The NFL wants to punish kneeling as a form of protest so you can celebrate Tom Brady, but overlook Josh Brown beating his wife and overlook regular Black people being brutalized by crappy cops, on the same day that video of NBA player Sterling Brown getting tased is shown… okay
I write on this site often about how this generation of kids can tell you more about American Ninja Warrior stars than they can about NBA players. I don’t address the NFL as much because to be honest, like the kids, I’ve tuned the sport out. I used to be a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan. My sister was a Cowboys fan. We had cups from 7/11 growing up and she didn’t touch my Lynn Swann and I didn’t touch her Ed ‘Too Tall” Jones or Randy White cups. I would play street football and my friends and I would do tiptoe sideline catches. I played a year of high school football although I was always a better basketball player. At one point I could tell you who all of the stars were in the NFL. When I coached high school ball our cheerleaders and basketball teams worked at Qualcomm Stadium and got to see the last quarter of every Chargers home game… except when they played the Raiders because someone would always get stabbed.
I used to be an NFL fan. Now, I only watch the Super Bowl and lately I barely watch that because I’d rather watch a rerun of The Walking Dead or catch up on Stranger Things. Netflix has made sports television the final haven for marketing to people via the tube. Sports viewing is down across the board and because this is a sneaker site I use this as a reason for sluggish performance footwear sales; and I’m not wrong. This post however isn’t about kicks, it’s about the NFL silencing protests.
Ray Rice treated his wife like a pimp treats his hoes. He punched her like a damn boxer.
Ray Carruth conspired to kill his pregnant wife.
Aaron Hernandez (RIP) murdered people and after committing suicide his brain has been shown to suffer from severe CTE.
Dave Duerson killed himself. (CTE)
Junior Seau killed himself. (CTE)
Ray Lewis murdered someone and was welcomed back to the league and as a commentator.
Johnathon Dwyer beat his wife.
Josh Brown beat his wife.
Antonio Armstrong and his wife were shot and killed by their son.
The redundancy of the atrocities committed by NFL players is overwhelming. I could continue this list, but I think you get the point. I initially began tuning out because of my small business, but over the years my aloofness has been replaced by the fact that NFL players attempted to protest the injustices done by police to Black people by taking a knee. I actually tuned in to a couple of games because I respected the stand and position of the players. When Colin Kaepernick wasn’t signed by an NFL team I took it as my cue to exit the building, but I returned for the Super Bowl, not because of the game, but because of extra things associated with the game, family, laughing, commercials and halftime. Yesterday the NFL decided to punish players for kneeling. I wish that the players had the ability to refuse their payments and sign with the AAF. I wish that the NBA players could pull together funds and approach a bank using themselves as collateral (I know this is rough) to get a matching loan and then combine with venture capitalists to pay the players as they prepare to play with the AAF because the only thing America understands about pain is the loss of money.
Before someone says something stupid like, “You don’t care about America!”
I’M A NAVY VETERAN, A DISABLED NAVY VETERAN. I worked in the middle of the Gulf on top of metal flight deck coated with non skid at 120 degrees. I floated across the Pacific without seeing land for weeks fixing jets and making sure this country was protected. I fell from a jet 14 feet in the air and landed on a jet blast deflector cracking my cranial helmet and damaging my back, and I have absolutely no problem with these guys bringing attention to something a person like me could never bring attention to in a meaningful way.
What I see out of the NFL is a policy against kneeling on a day when a video of an NBA player is shown being treated in the exact same way that many Blacks have been treated in America. When an NBA player, who has the ability to bring attention to the situation in a different light, is caught on camera being treated like a damn criminal for nothing, the NFL makes Trump happy for taking away the last bit of humanity these players have. Then again maybe the NFL has a point.
Those same players in the NFL didn’t and haven’t protested CTE, or domestic abuse, or murder, so in a way I understand the position the league is taking. NFL players are selective protestors. Kick the shit out of woman and it’s game on.
I’m pretty much done with the NFL. I commend Colin for taking a knee, but Colin should have been taking a knee to protest domestic violence years ago. This doesn’t diminish the protests that these guys are doing. I’m not trying to create a post that says what’s the point of protesting if everything isn’t protested.
Yes I am.
The NFL is no longer a relaxing sport. It didn’t happen because of Colin. It happened because my son isn’t interested and I’d rather spend my Sunday, Monday, Thursday… wait a minute that’s part of the issue for the league also. This is a marketing moment. When you give people too many options for games they tune out. Back to the matter at hand. The NFL doesn’t hold my attention in the same way.
I still watch the NBA, but the league has been very consistent in its promotion of family. Players bring their kids out for interviews, and during games the action will break and cameras will pan to parents in the audience. The league doesn’t fight against the players. They celebrate equality and diversity. After years of Black coaches being overlooked, the league has become more accepting of Black coaches. This hasn’t really translated to GMs, but there are Black Presidents of organizations. The NFL still doesn’t look to open its ownership ranks to Blacks and minorities and the same Black coaches are recycled over and over leaving the league with basically one Black long term coach in Mike Tomlin.
I’m beginning to ramble. I guess that’s what happens though when you are simply explaining that the NFL banning players from protesting should be a key to Americans that the league doesn’t respect the rights of athletes to bring attention to a situation which is clearly out of hand. Then again, the NFL is clearly out of hand and has been for a long time. It’s an antiquated game, a violent game, which is part of its appeal, but players are sacrificing their lives and ultimately they are sacrificing their relationships with their wives and girlfriends as the sport clearly has an affect on the aggressive tendencies that give birth to violence against women and anyone around.
This is happening at a very bad time for the league also as I’m going to end this with two suggestions for fans of the NFL. In the next year you will get an opportunity to support the Alliance of American Football and the Pac Pro League. The AAF is a new professional league and the PP is a minor league giving players an option to compete and be paid in lieu of going to college. Of course there is college football, which has its own issues and is another discussion, but there are options out there and I’d love to see a coalition of professional NBAers get together and put their weight and marketing teams behind the AAF and Pac Pro, because let’s be honest the NFL does not care about Black people, or women, or their athletes and CTE or …
You get the picture. Rant over.
