The politicization of the NFL

First, systemic racism and police brutality still affects minorities, no matter if they are "rich overpaid athletes/celebrities" or not.

Second, Colin Kaepernick's peaceful protest (and the subsequent protest of other players) certainly gives a voice to those who do not have the audience that an NFL player does. I know a lot of people in this country subscribe to the "it doesn't affect me, so who cares" mentality, so they get annoyed at things like peaceful protest during the national anthem.

I mean, sorry your football watching was affected and you were annoyed for a few minutes. Could be worse and for a lot of people that are not white, it is worse. Way worse.

Really though, Trump blew this whole thing up. Prior to his shitty remarks at the rally in Alabama, there were a few guys protesting. Now there are a ton. If he didn't think he should be able to dictate what people do in areas that he has no say in, such as NFL teams firing those who protest, then this past weekend's protest would not have been so widespread. And I mean, really, it boils down to him railing harder against people peacefully protesting racial injustice than he did against the white supremacists in Charlottesville (the "many fine people").

Good Words Zombie!

ZombieHavoc wrote:

First, systemic racism and police brutality still affects minorities, no matter if they are "rich overpaid athletes/celebrities" or not.

Second, Colin Kaepernick's peaceful protest (and the subsequent protest of other players) certainly gives a voice to those who do not have the audience that an NFL player does. I know a lot of people in this country subscribe to the "it doesn't affect me, so who cares" mentality, so they get annoyed at things like peaceful protest during the national anthem.

I mean, sorry your football watching was affected and you were annoyed for a few minutes. Could be worse and for a lot of people that are not white, it is worse. Way worse.

Really though, Trump blew this whole thing up. Prior to his shitty remarks at the rally in Alabama, there were a few guys protesting. Now there are a ton. If he didn't think he should be able to dictate what people do in areas that he has no say in, such as NFL teams firing those who protest, then this past weekend's protest would not have been so widespread. And I mean, really, it boils down to him railing harder against people peacefully protesting racial injustice than he did against the white supremacists in Charlottesville (the "many fine people").

You pretending shitty cops only screw with black people is ridiculous. They kill all races of people. Do many cops racially profile black people? Yep. But let me clue you in on some things these  opressed millionaires get away with.

Leanard Little. Killed a woman driving drunk. Told the cop at the scene "Bitch ran a yellow light and ruined my 45,000 dollar car. " Got  4 years probation. Still kept playing in the NFL. What injustice.

Lawrence Taylor admitted to sleeping with a 16 year old prostitute. No jail time. What injustice.

Ray Rice punched his wife in public on video. No jail time. What injustice.

Greg Hardy kidnapped his girlfriend and  threw her on a bed with knives and guns while tied up. He got suspended for 10 games. Until the Cowboys signed him and the NFL reduced it to four games. What injustice.

One of last week's biggest kneelers Ray Lewis killed a guy and hot away with it by blaming his friends. He's in the HOF and is some spiritual NFL Guru.

Tyreke Hill plead guilty to strangling his 20 year old pregnant girlfriend.He got 3 years probation and is a current NFL making millions. What injustice.

Donte Stalworth killed a guy driving drunk. He served 30 days in jail and continued making millions players in the NFL. What injustice.

Here's a lot more.

https://www.usatoday.com/sports/nfl/arrests/

Maybe this proves it's about dollars, not race. Because justice is not getting away with kidnapping. At least not for his victim.

I don't care about your virtue signalling any more than I care about their's. You should turn off the tv news and talk go actual humans. People aren't a tenth as hateful as you're pretending they are.

Thanks Saxon!

And for the record, Big Rich, I have no knowledge of any of those incidents, but if they are all how you say they are, then all of those dudes should be in jail and out of the NFL. I mean, there is no question in my mind on that.

Still doesn't change a thing about the protests, Kapernick's protest and the reasons behind the protests.

And while the "oppressed millionaires" get away with it, so do the shitty cops. So. Protests.

I know you have no knowledge. You're defending people you know nothing about. That's the problem. But the NFL will continue to thrive pandering to non-fans like you and Saxon. Great business strategy. How many NFL games do you attend each year. Do you pay hundreds of dollars for the NFL PACKAGE? You don't have to answer, it's rhetorical. Saxon loves the NFL so much, he wouldn't go to a Vikings game with me and I was paying for his ticket. That's the fan the NFL now covets.

I would like you to answer me 1 question. If the NFL cares so much about free speech, why don't they care about Deangelo's free speech here? You can't pick and choose free speech. I guess losing your mom isn't as important as race baiting though.... Free speech my ass.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/deangelo-williams-asks-nfl-to-wear-pink-all-season-they-told-me-no/



You're simply virtue signalling. It's very trendy these days. But you ain't fooling me.

Big Rich wrote:

I know you have no knowledge.

++++++++

You're simply virtue signalling. It's very trendy these days.   But you ain't fooling me.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Big Rich wrote:

I would like you to answer me 1 question. If the NFL cares so much about free speech, why don't they care about Deangelo's free speech here? You can't pick and choose free speech.  I guess losing your mom isn't as important as race baiting though.... Free speech my ass.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/deangelo-williams-asks-nfl-to-wear-pink-all-season-they-told-me-no/

Not that you present yourself in a way that is even worth discussing things with...but I mean, I'm just one person and I think that, based on what I just read in the link you provided, the dude should absolutely have been allowed to wear pink. I cannot tell you why the NFL denied him, and that's shitty....so...I don't know where that leaves us. I don't even know that the NFL does care about free speech.

The players have every reason and right to protest police brutality/racism, and the player above has every reason and right to wear pink.

You didn't answer my question, nor make any points. This is not shocking.

The NFL pandering to Saxon and Zombie is like McDonald's pandering to vegans.

Big Rich wrote:

You didn't answer my question, nor make any points. This is not shocking.

The NFL pandering to Saxon and Zombie is like McDonald's pandering to vegans.  

Uh you asked a question regarding the NFL's stance on free speech, that I responded to. I have no idea their stance on free speech.

ZombieHavoc wrote:

Big Rich wrote:

You didn't answer my question, nor make any points. This is not shocking.

The NFL pandering to Saxon and Zombie is like McDonald's pandering to vegans.  

Uh you asked a question regarding the NFL's stance on free speech, that I responded to. I have no idea their stance on free speech.

Then why are you talking about things you know nothing about? Oh yeah, virtue signalling. Carry on, oh great white warrior of race relations.

Big Rich wrote:

ZombieHavoc wrote:

Big Rich wrote:

You didn't answer my question, nor make any points. This is not shocking.

The NFL pandering to Saxon and Zombie is like McDonald's pandering to vegans.  

Uh you asked a question regarding the NFL's stance on free speech, that I responded to. I have no idea their stance on free speech.

Then why are you talking about things you know nothing about? Oh yeah, virtue signalling. Carry on, oh great white warrior of race relations.

You are a weird dude. Ha, I never claimed to have any knowledge of the NFL's, as a collective group of people, official stance on free speech.

Innocent white people never get beaten to death by cops.

ZombieHavoc wrote:

Big Rich wrote:

ZombieHavoc wrote:

Big Rich wrote:

You didn't answer my question, nor make any points. This is not shocking.

The NFL pandering to Saxon and Zombie is like McDonald's pandering to vegans.  

Uh you asked a question regarding the NFL's stance on free speech, that I responded to. I have no idea their stance on free speech.

Then why are you talking about things you know nothing about? Oh yeah, virtue signalling. Carry on, oh great white warrior of race relations.

You are a weird dude. Ha, I never claimed to have any knowledge of the NFL's, as a collective group of people, official stance on free speech.

Yeah, I'm the weird one. You pretending everybody hates each other is perfectly normal.

Big Rich wrote:

ZombieHavoc wrote:

Big Rich wrote:

ZombieHavoc wrote:

Big Rich wrote:

You didn't answer my question, nor make any points. This is not shocking.

The NFL pandering to Saxon and Zombie is like McDonald's pandering to vegans.  

Uh you asked a question regarding the NFL's stance on free speech, that I responded to. I have no idea their stance on free speech.

Then why are you talking about things you know nothing about? Oh yeah, virtue signalling. Carry on, oh great white warrior of race relations.

You are a weird dude. Ha, I never claimed to have any knowledge of the NFL's, as a collective group of people, official stance on free speech.

Yeah, I'm the weird one. You pretending everybody hates each other is perfectly normal.

.......

I know it's a bummer to start a thread and have people that disagree with your position.

Just an observation: the only dude here with showing any triggered hostility happens to be wearing red. Those of us wearing blue (mine is actually sorta tie-dye) are just chill.

Big Rich wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I'm pretty indifferent to these spoiled brat athletes thinking they're making a difference by not standing for the National Anthem.  It's all a sham IMO; it's more about "Hey, look at me!" than anything else.

But that said, I can't believe the President of the United States had to make some public proclamation about it.  As others have said, he sure as hell as more important things to worry about; health care, tax reform, North Korea, various natural disasters...and he has to weigh in on spoiled millionaires not standing for the anthem?.  Puh-leeeeze...

I know all presidents suck. I'm not a fan of the president and don't pay to have him entertain me.  I do however spend 100s of dollars every year to watch my team play 16 games. If they want to play baby games with baby potus, they should do it on their own time. None of us have the right the right to alienate customers at our jobs. You're right though, they're spoiled brats.

For anyone who has a problem with the protests:

Vote with your wallet! Don't watch, don't buy jerseys, don't associate with the NFL in any way. That's the only way this will end.

If you don't like what you see, but you continue to watch and bitch about it, then your complaints are hollow. It's like people who complain about who's the Mayor/Senator/President...but don't vote.

Big Rich wrote:

Innocent white people never get beaten to death by cops.

People protested the non-consequences for the cops in this man's death too.

Take a knee for every person who is brutalized without justification by the police.

For real, man. There is no excuse for any of this.

There's not much left to say. I learned about constitutional rights and free speech as a young lad from a group of gentleman who can speak much more eloquently on the subject than myself. To that end, I'll let them take it from here:

The national anthem has traditionally been a time when people reflect on the memories of all the fallen soldiers that died fighting for our freedom. These attention seeking athletes could protest another time or place, like when they give interviews or they could get noticed by giving up some of their precious money to a social justice charity. It's more ego vanity for these millionaires to feel like they give a rat's ass about poor neighborhoods long forgotten in their daily lives. Nothing will change. Police brutality will continue... just like the NFL players getting away with assault, DUI deaths and other crimes. No one cares when these sport stars do bad sh*t. Can't have their favorite players banned or behind bars...

Big Rich wrote:

Saxon loves the NFL so much, he wouldn't go to a Vikings game with me and I was paying for his ticket. That's the fan the NFL now covets.

I DID rub a yodelling pickle on Lambeau Field with you though....

I turn the game on 45 seconds after it is scheduled to start. Problem solved.

These athletes taking a knee has nothing to do with politics, the flag, veterans or respect for the country. Just stop that bullshit now.

These athletes taking a knee has to do with the social injustice that is STILL alive in this country, despite all this "we're all one big happy family" rhetoric. We're not.

Peaceful protest is a protected freedom under the US Constitution. They are protesting peacefully. As long as they're not breaking the law or violating the Constitution, you do not get to dictate where and when they decide to protest.

As to the "try this at YOUR job and see what happens" thing; that one lady who protested gay marriage by refusing to issue a marriage license is somehow a hero now. Besides, the NFL has stated their support for the player taking a knee.

As to the "shut up and do your job" thing; their job is to play football. They are all playing football. You have no argument.

Players were not even on the field for the anthem prior to 2009 when the DOD paid the NFL for huge injections of showboat patriotism as a means of boosting military recruitment.

It's NOT disrespectful, it's NOT harming veterans, it's NOT ungrateful. It's NOT anti-cop. It's NOT anti-America.

It's a peaceful show of empathy for those in this country who are daily treated like shit and even killed for no good reason.

Cultural Marxism destroys everything it touches. Enjoy the decline football fans!

Are we sure it's not just that Tebow-ing is finally catching on?