5 Stupid Arguments in Favor of the NFL Protests of the National Anthem

[Teh One Who Knocks]

by Joel B. Pollak - Breitbart


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President Donald Trump called out former 49ers quarterback Colin Kapernick and other NFL players on Friday for protesting the national anthem, expressing what millions of football fans have already registered by tuning out.

But NFL officialdom, Hollywood, the mainstream media, and left-wingers in all quarters have distorted what he said, to the point where entire teams felt obligated to protest — something.

Here are five bad arguments driving the hysteria.

1. Trump attacked freedom of speech. The First Amendment does not generally extend into a private workplace, any more than it gives me the right to come into your house and hector you with my opinions. No one has ever told Colin Kapernick or anyone else not to march in protest, attend a demonstration, or hold a sign on a sidewalk. What fans object to is that he is protesting on the clock. He has no right to do that, and Trump is correct that NFL owners — if they had any spine — ought to tell the protesting players to get lost. If you doubt that, try a thought experiment: what would happen to a player who wore a Nazi armband to opening lineups? What about his freedom of speech?

2. Trump launched a racist attack. This is the fashionable argument among the intellectually lazy and perpetually aggrieved. But there is nothing racist about objecting to the sort of behavior that is so radical that it is almost never done. Proof: the same NFL players who knelt for The Star-Spangled Banner at Sunday’s game in London stood for God Save the Queen, the anthem under which the British conducted the slave trade, along with colonialism and various other awful endeavors. The resort to claims of racism is the surest sign that Trump’s critics are clueless.

3. Trump used coarse language. Have you ever played, or even watched, any team sport? Also, what else is new?

4. Trump has more important things to worry about. Undoubtedly true — but then ask where the outrage was when President Barack Obama filled out his NCAA brackets on TV each year — or, for that matter, when he discussed the merits of Pitbull on live radio with a DJ called “Pimp with a Limp.” Unless you’re a Trump supporter worried that he is using the NFL dust-up to cover for his vacillation on DACA, this is not a valid complaint.

5. The protesters are the true patriots. Ask Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Alejandro Villanueva, a U.S. Army veteran of three tours in Afghanistan, about how he found the courage to stand up to his entire locker room and walk out, hand over heart, for the national anthem at Soldier Field in Chicago. His team lost — deservedly so — but he will be remembered as the real winner of this day — not just for his stand on the field, but for his courage off it.

[RBP]

The teams are definitely using this bullshit constitutional argument to provide themselves cover from backlash. The same thing with the Oakland A's. Horseshit.


Soon after Maxwell knelt on Saturday night, the A's also released a statement of support, saying "The Oakland A's pride ourselves on being inclusive. We respect and support all of our players' constitutional rights and freedom of expression."

[Goofy]

Hats off to Alejandro Villanueva :clap:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Greg Norman - FOX News


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For Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, being “respectful of our football team” trumped the right of Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva to show respect for the national anthem.

A former Army Ranger, Villanueva was the only Steeler to break from the team's orders and come out of the tunnel Sunday in Chicago to stand for "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Speaking after his team's 23-17 loss to the Bears, Tomlin appeared to take a swipe at the Bronze Star recipient's decision.

“Like I said, I was looking for 100 percent participation, we were gonna be respectful of our football team,” Tomlin said.

Tomlin told the media prior to kickoff Sunday that the Steelers held a team meeting and decided to not come out of the locker room for the national anthem. Tomlin added the intent was to have his team focus on the game and not President Trump’s comments blasting players who chose to protest during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

“Many of them felt like something needed to be done. I asked those guys to discuss it and whatever they discussed that we have 100 percent participation or we do nothing,” Tomlin said after the game. “They discussed it for an appropriate length of time and they couldn’t come to an understanding, so they chose to remove themselves from it. They were not going to be disrespectful in the anthem so they chose not to participate, but at the same time many of them were not going to accept the words of the president.”

Villanueva, who served three tours in Afghanistan, decided to stand his ground instead and placed his hand over his heart while the anthem played.

“We’re not politicians. We’re coaches and professional athletes," Tomlin said Sunday. "If those of us or individuals choose to participate in politics in some way I’m going to be supportive of that. But when we come out of locker rooms, we come out of locker rooms to play football games."

There appeared to be some confusion in the Steelers locker room after Villaneuva came out of the tunnel for the anthem.

Offensive tackle Chris Hubbard told Penn Live that the players, by a slim majority, voted in favor of staying off the field instead of standing on the sideline holding hands.

"We thought we were all in attention with the same agreement, obviously," linebacker James Harrison told the website. "But, I guess we weren't."

However, Hubbard said everyone in the locker room accepted that Villanueva would be exempt from the team's decision.

"Al was cool with it, with whatever we went through. He was on board. That's Al, man," Hubbard said. "He's a good guy."

Villanueva has previously spoken out about former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem, saying his actions may “send the wrong message.”

“I don’t know if the most effective way is to sit down during the national anthem with a country that’s providing you freedom, providing you $16 million a year...when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for less than $20,000 a year," Villanueva told ESPN in 2016.

He added: “I will be the first one to hold hands with Colin Kaepernick and do something about the way minorities are being treated in the United States, the injustice that is happening with police brutality, the justice system, inequalities in pay. You can’t do it by looking away from the people that are trying to protect our freedom and our country.”

Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe also told the sports broadcaster that he would be standing during the national anthem Sunday because he wanted to be "paying tribute to the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom.

"I stand because I respect the men who died in real battle so I have the freedom to battle on the field... but everyone these days likes to find a reason to protest and that’s their right," Wolfe told ESPN, according to The Washington Post.

[RBP]

I don't understand why this is so hard. Protest all you want off the field, we'll support you and even fund your causes. But while you're at work, you're at work. Period.

[RBP]

Ohhhh... now it's about their mothers, because he said son of a bitch. I told you they had no idea what they were protesting.

Don't talk about mom: NFL players angry over Trump's insult: https://apnews.com/e26b0c8327ee4e00931f6fe96def97a0

[Teh One Who Knocks]

:|

[Pony]

At least Trump didn't talk about their Dads.

[DemonGeminiX]

At least Trump didn't talk about their Dads.

Many of them don't know their Dads so they probably wouldn't be offended if he did.

[RBP]

Many of them don't know their Dads so they probably wouldn't be offended if he did.Savage. :lol:

[Muddy]

So over this.. My opinion? Find a different way to protest.. Don't be disrespecting the anthem of the country that gave you the right to do this stupid shit. Make some real change, dont divide the people further.. How is this helping your cause? It's the terrorists mentality..

[Hugh_Janus]

they stood for the british anthem in wembley.... they showed enough respect for me

[DemonGeminiX]

they stood for the british anthem in wembley.... they showed enough respect for me

The NFL's trying to expand their brand in your country. There's money to be made across the pond. If the players did anything to hurt those chances, there would be massive hell to pay, and I'm sure the NFL let the players know that.

[Muddy]

They need to expand over there cause they sure are shrinking here.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Allison Sylte, KUSA


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KUSA - A local car dealer has asked 9NEWS and KOAA-TV in Colorado Springs to stop airing their ads featuring Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller.

While they did not offer 9NEWS' sales department a reason for pulling the ads, Phil Long Dealerships told KOAA-TV that they were 'firing' Miller from his endorsement deal and he would no longer represent the company because of his decision to kneel during the National Anthem ahead of Sunday's loss against the Buffalo Bills.

Roughly half of the players on the Broncos took a knee during the anthem in response to a speech from President Donald Trump on Friday, who called the NFL players who knelt in protest of social injustice “sons of b------“ who should be “fired.”

After the game, Miller called Trump’s comments an “assault on our most cherished right, freedom of speech.”

"Collectively, we felt like we had to do something for this game, if not any other game, if not in the past, in the future,” Miller said. “At this moment in time, we felt like, as a team, we had to do something.

We couldn’t just let things go. I have a huge respect for the military, our protective services and everything. I’ve been to Afghanistan, I’ve met real-life superheroes. It wasn’t any disrespect to them, it was for our brothers that have been attacked for things that they do during the game, and I felt like I had to join them on it.''

The Denver Broncos protest was one mirrored by multiple other teams in the league, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, who locked arms during the national anthem.

The entire Pittsburgh Steelers team, with the exception of former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva, stayed in the locker room during the Star Spangled Banner.

Denver Broncos Chief Executive Officer Joe Ellis issued a statement on Saturday night supporting his players for taking a stand on social issues:


“Our players have shown a tremendous commitment to raising awareness for important societal issues by using their platform in a positive way,’’ Ellis stated. “In addition to their hard work off the field, we have great admiration for their dedication to making our team the absolute best it can be. They’ve made incredible sacrifices to reach this level, and we recognize they give their all to our team and our fans each and every day.

As an organization, we could not be more proud, appreciative and grateful for our players. We’ll continue to support them and work together to advocate for values of respect, diversity and inclusion.”

Trump tweeted Monday morning that he was “proud” of NASCAR, which took a firm stance against the protests.
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Later, he tweeted: “The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!”
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Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall lost two endorsements when he chose to take a knee during the National Anthem last year.

Both CenturyLink and the Air Academy Federal Credit Union terminated their agreements with Marshall over his protests – a loss of around $32,500.

At this point, it’s unclear how much Miller’s endorsement deal with Phil Long is worth. The linebacker signed a six-year contract worth $114.5 million with the Broncos last year.

In addition to Colorado Springs, Phil Long has dealerships in Denver, Trinidad and Raton, New Mexico.

[RBP]

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