The NFL, Kneeling, Ratings, and the Flag
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Once a Ranger, always a Ranger.
Steelers Alejandro Villanueva Stood Alone For National Anthem While His Entire Team Sat In Locker Room
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Steelers Alejandro Villanueva Stood Alone For National Anthem While His Entire Team Sat In Locker Room
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With regards to the bold, based on the media coverage over in these parts... It's not the NFL who is considered a laughing stock, it's POTUS. He's calling for people to be sacked and has been roundly told in a polite fashion, that nobody cares what he wants.
It's also hard to listen to a man wax lyrical on Twitter about patriotism when he dodged the draft... I wonder if those pesky heel spurs are still acting up?
Might I recommend embracing the healing power of "and." Acknowledging that POTUS has no business being on Twitter, given the rate at which he beclowns himself, and also acknowledging that most of those over privileged, wife beating, steroid abusing, overpaid, felonious primadonna fuckwits are throwing a temper tantrum on someone else's time are not mutually exclusive activities.
I'll believe in their dedication to The Cause when they go out and protest with the filthy, unwashed masses, and get arrested for something other than DUI, beating their wives, or shooting someone for no good reason (to include themselves in a bar, like that one asshole a couple of years ago). Otherwise, I'll continue to believe their support will only last until their salaries dry up, or there's another season-ending lockout.
To be fair to the guy that started this whole trend, Colin Kaepernick, he has arguably put a lot of his earnings on the line by continuing to protest. FiveThirtyEight did a pretty good analysis that concluded Kaepernick was not going going unsigned because, as some have argued, his performance had been declining but because of his protest activities. Yet he still continues to take his activism to the field. I think that says a lot about his dedication to the issue.
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policemedic
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Assuming he hires a decent financial manager, he won't have to work another day in his life. Is he losing future income from the National Felons League? Sure, but he's not going to starve and is set up for life better than all of us.
No sympathy.
policemedic
Verified SWAT
Exactly right.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If I owned a team, my guidance to my employees (note I didn't say players) would be clear: you will fucking stand respectfully for the anthem. I'd fire anyone who didn't the instant the last note of the anthem was played.
They represent the team and its owner when they are on the clock. The owners need to start exercising some leadership.
Sure, he's not going to be out starving in the street. But most assuredly he's out hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars. That's no small change even when you're an NFL star. Moreover, what is the threshold for when one's financial sacrifice is actually meaningful? @racing_kitty 's initial argument was that their level of protest was just superficial. What is the standard? Do they have to be facing eviction before we believe that they give a shit about their cause?
Dame
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EXACTLY what I just said yesterday to the guy sitting across from me at lunch. He thought I was nuts or a Nazi or worse.
Some other things to consider: why do we play the national anthem at sporting events? Why do we have the military there?
Australia as a nation would televise and rabidly follow any competitive endeavor, be it two flies crawling up a wall or a competition between two turtles on their back trying to get on their feet. But, the average person on the street wouldn't even be aware of the NFLs current issues, outside of the Superbowl, it's not followed that closely in our neck of the woods. Collectively we follow the NFL about as closely as you guys follow Aussie Rules.
I read the article. I came away with "he's not as mediocre as the other one-season wonders (*cough*Cam Newton*cough*)." Maybe so, and maybe this is because he's protesting. I won't discount that.
However, he's dating a smoking hot leftist media celebrity girlfriend. Leftist women don't love men unless there's something in it for them; feminism won't allow it. I'll bet she maintains his lifestyle at the level to which he's become accustomed in exchange for her being able to say "I'm fucking the Rosa Parks of the NFL." Do you think she'd be slinging leg to him if he wasn't protesting? I'll go with "no."
I don't think he's losing as much as you think he is. He's got his convictions, and good for him for sticking to it. But I'm still skeptical.
Is it fair to characterize your position as, "His opinion doesn't matter because someone else convinced him of it?"
If so, I think that's very reductive. Did his girlfriend influence his decision? Probably, but I don't think it matters that his motivations are not necessarily 100% pure. The guy put a lot on the line in order to make his protest. For a while there, he was the only guy in the league taking a knee (or sitting) and invited scorn and public ridicule from pundits nationwide. In spite of that, he continued to volunteer his time AND money to youth and advocacy organizations, even after he went unsigned.
Ultimately, it's impossible to say what influenced his decision. Was it something that had been stewing in his mind for a while? Did he never give it thought until his activist girlfriend threatened to pull a Lysistrata on him? We don't know and we can't know. It's far more productive, I say, to assume that the guy means what he says and argue about the issue on its own merits, instead of motivations.
If so, I think that's very reductive. Did his girlfriend influence his decision? Probably, but I don't think it matters that his motivations are not necessarily 100% pure. The guy put a lot on the line in order to make his protest. For a while there, he was the only guy in the league taking a knee (or sitting) and invited scorn and public ridicule from pundits nationwide. In spite of that, he continued to volunteer his time AND money to youth and advocacy organizations, even after he went unsigned.
Ultimately, it's impossible to say what influenced his decision. Was it something that had been stewing in his mind for a while? Did he never give it thought until his activist girlfriend threatened to pull a Lysistrata on him? We don't know and we can't know. It's far more productive, I say, to assume that the guy means what he says and argue about the issue on its own merits, instead of motivations.
They lost any support I might have generated for their "cause" last weekend.
NASCAR Pit Crews stand or get axed, I am happy with that.
Kraut783
SOF Support
At least one player has class....Steelers and Former Army Ranger Villaneuva. The entire team stayed in the lockers during the National Anthem, except for him.
Well done!.
Well done!.
Devildoc
Verified Military
To be fair...Newton is not an elite QB, but he is no one-season wonder. I can think of about 20 teams that would kill to have him.*
*Again to be fair, he is playing like utter dog shit right now.
Nowhere did I say his opinion didn’t matter, and you’re the one implying that a black man didn’t think up the idea for himself. I firmly believe the protest was his own idea. I ALSO firmly believe that his girlfriend wouldn’t stick around if he was just an unemployed QB. Either CK needed to land a QB slot, or he needed to remain edgy and relevant in the ever-changing flow of social justice hierarchy. She was NOT going to go all Tammy Wynette and “stand by [her] maaaaaaan,” because her love most likely comes with conditions. He’s at least smart enough to see that.
As far as the overall issue, I think you’re well aware of what I do for volunteer work in the community. We could have discussions for days, but I’ve come to the conclusion that nobody wants a peaceful solution. I’ll leave it at that. Anything else is best left to PMs or other threads.
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