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Thread: Saw this online: The NFL should drop the National Anthem..

  1. #1
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    Saw this online: The NFL should drop the National Anthem..

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...YxX?li=BBnba9I

    NFL Should Drop National Anthem, Embrace Change
    Rob Parker 7 hrs ago

    The NFL says it is sorry.

    The same league that pushed back and punished Colin Kaepernick for his peaceful protest against police brutality and social injustice now wants to join in and help the same cause.

    Incredible.

    Hard to believe how much has changed since 2016 when this struggle first started.

    If the NFL is serious and really wants to do its part to allow its players to help force change for black and brown people in an unjust society, it should lead with action and not just words.

    First order of business, eliminate the playing of the national anthem before each game.

    Don’t say wow! Or no way, no how.

    It would be symbolic. Best of all, it would serve two purposes.

    It would show that long-standing traditions can end, and it’s not the end of the world. Better yet, it would show the rest of America that the NFL, an iconic part of this country’s history, was embracing change.

    And that, brace yourself, the good-ole boys finally get it.

    If the NFL could make such a drastic change in ideals and principles, how couldn’t others follow its lead?

    And for the players, it would also ease the pressure on them coming into this season. They can just be themselves and do what they want without worrying about other people’s reactions.

    When Washington RB Adrian Peterson was asked if he will kneel during the national anthem this season, he said, “Without a doubt.”

    Peterson won’t be alone.

    Just look at the people in the streets all over America — from the biggest cities to the smallest towns. This is a movement that isn’t going anywhere.

    Let’s be honest. It won’t be a question about if players will kneel this coming season. The question will be who won’t. Those who don’t will be looked at as not being with the movement and against change.

    The flag narrative is no longer a viable option as resistance. Just ask Saints’ QB Drew Brees. He went from standing up for the flag and his grandfathers’ service in the military to walking it back in just 24 hours as many came after him with the heat.

    By making this change, the NFL will be getting ahead of this instead of reacting to it. Make it so it won’t be an issue for fans or the players.

    And prior to 2009, many players stayed in the locker room and weren’t required to come out onto the field for the national anthem.

    But then the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Guard began paying NFL teams millions of dollars for displays of patriotism before each game, and giant U.S. flags that stretched across the field and military flyovers became the norm.

    Yes, patriotism for a price. In 2015, in a statement released by Sen. John McCain and Sen. John Flake, the Department of Defense gave teams $6.8 million in taxpayer money to honor the military at games and events the previous four years.

    Shameful.

    But it wouldn’t be the case if we just skipped the anthem altogether. Honestly, when you think about it, it’s really not that radical.

    Most Americans don’t stand for the national anthem before they start work every day. You would be hard-pressed to find any. The anthem doesn’t play at the theater, so why sporting events? And covering games for the last 34 years, I’ve endured my share of renditions.

    Either way, it doesn’t make a person any less of an American citizen.

    The Pledge of Allegiance used to be a staple in American schools. It’s hardly used anymore.

    Sometimes, the patriotism narrative often feels like it’s draped in racism. Minorities — people of color and different ethic backgrounds — make up 40 percent of the military. And that’s an amazing number when you think most of those people often don’t get the same benefits in life as their white counterparts.

    Being patriotic isn’t exclusive to being white.

    And if the NFL wants to keep its 70 percent white fanbase happy and its 70 percent black workforce even happier, just take the anthem off the table for now. It will eliminate a potential huge headache on the horizon.

    When we reach the time when, indeed, that national anthem does reflect the life for all people in this country, the NFL can add it back. And you can bet, there wouldn’t be a resistance — not even from Kaepernick.
    Gee, I hope this was a piece of satire, as I would hate to think that he wrote this solely to get hateful emails from people across the country...

    And there IS a poll at the end of the linked story, asking if the reader agrees with ending the Anthem being played at games...
    Last edited by gnatsum; June 8th, 2020 at 3:16 PM.
    "Argument is an intellectual process. Contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of anything the other person says." 'Argument Clinic', Monty Python's Flying Circus

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    I really wonder just how many people are going to head back to the live sports after 3 months of no. I watched some of the race yesterday as well as the charity golf matches. Well I recorded the matches wo i could blow through the commercials. I am not all that wound up about getting to the Rangers new ball park, or even Cowboy Stadium. I have found other things to do...
    "The difference between golf and government is that in golf you cant improve your lie"
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  4. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by gnatsum View Post
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    https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...YxX?li=BBnba9I



    Gee, I hope this was a piece of satire, as I would hate to think that he wrote this solely to get hateful emails from people across the country...

    And there IS a poll at the end of the linked story, asking if the reader agrees with ending the Anthem being played at games...
    This does not matter to me in the least. I have never bought, now will I ever buy, a ticket to an NFL game and for the past two seasons I have not watched an NFL game.
    "A boy cannot become a girl and a man cannot become a woman, not even if he shuts his eyes and wishes really hard."



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    This is a perfect example of incrementalism. The left got mad when Americans who love this country, didn't like when the racist, Kapernick knelt in order to disrespect the flag, so they decided to burn cities and kill police as a protest, and now they expect us to accept kneeling as a protest.

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    But they always said the kneeling protest was NOT about the flag.
    Yet they got their panties in a twist when Drew Brees said that he didn't like people disrespecting the flag

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    Quote Originally Posted by kantwin View Post
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    But they always said the kneeling protest was NOT about the flag.
    Yet they got their panties in a twist when Drew Brees said that he didn't like people disrespecting the flag
    And then Drew Brees bowed down to pressure and apologized profusely for offending all the black folk. Amazing how weak minded people are these days.

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    Meanwhile, D/FW-based Conservative radio show host Mark Davis has HIS panties in a wad over Brees' apology!! In Davis' mind, Brees had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to apologize for, therefore his apology was...utterly useless and shows that Brees has NO backbone? So now Brees is on Davis' list of "Celebrities To Ignore From Now On", or some other class.

    Might go later and look to see if Davis has a website, and if the site has the text of his outrage on it. Maybe even paste it here...
    "Argument is an intellectual process. Contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of anything the other person says." 'Argument Clinic', Monty Python's Flying Circus

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    Quote Originally Posted by ExKilleencitizen View Post
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    And then Drew Brees bowed down to pressure and apologized profusely for offending all the black folk. Amazing how weak minded people are these days.
    If the NFL players kneeling wasn't about the flag, why did they get offended by what Brees said?

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    Quote Originally Posted by kantwin View Post
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    If the NFL players kneeling wasn't about the flag, why did they get offended by what Brees said?
    It wasn't about the flag... It was about their agenda. Hate everything America.
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    Found Mark Davis' website, which has a link to his FaceBook page, which has a link to the website he posted his 'anti-Brees apology' rant on:
    https://townhall.com/columnists/mark...WJUueAFRCrs_ME

    For those who don't do links, here's a copy of the transcript:
    Wednesday was an opportunity for all of us who have admired Drew Brees to be reminded of his strength of character, that he is not just an all-time great quarterback but a stellar human being, guided by strong principles.

    Thursday, those principles went out the window.

    Let?s move chronologically. He was asked in an interview about the possibility of the return of sideline national anthem protests in the 2020 NFL season, in view of heightened sensitivities following the death of George Floyd. I offer his answer in its entirety:

    ?I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me just tell you what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played or when I look at the flag of the United States: I envision my two grandfathers who fought for this country during World War II, one in the army and one of the Marine Corps, both risking their lives to protect our country, and to try to make our country and this world a better place."

    ?So every time I stand with my hand over my heart looking at that flag and singing the national anthem that?s what I think about. In many cases it brings me to tears, thinking about not just those in the military but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the Sixties and everyone, and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point.

    ?And is everything right with our country right now? No, it?s not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect for the flag with your hand over your heart is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together. We can all do better. And that we are all part of the solution.?

    Right there, in just over a sixty-second answer, is everything millions have ever loved about Drew Brees?his talent for standing up for his beliefs while making clear his broad respect for differing views. That answer is a master class in why anthem protests repel countless Americans, including many who would otherwise gladly engage in a conversation about policing or anything else. It was exactly the kind of moral leadership that has made Brees the kind of man any parent can point to and tell a child, ?That?s how you do it. On and off the field.?

    Then, on Thursday, that vanished, evaporated by Brees? own Instagram post, loaded with enough woke garbage to submerge a continent. I offer it in its entirety:

    "I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates, the City of New Orleans, the black community, NFL community and anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday. In speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused."

    "In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, and solidarity centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country. They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. Instead, those words have become divisive and hurtful and have misled people into believing that somehow I am an enemy. This could not be further from the truth and is not an accurate reflection of my heart or my character."


    "This is where I stand: I stand with the black community in the fight against systemic racial injustice and police brutality and support the creation of real policy change that will make a difference."

    "I condemn the years of oppression that have taken place throughout our black communities and still exists today."

    "I acknowledge that we as Americans, including myself, have not done enough to fight for that equality or to truly understand the struggles and plight of the black community."

    "I recognize that I am part of the solution and can be a leader for the black community in this movement."

    "I will never know what it?s like to be a black man or raise black children in America, but I will work every day to put myself in those shoes and fight for what is right."

    "I have ALWAYS been an ally, never an enemy."

    "I am sick about the way my comments were perceived yesterday, but I take full responsibility and accountability. I recognize that I should do less talking and more listening ... and when the black community is talking about their pain, we all need to listen."


    "For that, I am very sorry and I ask your forgiveness.?

    This is a collapse for the ages, a surrender of such sweeping scope that one wonders if Brees can ever be counted on again to stand firm in challenging times.

    In unpacking that truckload of capitulation, it should first be said that there is much to admire in the ?where I stand? pronouncements: a recognition of injustice, a commitment to work toward solutions, and an overall empathy for the oppressed. But that is where the painful discouragement sets in while reading his burdensome confession: is there a human being on Earth who doubted the devotion of Drew Brees to those concepts?

    Go back and read his inspiring comments on Tuesday. Is there a word in that answer that suggests an impure heart, a mind insufficiently awakened, a spirit in need of enlightenment?

    There is not. His words of Tuesday were a magnificent statement that revealed openness to solve our nation?s problems, wrapped in an insistence that the nation should not be denigrated in the process.


    It should surprise no one that radical race-baiters would attack him mercilessly for failing to dance the precise steps they demand. The surprise?the dispiriting shock?is that he caved to that malicious pressure.

    What broke Drew Brees? Did the national George Floyd tensions erode his clarity, leading him unwisely to the notion that a community in pain deserves his acquiescence? Did the cesspool of social media fool him into thinking he had indeed wounded most of his admirers instead of inspiring them?

    It doesn?t matter. What matters is that Drew Brees, a man with exactly the talent to skillfully answer malevolent assault, instead folded like the proverbial cheap suit. Since the Drew Brees I knew is in some type of moral coma, I will supply the Instagram message he should have posted. First, keep the image of black and white hands clasped in friendship, that?s good. But then:

    "I understand that my comments of yesterday have sparked some negative reaction, so I want to make clear what I stand for.

    "Nothing in my devotion to respecting the flag means that I lack empathy for the cause that has emerged from the death of George Floyd. I would hope that everything I have done on and off the field, among my teammates and my community, shows you my heart when it comes to helping make a better New Orleans and a better America."

    "My deep belief is that when difficult issues arise, we do best as a country when we start from the basics of a shared love for the nation that gives us the freedom to speak out in agreement or disagreement. Americans of every race and every ideology have revered, sometimes worn, sometimes died wearing the flag of the United States. My feelings about the anthem stem from that undeniable truth."

    "My feelings on various issues and controversies are things I am glad to share openly and respectfully with all people. In the current moment of the painful aftermath of George Floyd?s death and the quest for justice and reform, I stand with those who are shocked by what happened in Minneapolis and committed to fighting for the policy changes necessary to bolster trust between police and the communities they serve."

    "Nothing will shake me from my devotion to these principles. Everyone working constructively for a better society will find an ally in me. But nothing will ever shake me from my love of my country, and the standards I have for how our nation?s traditions should be honored."

    "Anyone who has ever known me is aware that those are not incompatible. I hope we can always work together in an atmosphere of mutual goodwill, starting with the values we share as we strive to solve any problem.


    There. Was that so hard?

    Apparently it is when under bombardment by the mob. What makes the Drew Brees crumble so unfortunate is that it comes at a time when clarity is most necessary. When emotions are understandably high, giving in to the loudest extremists is a recipe for disaster. America has been turned into an attitudinal dystopia where the expansive declaration that ?All lives matter? can get you branded as a racist. This is what happens when the bullies win, and Drew Brees has just handed them a fat victory.

    There is no coming back from this in the near term. I do not expect Brees to delete his pandering post and replace it with his version of what I have supplied. He has made this bed and must lie in it.

    Does it mean we forget his heroism in the period following Katrina or countless other moments when his kindness and generosity have indicated not just a very special athlete but a singularly admirable citizen? Of course not. But it is because of those attributes that this egregious failure hurts to watch. It is a stunning deviation from the Drew Brees millions thought they knew.

    There will surely be tense moments in America?s future. Brees is 41 and surely approaches the end of his magnificent career. His is the kind of life story that suggests his post-NFL life will involve additional public pursuits, which is a potential blessing to anyone fortunate to benefit from his deep talents.

    Let us hope that a stumble like this never happens again.
    Last edited by gnatsum; June 9th, 2020 at 3:40 PM.
    "Argument is an intellectual process. Contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of anything the other person says." 'Argument Clinic', Monty Python's Flying Circus

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