By Florida Bill
The NFL of 2017-18 is off and running, and there is good news and bad news for players and fans. There is also presidential annoyance at the conduct of players who turn their back on the flag and decline to stand when the national anthem is played.
President Trump and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell are exchanging some observations and harsh words about respecting the U.S. flag; but aside from the commotion over the patriotism of players, football aficionados also will be seeing more "hotdogging" and emotional venting in the end zone than ever before, thanks to a recent relaxation in the rules against such boisterous displays.
There will be more celebrating over touchdowns, and those thunderous, bone-crushing hits. So the referees will join in the fun and smile as a player does the "Lambeau Leap" into the stands or cradles or kisses the football as a show of affection. Okay, too, for the "funky chicken" or other "squirrel" dances so long as the merriment does not delay the game.
But hold on, says Goodell. Even though it seems that way, the NFL is not a place where just anything goes.
A few days ago, Odell Beckham of the Giants learned his lesson. He was fined $12,154 for mimicking the urination of a dog on a goal post, and his team mate, Evan Ingram was fined the previous week for a "crotch grab."
Commissioner Goodell emphasized also that Von Miller's humping, and "twerking" by wide receiver Antonio Brown, continue to be forbidden and violations will trigger stiff fines and penalties. Both players have been fined in past seasons for this form of jubilation.
There will be more celebrating over touchdowns, and those thunderous, bone-crushing hits. So the referees will join in the fun and smile as a player does the "Lambeau Leap" into the stands or cradles or kisses the football as a show of affection. Okay, too, for the "funky chicken" or other "squirrel" dances so long as the merriment does not delay the game.
But hold on, says Goodell. Even though it seems that way, the NFL is not a place where just anything goes.
A few days ago, Odell Beckham of the Giants learned his lesson. He was fined $12,154 for mimicking the urination of a dog on a goal post, and his team mate, Evan Ingram was fined the previous week for a "crotch grab."
Commissioner Goodell emphasized also that Von Miller's humping, and "twerking" by wide receiver Antonio Brown, continue to be forbidden and violations will trigger stiff fines and penalties. Both players have been fined in past seasons for this form of jubilation.
The commissioner explained that the hump and the twerk are too "sexual" and have no place on a football field being watched by millions. Basically, humps and twerks involve a lot of thrusting back and forth of lower body parts in those emotional moments after an important play. Von Miller, a Denver Bronco linebacker, is credited with instituting the 'hump," and Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh's wide receiver, gets the award for bringing Miley Cyrus's infamous twerk move onto the football field.
While the touchdown celebrations are the fun part, a real controversy is swirling about as NFL players, mostly African Americans, have declined to stand in pre-game ceremonies during the playing of the national anthem. That behavior has riled the 45th President, who says he will never look the other way when someone disrespects the American flag and its veterans and its traditions.
On television and in a series of tweets, President Trump vociferously castigated players who declined to honor their country. Aiming his arrow at both the NFL players and team owners, and using language familiar to players, he didn't hold back:
"Wouldn't you love to see one of those NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He's fired. He's fired.'" In following days he doubled down on his rhetoric and added that respecting the flag and its traditions have "absolutely nothing to do with race." It is about paying homage to the USA which has been a beacon for freedom in the world.
Trump's bashing of the players and the owners brought out Commissioner Goodell with a luke warm defense of the players' conduct. In fact, it was more of a criticism of the President for sticking his nose into the controversy.
In a prepared statement, Goodell said that the President's comments are "divisive and demonstrate a lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good which the players and clubs represent in our communities."
Players lashed out at the president. African Americans called him a racist and a white supremacist. Media Trump haters called for impeachment. Basketball great LeBron James said he was a "bum." In the Sunday games following Trump's comments, an estimated 200 NFL players demonstrated their preference for "taking the knee" as a way, according to them, of protesting the mistreatment of black citizens, often by the police, and of their dislike of the President. The 200 represented far more than the handful of players who had demonstrated that same behavior the previous week.
The tactic of turning a blind eye to the flag as a form of of protest began in 2016 when the Forty Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick "took a knee," in what he said was a protest against the USA for its oppression of Black citizens. The conduct generated a good deal of dialogue, but only a few players followed his lead and eventually Kaepernick was blacklisted and currently is not a player in the NFL.
So for the time being, "taking the knee" during patriotic pre-game ceremonies will continue, but it is pretty certain that Trump will never back off. Based upon surveys, most Americans back the President and reject individuals and highly paid athletes who have forgotten the privilege of being an American. They may have the right to thumb their nose at the flag, but it is not the right thing to do.
On the lighter side, the games and the end zone celebrations will go on with approval of league officials. But care must be taken when the spiking and dancing and kissing of the football accelerates. There could be unnecessary accidents. A few years ago, Redskin Quarterback Gus Frerotte became so exuberant after plunging one yard for a touchdown, that he rammed his head into a wall, and teammates had to carry him from the field. He was out for the remainder of the game.
As to the "knee taking, " I hope that owners will talk to the coaches and players urging that they look at their big paychecks and remember that they live in the USA, an exceptional nation. Football fans have made the NFL a happy, powerful and financially well-off organization, but look out if fans like the flag more than all those multi-million dollar players.
In America, unlike some other countries, the Constitution allows for protests and free speech, but disparaging the flag and the national anthem on a football field is over the top. We may have to allow it, but we don't have to like it.
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My take on the whole thing:
ReplyDelete1.) Disrespect for the flag and its anthem is not disrespect for Trump. Trump is not the flag, the flag is not Trump. The entire NFL attitude is what it is: Disrespect for the flag.
2.) Disrespect for the flag signifies disrespect for the nation and its people. In other words, disrespect for the fans who provide their livelihoods.
3.) Disrespecting the flag in the owner's (or fans') stadium on company time is like a fan going to work Monday morning and staging a demonstration in the office or on the plant floor. He would probably be fired. But the NFL bosses caved.
4.) The bosses caved because they feared the players wouldn't play, costing them untold billions. So they joined the players in disrespecting the flag.
5.) I have always resented celebrities who abuse their access to mass media by spouting radical liberal political views unrelated to their stardom. We can now add the NFL players and their empire to that category.
Mr. Morris;
DeleteWith respect, I disagree with your comment.
Here's why:
1) The first NFL player to protest by kneeling during the national anthem, Colin Kaepernick, did so as a way to protest unfair treatment of black Americans by police officers. Whether or not you agree with kaepernick that blacks in America receive unfair treatment by police, a disproportionate percentage of NFL players are black and from poor neighborhoods, from which the largest number of reported (whether justified or not) cases of police mistreatment come. So this movement among NFL players didn't have its genesis in antagonism against Trump. However the number of players participating in kneeling during the national anthem greatly increased after Trump weighed in on Twitter by suggesting that NFL owners "Fire the sons of bitches."
So this action by NFL players, and the recent increase in the number of players participating, has roots that run the gamut from (justified or not) anger at police violence, to support for one's friends and coworkers, to indigency at Trump's response.
It's not about a flag or a song, it's not just about Trump or the police. It's not just about one thing.
2) I agree that disrespecting the a flag or a national anthem is a way of showing disrespect for the country. But there's nothing contradictory about loving a country and yet occasionally showing disrespect for it - for its laws and institutions. Blind acceptance of the status quo, when you feel that status quo to be incongruous with liberty and justice, isn't patriotism. And remaining silent when you see the opportunity to publicly express your frustration with injustice isn't the better part of valor. At best it's apathy; at worst it's cowardice.
3) I can think of very few jobs that require their employees to stand at attention during the singing of the national anthem. And I can think of even fewer that would see their employees terminated for quietly sitting or kneeling at that time.
4) The one thing that the NFL avoids at all cost is controversy. Generally speaking, NFL owners don't want to anger either side of this issue by being either overly critical or overly supportive of the kneeling players. But even if that wasn't the case, there isn't a single thing any NFL owner can do to prevent their players from kneeling during the national anthem. Any player who got fired for refusing to stand during the national anthem would sue for breach of contract and wrongful termination. And every single one of them would win.
5) Whether or not you believe that black Americans are unfairly treated by police, that belief is shared by most in the black community. It's understandable that, given the opportunity, these men would take the opportunity to express their discontent. Protests only work when people pay attention.
DeleteJon,on the question of termination of an athlete who disrespects the flag, the problem is that you cannot fire 20 players. There would be no team. But that does not mean that the actual discharge would be in violation of the law. Players have contracts and, without a doubt each, provides for discharge in case of criminal conduct, or for behavior which would bring discredit and financial distress to the organization. As you noted, there would be a lawsuits for wrongful discharge, but the terms of the contract and proof of breach might control. Theoretically, a player might lose.
Criticism of the country for policies, etc., is fair and does not indicate disloyalty. But disrespect of the country and its sacred traditions ---- pumping a fist or grabbing a crotch or kneeling as a way of showing contempt for Old Glory is outside the bounds of legitimate criticism. It's really disgraceful. Ask a veteran, and there are millions of them, but few if any in the NFL.
What is behind the players' dishonoring of the American flag? In Iran and Pakistan and elsewhere the Red, White and Blue is stomped upon and burned as a demonstration of hate for America. Kaepernick said he wanted to bring attention to his "oppressed" black brothers who have been selectively shot by policemen in the USA . This began during the presidential campaign of 2016 when candidate Trump called for support of policeman and the second amendment, etc. Maybe Kaepernick was sincere and wanted to bring attention to his "oppressed" brothers, but the vociferous Trump was certainly part of his motivation.
In this new NFL season, Kaepernick is yesterday's news, but now, more kneeling. When Trump, now the President, opened up on how he regards disrespect for the flag, and said that the disloyal SOBs ought to be fired, the anti flag behavior accelerated, reflecting antipathy toward the president.