At last Friday’s event to rally support* for Sen. Luther Strange, the Mitch McConnell-financed establishment candidate in today’s GOP runoff in Alabama, President Donald J. Trump veered — as he is wont to do — off topic: the NFL players refusing to stand for the national anthem.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners,” the commander-in-chief asked the crowd, “when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired!’?”
Trump’s trash-talking touched off bigger protests before Sunday’s games. Some argued the president was undermining freedom of expression. But, of course, the president was freely expressing himself.
And no doubt speaking for many others.
Polling conducted last year, after former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first took a knee during the pregame anthem — which started this trend — found a majority opposed to his actions.
“NFL ratings are down massively,” the President correctly remarked.
The National Football League’s television ratings dropped 8 percent last year, and so far 2017’s ratings are down an additional 15 percent. Moreover, in a massive JD Power survey, the protests during the anthem were the top reason given for not watching the NFL.
Of course, Kaepernick was making a political statement, not trying to maximize his dollar-value in the marketplace. The now mysteriously unemployed quarterback said a year ago, “If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.”
Whether one agrees with Kaepernick or not, he is paying a steep price to make a point. Firing folks won’t silence the message.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
* The president oddly quipped of his Strange endorsement: “There is something called loyalty, and I might have made a mistake and I’ll be honest, I might have made a mistake.” Trump added that Strange and his GOP opponent, Judge Roy Moore, were “both good men” and he would campaign hard for either Republican.
6 replies on “Off the Field”
It won’t silence a legitimate message. Th message by Kaepernick is not a legitimate message.
Where is he in protesting the biggest oppression of all, the oppression of inner city blacks by other blacks in the form of murder?
I do not see him or any other so-called protestors protesting the black on black violence.
They are a sham. That is why they will lose this fight.
The message is based mostly on an inaccurate narrative.
Firing folks actually obscures that.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/451466/police-violence-against-black-men-rare-heres-what-data-actually-say
Kaepermick’s issues are the result of the venue he chose and the manner in which he chose to communicate his message.
The reaction, on both sides, proves that the freedom to speak does not make speech free. Reactions to unreasonable speech or at inappropriate times will cause reactions.
Given his position and fame he could have been a positive force as opposed to a divisive one.
America is far from perfect, but it is much, much better than most other countries and systems.
Mr, Kaepernick has opportunitiesand choices, to take his prior earnings and go to the utopia of his choice or to properly and positively seek improvement of the American society which has been evolving, generally for the better, markedly in my lifetime.
Protest is not the goal, progress is. I wish Mr Kaepernick would put his time, effort and resources into actually attempting to correction and improvement of the shortfalls he perceives.
What message are you speaking of here,Paul ? Your last sentence implies that you agree with the players protest…
‘Whether one agrees with Kaepernick or not, he is paying a steep price to make a point. Firing folks won’t silence the message.’
Face it, the man lost his platform. He misused the workplace.
Am I supposed to feel more sympathy for Kaepernick than I do for bakers and florists and photographers who lost everything they had by standing up for religious freedom? Sorry, no can do.
What is the message, that thousands of blacks are killed by white cops?
A quick look at the statistics show that this narrative is a lie.