The NFL made a decision yesterday. A very bad one.
True, many people, especially NFL fans, do not like the players taking a knee during the national anthem. Of course, many of these same people simply do not care about the issues that sparked this protest, and do not take the concerns of Black Lives Matter seriously, and so they do not equate the protest with the inherent unfairness of persistent racial inequalities that not only remain, but seem to be growing, particularly under President Trump.
Of course, by now, we all know President Trump's take on it. Being a lowest common denominator type himself, he uses this as a distraction and a tool of convenience, as he can and does use this as a wedge issue to further divide people. Trump tried to be even more divisive this time around, even suggesting that athletes who kneel during the national anthem "maybe shouldn't be in the country."
Wow. Think about that. The President of the United States is suggesting that those who express their views peacefully, albeit in a manner that many admittedly find disagreeable, basically should not necessarily be allowed in the country anymore.
That's one of those comments that he says, and gets away with saying, because it is not an actual policy proposal. It is the kind of opinion that will surely fire up the base, yet which cannot seriously be proposed, because...well, it's illegal. Also, he can always say that he was joking, which is his fallback position whenever he says something idiotic and controversial, and which people might take him at his word with. A recent example of that would be his statement that the United States should look into "presidents for life."
Anyway, President Trump has a great big mouth, and he has to let his opinions be known on everything, as we all know.
But the NFL does not have to give into that kind of pressure.
Yet, they did exactly that, with Commissioner Roger Goodell announcing that all players need to stand during the anthem, or teams will receive fines, with possibly other measures for persistent problems.
Indeed, this reaction is being roundly condemned by many. The glaringly obvious comparisons would be with recent issues that the NFL also mishandled, particularly with some players having beaten women and being demonstrably guilty of domestic violence, as well as the issue with concussions. The NFL seemed to sweep those things under the rug, to the extent possible. Yet, they showed a no tolerance policy on free speech, essentially.
Wow.
Of course, not everyone agrees. Christopher Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets, for one, has already stated that he would be willing to simply pay the fine.
Here is some of what Johnson had to say on the issue yesterday:
"I do not like imposing any club-specific rules," Johnson says, as reported by Newsday. "If somebody [on the Jets] takes a knee, that fine will be borne by the organization, by me, not the players."
"I never want to put restrictions on the speech of our players," Johnson continued. "Do I prefer that they stand? Of course. But I understand if they felt the need to protest. There are some big, complicated issues that we're all struggling with, and our players are on the front lines. I don't want to come down on them like a ton of bricks, and I won't. There will be no club fines or suspensions or any sort of repercussions. If the team gets fined, that’s just something I'll have to bear."
Nor is he the only sports figure critical of this measure. Golden State Warriors coach Steven Kerr spoke out quite eloquently on the issue, suggesting that this is not so much patriotism, but nationalism, and he expressed gratitude with being a part of a league in the NBA that actually does not squelch free speech by the players.
I, for one, was impressed, and so I added a video clip of Kerr's take on this issue below:
Here are the links to the articles that I used in writing this blog entry, as well as using the quotes that can be found in these particular articles:
Trump says NFL players who kneel during national anthem 'maybe shouldn't be in the country' by Adam Edelman / May.24.2018:
JETS OWNER SAYS IF ANY PLAYER ‘TAKES A KNEE’ HE’LL PAY NFL FINE By DAVID BADASHMAY 23, 2018:
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