opened the door for everyone to take a stand. Against Trump’s idiocy.

    Rather than against police brutality and rampant injustice. That’s part of it, sure, but Trump just made it Not Dangerous to take the stand. And you just see who’s who.

    And the owners – who actually gave Trump money, and could not care less about Ferguson, or Freddie Gray et. al – get to look all solid with their employees.

    Anyway. On a side note, I love watching people burn their $120 jerseys and season tickets. As if anyone knows or cares.

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