Chicago Bears stood united during Sunday's national anthem | Daily Herald photo
By Sam Pierce -
That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of the outrageous fortune paid to professional athletes or to take knees against a puddle of criminals dying in confrontations with local police and by opposing them… as long as the criminals have darkly pigmented skin for when the criminals are Saltine Americans, it is not liberal chic to notice.
Is it noble to use the platform afforded the extremely physically gifted in order to make political statements? Is it a sign of outrageous educational failings to protest the flag of a nation as racist because within that nation a few criminals (of the correct pigmentation to spur protest in the liberal cranial vacuum) died in conflict with LOCAL law enforcement? Is it sensible to make political statements that risk alienating at least half of those that fund the victim athlete's large contract? Is it wise for an employer to allow such potentially damaging behavior?
I suppose there is some warped nobility if these kneelers are true believers in the injustice they proclaim. If they really believe the United States, having just endured eight hellish years of President Barack Hussein Obama, is racist… and not just racist, but so racist that it has laws that force local police departments to target black people for extermination, they are less than shining examples of the product of liberal education. The ironic thing is that the type of liberal lump of lunatic ideals that would engage in these BLM knee parties most likely support taxpayer funding of the organization Margaret Sanger envisioned with the goal of exterminating black people. That would be Planned Parenthood for those of you who appreciate the likes of the gainfully unemployed Colin Kaepernick and the running-from-the-police-in-hopes-of-pushing-my-agenda-and-becoming-its-face, Michael Bennett.
From a rights perspective, these racist morons have a right to kneel during the national anthem. I believe there are nations in which one is compelled to show reverence to the flag. That notion does not seem like it would align with an even remotely free nation. (I would recommend the "love it or leave it" crowd think about what they are actually implying.) To claim they have a right to disrespect the flag is not to claim support of their doing so, it is simply to state that we are a free people.
Kneeling during the anthem falls, I believe, under the umbrella of free speech. Due to decades of misinformation and liberal agendas polluting American education, there are many misconceptions held regarding free speech. If we take umbrage with these wealthy, whiny, weenies exercising their free speech during the national anthem before the sporting events we pay to see, we are accused of denying them the freedom of speech. First, freedom of speech neither guarantees an audience for that speech, nor an absence of repercussions. Or, is the the contention of the superior, liberally educated mind that only liberal P.C. speech is considered free? The second issue with freedom of speech is that they are not kneeling for the anthem being played in the public square during non-working hours. They are doing it on the clock (figuratively). At that point, the employer has some discretion as to limiting activities that could damage their brand or business.
It turns out that the NFL, its commissioner, Roger Goodell, and several team owners have decided that they support the protests on the company dime. From NBC Sports:
NFL teams have issued a variety of statements over the last couple of days in response to comments from President Donald Trump and some of them have opted to throw their support behind the statement released by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Saturday.
Goodell called the President’s comments “divisive” and said they show a “lack of respect” for the league and players. The owners of the Titans, Chargers and Steelers all cited Goodell’s statement when addressing the issue.
A business decision has been made. The NFL and those owners have decided that they are willing to risk offending at least half of their fan base, assuming that half or more don't think this nation is such a racist monstrosity that the flag represents some mandate for local police departments to kill black people. My assumption would be that the majority of football fans aren't the far left liberal feminine hygiene cleanser containers that hang on the words of Al Sharpton or Keith Olbermann.
Can one assume that the companies that have deep advertising ties to the NFL share its view of the nation? Yahoo Finance would like to paint the picture of the NFL vs. Donald Trump:
When there is an NFL scandal — whether it’s a horrifying report about 110 out of 111 deceased players’ brains testing positive for CTE; or a domestic violence case ruling not going the league’s way; or a growing number of players protesting the anthem, potentially offending many fans — all that matters to the business of the league is whether sponsors walk away. And they never walk away. (Even when TV ratings dip, it is for the most part a financial risk to the cable networks that show games, not to the league unless ratings get so bad that advertisers flee.)
Who are the “official sponsors” of the NFL at the league level? Big brands including Anheuser-Busch InBev, Barclays, Bose, Bridgestone, Campbell’s, FedEx, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Nationwide, Nike, PepsiCo, Ticketmaster, Under Armour, and Visa.
Will these brands take a side in this latest battle of words: President Trump vs the NFL?
It isn't surprising that the yahoos at Yahoo would hope they could do damage control for the liberals running the NFL and just make it about Trump, but what about the fans? The fans buy the tickets, the merchandise, and one would assume, purchase products and services from the companies who choose to sponsor the NFL. Trump has a lot of money, but I really doubt he is the one who can dent the bank accounts of the entities who are making this conscious business decision.
Here is to free markets and the hope that the impact of the NFLs business decision to portray the United States as a racist nation (that so many, in such a grand paradox, flock to both legally and illegally) is felt by those who #taketheknee, those who decided that the knee represents the stance of the NFL, and those who continue to sponsor those make such outrageous claims about the nation as a whole.
