I have been devoted Monday night, Thursday evening and all day Sunday to National Football League (NFL) games, until now. To use President Donald Trump’s term, that “SOB” quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the destruction of the NFL last year by kneeling before an NFL game when our national anthem was played rather than stand with his hand over his heart. His motive was political in nature having nothing to do with football. Kaepernick’s complaint was about so-called police brutality against blacks and perhaps other race issues. It is known his girl friend is Islamic and pro-communist. He remains unemployed because of his toxic nature.
Some players are using the same tactics and generally getting away with it. Why? Because NFL executive management is gutless.
Team members themselves are divided and, of course, Trump is taking heat from the teams, NFL executives and the media. Now everybody is blaming Trump even though he didn’t start this dog fight.
Early on Dallas Cowboys’ President Jerry Jones made it clear in a speech to staff, coaches and players that he owns the franchise, they are employees and need to respect the flag when it is presented and the national anthem is played. But before Monday night’s Arizona Cardinals/Cowboys game, a grinning Jones took a knee and locked arms with the players before the national anthem was played. They stood for the anthem but Jones lost and the players with no real beef won.
After all, to Jones and other owners it is all about money.
Kansas City Chiefs’ Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt gave this official statement after an earlier more emphatic statement which was a fake. It appeared to be a copy of Jerry Jones’ earlier speech to his employees.
“We are blessed in the National Football League to work with an outstanding group of players who, through their thoughtfulness and generosity, are deeply engaged in their communities. I believe in honoring the American flag and supporting all of those whose sacrifices protect the many freedoms we have in this country, including the right to have differences of opinion. Sports have long been a unifying force – especially in challenging times – and hatred and division have no place in our game. As a nation, we face serious challenges, and I believe as Americans, each of us has a responsibility to engage one another with empathy and humility to gain a better understanding of ways we can work together to solve these difficult issues.”
It appeared teams were trying different methods. The Pittsburgh Steelers decided to stay off the field until the Anthem was over. One veteran came out and stood alone, hand over his heart. He said afterward he felt terrible because he made his team look bad. The other team members are the ones who should feel bad.
I was a fan of the Miami Dolphins until the way its liberal new owner took over. They won’t know but wouldn’t care if they did that. I won’t be watching them again because they decided to ignore the flag and anthem. I’ll bet Coach Don Shula (the only perfect game, ever) and Quarterback Dan Marino will find a way to forget their glorious past.
While in Florida, like a good fan, it was popular to hate Tom Brady of the New England Patriots since Dolphins’ dreams were so often shattered by the Patriots.
But look at last night when Brady and his coach stood with their hands over their hearts while the Anthem played.
It will be interesting to see how many fans drop NFL completely or just change teams. I have heard both.
Me? I have about 1,000 unread books I need to deal with.
