In the past month our country has experienced an unusual amount of turmoil. North Korea is threatening nuclear war with America, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria left hundreds of thousands of people in a wake of devastation, fires raged in the west and there was a massive earthquake in Mexico. Our health care system is in shambles and our elected officials cannot agree on how to fix it or anything else for that matter. And don’t forget the $20,000,000,000,000 debt we now face.
Despite all of these “real” problems our nation is facing, the media ( and much of the country) had been fixated on whether or not football players should stand or take a knee during the National Anthem at a NFL game. It took the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, in Las Vegas, to get our attention off the NFL debate.
What was it that kept the media focused like a laser on football players and their posture during the National Anthem? That question can be answered with one word…Politics!
Both sides of this politically charged issue have what seem like valid arguments. Those kneeling for the cause of civil justice claim their Constitutional right to free speech. Those standing for patriotism claim it is a travesty when we fail to honor those who gave their lives for the freedoms we now enjoy that allow these athletes to make millions of dollars.
You would think that in “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” reasonable adults could have a civil discussion on this issue and work out a solution that would not only satisfy both sides but begin a much needed healing of the great divisions in this country. Sadly, that will not happen because of…Politics!.
The political divide in America today is so great that both sides will turn even the smallest of disagreements into a full blown war without any concern of what it is doing to our country.
A now unemployed quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, started the whole mess when he began kneeling during the National Anthem, proclaiming himself a martyr for civil rights. In other words he was protesting about politics and the media loved it, praising him to the skies. Politicians including President Obamma paid homage to him.
President Trump escalated the debate by using politics in a speech to a conservative crowd in Alabama. He turned what was a fairly minor issue in the NFL (in terms of numbers of players protesting) into a massive issue overnight by ripping into the protesting NFL players, calling them “sons of b——s” who should be fired. When America’s Commander in Chief derides others in such terms, he only stokes the fires of division.
I am all for free speech but in this case it is a false argument. First, the NFL has a policy in place stating that players must be on the sidelines and stand respectfully for the National Anthem. Second, there is no freedom of speech protection in the private sector. No player- no employee- has a right to free speech while at work, while paid, while uniformed.
The NFL or a specific team can restrict extreme goal-line celebration. They can also restrict current players sitting or kneeling during the National Anthem if they choose by simply enforcing their own guidlines. It may create a public relations fallout, but it does not create a First-Amendment issue.
The players are now on the field protesting not because of the constitutionally protected free speech but because the NFL franchise owners and the NFL as a whole have allowed that behavior on their property, in their uniform, while the employee is being paid. There’s a huge difference.
Business interest and politics are the main reasons that NFL officials use in decisions about what players can do or say on or off the field. Last year, after 5 Dallas policemen were murdered and 7 wounded by a sniper, the NFL would not allow the Cowboys to wear a decal supporting Dallas police on their helmets. So the NFL will not allow players to express their support for police with a tiny helmet decal, but it lets them disrespect the flag while distorting the work of police officers across the country? That is a political decision, not a free speech decision.
Robert Griffin 111 was reprimanded and fined for wearing a shirt that said, “Know Jesus, Know Peace.”Also the NFL threatened to fine players who wore special cleats on 9/11 to remember the anniversary of this terror attack that took thousands of lives. They said this would be a violation of the uniform code. But nothing was said about Kaepernick wearing his anti-police socks. More political decisions.
A few years back another NFL player was skewered by the same media for also taking a knee. The difference was that Tim Tebow’s action was a religious statement and he was condemned and ridiculed. So, it seems like the league can get very political on some fronts – especially when it’s for an anti-conservative cause – but then wants to appear non-political on other fronts.
Most Americans just want sports to be sports. Why can’t athletes entertain their loyal fans while finding ways to raise awareness of important causes outside the playing field? Must everything be politicized?
Carolina Panthers All-Pro linebacker, Thomas Davis had this to say after last Sunday’s game, “With all the political division in America right now-no matter where you stand- it’s hard to imagine us coming together and overcoming the division. But nothing is impossible with God and it hurts His heart to see his people divided.”
Davis was right-nothing is impossible with God- so maybe it is time that we all take a knee, both knees, and pray that our God will have mercy on us. Divine intervention may be the only way to heal the divisive politics that is tearing our country apart.