Colin Kaepernick protests the Anthem

[KLB]

I cut way back on watching NFL games last year, this year I have 0 interest in it. We all need to not watch games or buy Colts tickets. I hate to punish the Colts, but we (the true fan base) need to get the attention of the NFL.

If people are not filling up stadiums, the owners will take notice.

Trump is absolutely right, if the owners don't fire players for taking a knee, then leave the stadium.

You guys stop supporting the Colts and they will just move somewhere else that will fall all over themselves to have a NFL team.

 

[223 Gunner]

Trump may be right (debatable), but it isn't in his job description to weigh in on the rights of the people, and to tell them which rights are or are not appropriate to express, nor when to express them.... Not when he is acting in the role of president. If he's speaking from his home, as a private citizen, and gives his opinion, that's one thing, but if he's speaking from a podium that has the seal of the presidency on it, he's exceeding the scope of his office.

This is true. There were plenty of times Obama expressed his opinion while using the Presidential seal. Such as "Travon Martin could have been my son"
No President is perfect of course, and yes Trump does make inflammatory comments on a regular basis, if one chooses to be "inflamed" or offended. But for me and a LOT of people like me, I was never represented by Obama for 8 years. In fact middle class/middles aged white men are still demonized. I think it spoke volumes when Trump won, and the left were scratching their heads, wondering "how could this have happened"? We tried our best everyday to demonize Trump. Yet we all saw through it, those of us that can read the liberal media.
It's all my fault of course, because I am white.
And yes I will vote for Trump again, should he run after this term.

 

[223 Gunner]

Imagine if the TV cameras had not been focused on him kneeling every game and if the "reporters" hadn't wasted air asking him about it incessantly.

Exactly, part of the liberal media to demonize our heritage.

 

[BugI02]

You guys stop supporting the Colts and they will just move somewhere else that will fall all over themselves to have a NFL team.

You say that as if supporting the Colts would somehow keep them from abandoning Indy in a heartbeat if they could get a better deal elsewhere

 

[Kutnupe14]

This is true. There were plenty of times Obama expressed his opinion while using the Presidential seal. Such as "Travon Martin could have been my son"
No President is perfect of course, and yes Trump does make inflammatory comments on a regular basis, if one chooses to be "inflamed" or offended. But for me and a LOT of people like me, I was never represented by Obama for 8 years. In fact middle class/middles aged white men are still demonized. I think it spoke volumes when Trump won, and the left were scratching their heads, wondering "how could this have happened"? We tried our best everyday to demonize Trump. Yet we all saw through it, those of us that can read the liberal media.
It's all my fault of course, because I am white.
And yes I will vote for Trump again, should he run after this term.

Is there really a racial component to your expectations of the presidency? It appears, at least in how you wrote your post, that identity politics (i.e. your view of your whiteness), played a large role in why you chose to support Trump. You say "you, (sic)" and people like you, "middle class white men" felt as if Obama didn't represent you, and were demonized by him during his time in office. How so?
I can respect your complaint, and commend you for being so candid.

 

[jamil]

Oh I agree. ESPN should have stayed politically neutral. The sports teams are private business and should tell their employees to stay out of these political debates, especially on the field. From a marketing standpoint, they should be more cognizant of their audience.

Huh? ESPN? Never heard of it. Sounds like a venereal disease.

 

[Kutnupe14]

NFL Sunday kicks off amid beef between players, Trump - CNN

At least dozen Jacksonville Jaguars took a knee, and the owner came onto the sidelines, and locked arms with standing players.
a ton of Ravens kneeled in London.

This is going to spin out of control, because the president can't keep his mouth shut.

 

[Kutnupe14]

You guys stop supporting the Colts and they will just move somewhere else that will fall all over themselves to have a NFL team.

Yeah, the NFL will outlast Trump, and there will ALWAYS be markets wanting a team.

 

[actaeon277]

I thought it was spinning before he opened his mouth.

 

[bmbutch]

I used to love Football, & while it's their right to protest, it's my right to be done with NFL. I'm sure they won't know, nor care, & that's ok.

 

[Kutnupe14]

I thought it was spinning before he opened his mouth.

It was manageable when it was just Kaepernick. If people had of ignored him, let people rant for a while, he would've faded away into obscurity. Anytime you give attention to only grows.

 

[Kutnupe14]

I used to love Football, & while it's their right to protest, it's my right to be done with NFL. I'm sure they won't know, nor care, & that's ok.

Agreed. Vote with your dollars.

 

[jamil]

I can appreciate (and agree with) the fact that you acknowledge the freedom for the players to have a choice, as long as they accept the backlash. Now, I do strongly disagree with your notion that they are somehow unable to recognize and point out perceived injustices because they make a "King's Ransom." In 1950 Jackie Robinson became the highest paid player on the Dodgers. Do you think that because he made a mint playing a kids game that he was above the injustices of his time; and that he should not care?

Yeah, but we're talking about today, not prior to the civil rights victories. Kaepernick isn't being oppressed, and he admitted that. He claims this protest is for those who are oppressed. And I'll take his word for that. My problem with it is that by protesting the national anthem, a symbol of America, he's protesting what is collectively "America", as a monolith. It's like saying America--ALL OF IT--is oppressive.

He is every bit as wrong to do that as whites are to stereotype Blacks. If he wants to protest what is the true condition racism, I'll stand there with him. But He can sit on his virtue-signaling, hypocritical ass, alone with his own ideological tribe, if he's going to throw the whole thing under the bus. **** him and his tribe. He's proving himself a bigot.

Of course that's a separate issue from the president taking sides.

 

[jamil]

You guys stop supporting the Colts and they will just move somewhere else that will fall all over themselves to have a NFL team.

Colts vs Browns today. Meh, I have yard work to do.

 

[Birds Away]

Yes, I've lost interest. I fully support the players' right to peacefully protest. I also support the owners' rights to, if they choose, discipline employees whose actions are, in their minds, contrary to the company's best interests. Truthfully I hope this somehow opens a wider discussion about the issue in question. But in order to get to the root of some of these issues people are going to have to be willing to hear things they might not like to hear. But if that doesn't happen this will be all for nothing.

 

[Kutnupe14]

Yeah, but we're talking about today, not prior to the civil rights victories. Kaepernick isn't being oppressed, and he admitted that. He claims this protest is for those who are oppressed. And I'll take his word for that. My problem with it is that by protesting the national anthem, a symbol of America, he's protesting what is collectively "America", as a monolith. It's like saying America--ALL OF IT--is oppressive.

He is every bit as wrong to do that as whites are to stereotype Blacks. If he wants to protest what is the true condition racism, I'll stand there with him. But He can sit on his virtue-signaling, hypocritical ass, alone with his own ideological tribe, if he's going to throw the whole thing under the bus. **** him and his tribe. He's proving himself a bigot.

Of course that's a separate issue from the president taking sides.

That wasn't the crux of the argument. It focused on the fact that Kap was extremely well-paid, and had the benefits of wealth, and how that should preclude his ability to protest oppression. I pointed out that is a faulty premise.

 

[jamil]

Steelers staying in the locker-room for the national anthem. **** them.

And, good Job Mr. President. Way to unite people you stupid **********. I wish I weren't being forced by circumstances to vote for such a socially retarded dip****. But the Democrat tribe isn't likely to field a saner candidate. What a ****ed up world. Jeeze I think I hate Obama. I blame him and his tribe for encouraging the right to become so insane.

 

[actaeon277]

Yeah, but we're talking about today, not prior to the civil rights victories. Kaepernick isn't being oppressed, and he admitted that. He claims this protest is for those who are oppressed. And I'll take his word for that. My problem with it is that by protesting the national anthem, a symbol of America, he's protesting what is collectively "America", as a monolith. It's like saying America--ALL OF IT--is oppressive.

He is every bit as wrong to do that as whites are to stereotype Blacks. If he wants to protest what is the true condition racism, I'll stand there with him. But He can sit on his virtue-signaling, hypocritical ass, alone with his own ideological tribe, if he's going to throw the whole thing under the bus. **** him and his tribe. He's proving himself a bigot.

Of course that's a separate issue from the president taking sides.

 

[jamil]

That wasn't the crux of the argument. It focused on the fact that Kap was extremely well-paid, and had the benefits of wealth, and how that should preclude his ability to protest oppression. I pointed out that is a faulty premise.

Right. I acknowledge that. And I'm saying that shouldn't be the argument against Kaepernick. The argument against him and his ilk is that this isn't the 1950s. We don't have systemic racism, systemic oppression of black people, which is what Kaepernick says he's protesting. We're talking about today, not prior to the civil rights victories. And we're talking about him condemning America, and as such, a monolith. He's calling me and you systemically racist, although it's obvious he's conveniently excluding you from "this racist America" because you're systemically incapable of racism.

 

[Kutnupe14]

Right. I acknowledge that. And I'm saying that shouldn't be the argument against Kaepernick. The argument against him and his ilk is that this isn't the 1950s. We don't have systemic racism, systemic oppression of black people, which is what Kaepernick says he's protesting. We're talking about today, not prior to the civil rights victories. And we're talking about him condemning America, and as such, a monolith. He's calling me and you systemically racist, although it's obvious he's conveniently excluding you from "this racist America" because you're systemically incapable of racism.

That's not true at all.