The NFL will continue allowing players to kneel during the national anthem at games, Roger Goodell has announced. https://t.co/daEBOFWRdL
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 18, 2017
I am given to understand that Roger Goodell is an aggregation of marketing slogans made flesh and slapped in a jacket, but it seems that the players still have some pushback here:
… The NFL did not seek commitments from its players to stop kneeling during pregame renditions of the U.S. national anthem but rather focused on helping them in their political activism.
“We spent today talking about the issues that our players have been trying to bring attention to. About issues in our communities to make our communities better,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters.
Trump’s repeated denunciation of the players as unpatriotic for kneeling during the national anthem, which he reiterated as recently as Monday, has only made the practice more widespread…
The small but growing number of players who have taken to kneeling during the national anthem are protesting the killing by police of unarmed black men and boys across the United States, as well as racial disparities in the criminal justice system. More than half of all NFL players are black.
Goodell appeared less interested in stifling the silent protests, despite Trump’s wishes, and instead praised players’ character, saying he wanted to help their political activism.
“Today’s discussion with our players was very productive and very important. It reflected our commitment to work together with our players on issues of social justice,” said Goodell…
Along those lines, team owners and 13 players had a “productive meeting” of their own earlier on Tuesday at the league offices about how to collaborate on positive social change and addressing inequality, according to a statement by the NFL and the players’ union, the NFL Players Association…
Malcolm Jenkins, a player for the Philadelphia Eagles, told reporters that the two sides discussed how to amplify players’ voices and make what he called “long, sustainable changes.”
“We all have mutual interests. … We want to make sure that the quality of product that we put out on the field is great, but at the same time we have a responsibility to the communities that we live in and the communities that we come from,” Jenkins said…
Players and their union have bristled at Trump’s assertion they are unpatriotic. Though still a minority, more players have begun kneeling since the new football season began, and some sympathetic teammates have linked arms with the kneelers while standing themselves…
The NYTimes:
… The league’s rule book never required players to stand for the anthem but says they must be on the sideline during the song and “should” stand for it.
The ambiguity in the rule has made it difficult for the league to fine players who have either sat or knelt for the anthem, and the owners had discussed clarifying the wording to make standing for the anthem mandatory.
By leaving the rule alone, the league has chosen to avoid more internal strife with its players and to potentially weather more criticism from fans and President Trump, who has repeatedly ridiculed the league for not firing players who demonstrate during the anthem.
“We need to be above petty attacks from anybody, because racial and socioeconomic inequality has existed in this country for too long,” Jed York, the chief executive and co-owner of the San Francisco 49ers, said when asked about the president’s criticism of the league. “You got to block out the noise and go do your job, and that’s what we need to focus on.”…
We fully understand that nobody’s gonna pay NFL dollars to watch a bunch of Trump interns in full gear attempt not to injure themselves running around the field every Sunday, Monday, and Thursday evening, Mr. I-Killed-Arena-Football.
…Jenkins said there had been no discussion during the meeting about prohibiting players from kneeling during the national anthem; whether players continue to do so, he said, would be an individual decision.
He also said that Kaepernick had been invited to the meeting but chose not to attend. Kaepernick’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, later said it was possible that Kaepernick would attend future meetings…
The league also continues to grapple with Kaepernick, who filed a grievance accusing the owners of colluding to keep him from joining a team. Kaepernick, who led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2013, has remained unsigned since leaving the team in March.
What say the sports fans?
Geoduck
It was the USFL that Trump killed, not Arena Football; the latter is still around in a modest way.
Balconesfault
Everyone needs to keep with the narrative that Trump dug in on this because the NFL owners club rejected him.
Omnes Omnibus
The NFL is looking for a way to make this go away. But it is also aware that a shit load of the “talent” is black. Quandary. I suspect that some form of protest gesture, prior to the game, but not involving the anthem, will be agreed upon.
smintheus
The best solution is to stop playing the national anthem at sporting events. If it’s relevant to sports, it’s relevant to high school proms, to movies, to boarding an airplane, to weddings, to picking up the laundry at the dry cleaners, and to kids’ birthday parties.
The thing was first dreamed up by that shameless war mongerer Woodrow Wilson and it’s long since time we kicked his legacy to the curb.
Jeffro
“We respect that people may have differences of opinion about what it means to stand or not stand for the anthem; nevertheless, the players have made it clear that they are taking a knee to protest civil rights violations and issues of police brutality that are sadly all too common in this country. They are not kneeling to insult the flag, our soldiers, our country, or anything else – it is to draw attention to an issue that sadly, still, desperately needs attention. We respect the players’ First Amendment right to free speech just as we respect all of our fans’ rights to join in this discussion and share their views as well. And as we have noted, we’ll always do our part to bring our fellow Americans together to help address issues of social justice in this country.”
That speech could have easily – in an alternate universe – been given by one of the owners. Or a GOP MoC. No need to die on this hill (and the wrong side of history) for Trumpov’s demagoguery and white supremacy. This is not a fucking conservative thing. Just be leaders, be Americans, wake UP!
Villago Delenda Est
Donald needs to fuck the fuck off. Forever.
Mary G
@smintheus: This. The anthem, plus the stupid addition of “God Bless America” to the 7th inning stretch in baseball is stupid.
Villago Delenda Est
@smintheus: He was a fucking stone racist, too.
Mary G
GoFundMe set up for college costs of Sgt. Johnson’s children.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
Ha ha, the racist morons over at Pro Football Talk are going to be so pissed. Even the rich assholes that run the NFL don’t want that Trumpstank on them.
smintheus
@Mary G: Yes. I have it on good authority that God can’t stand baseball any more than cricket. Also, He didn’t intend Trump’s election as a blessing in the slightest so you’re all barking up the wrong tree anyway.
@Villago Delenda Est: That too. And almost as bad, a nitwit where it came to diplomacy and foreign affairs.
Omnes Omnibus
@smintheus: God is a rugger. It is known.
Jeffro
@Mary G: Thank you, I had made a note to look for this later. I don’t know how GoFundMes are verified/checked out (unfortunately, there are always scam artists out there) but as soon as this can be verified, it’s getting a big ol’ donation.
trollhattan
I would buy ten Office 365 subscriptions to watch Paul Allen kick Jerry Jones in the balls at midfield, in lieu of the anthem. Players are welcome to stand, kneel or fall out at their preference.
Make my dream reality, Roger!
Mike J
@Omnes Omnibus: I always thought of God as more of a thug pretending to be a gentleman rather than the other way round. But most of my exposure is to the christian version.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mike J: So a footballer? Interesting theological view.
ETA: Lucifer as a rugger does make more sense. Golly.
Mike J
@Omnes Omnibus: If Jesus played baseball, what would his batting average be? If one holds the view that he was perfect in every way, he would have to hit .1000. Which makes the claim of his being “fully human” a lie, since failure is a major part of being human.
And why on earth would Charlie Stross block me when I’ve never tweeted at or about him?
Frankensteinbeck
@Jeffro:
At least since Reagan, everything ‘conservative’, including plutocracy, has been a subset of racism. There is nothing more central to the Republican voter now than how utterly fucking infuriated they are by the idea black lives might matter. Their congressmen speak and act accordingly.
Steeplejack
@Mike J:
Sweaterdog knows what he did.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mike J: Hey, as of now, I am all in on your Lucifer as rugger tip. I say scrum-half.
Mike J
@Omnes Omnibus: And people ask, “why do we sport?” How else does one answer the important questions?
Omnes Omnibus
@Mike J: Get the ball to the fly-half or move it up-field one’s self.
ETA: The only other answer is interpretive dance, and I am not that limber.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@Mike J: You’ve got your decimal point in the wrong place. If you hit .1000, that’s a lot of failure.
Omnes Omnibus
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: He had Trump on his mind.
Mike J
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: I never claimed perfection.
smike
@smintheus: Hell-a-looya!
“The best solution is to stop playing the national anthem at sporting events.”
I think I need a cigarette now.
Duane
Change.org has a petition urging the Green Bay Packers to sign Colin Kaerpernick.I hope it gets a million signatures. Also that Jerry Jones chokes on a martini olive.
God loves football. God loves me. These things could happen, right?
Darkrose
@smintheus: MLB Jesus is certainly a baseball fan. He rather likes the Mets, bless his heart.
J R in WV
Colin took the 49ers to the Superbowl, the goal of all football teams. Arron Rodgers broke his collarbone, which hurts and takes time to heal. If Colin could take the 49ers to the Superbowl, surely he could keep Green Bay in the thick of the running for a Divisional Championship game, even take the team to the Championship or Superbowl.
Does anyone think the 49ers were a better coached more skilled team than Green Bay? Name me a reason GB should not call Colin this morning to be on a plane into Green Bay Wisc today, and send him the play book to start studying.
That’s my thought on Sportsball today.
Bruce K
@J R in WV: Does “moral cowardice” count as a reason?
Central Planning
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym The J in Mike J clearly does not stand for Jesus
Dupe70
I think it was a bad move by Kaepernick to not attend. I am sure there is a good reason to not go but it seems the wrong move to me.
Jim
You know the players are in the right when conservatives use words like “force them to stand” to honor the flag. Force is not freedom.
Duane
@J R in WV: I think the reason is owner’s collusion.