Goodell: We...admit we were wrong for not listening

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PetraG

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“We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people. We, the National Football League admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter. I personally protest with you and want to be part of the much needed change in this country. Without black players, there would be no National Football League. And the protests around the country are emblematic of the centuries of silence, inequality, and oppression of black players coaches, fans, and staff. We are listening, I am listening, and I will be reaching out to players who have raised their voices and others on how we can improve and go forward for a better and more united NFL family.”
 

“Through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates, and leaders in the black community, I realize this is not an issue about the American flag. It has never been,” Brees wrote on Instagram. "We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities.

"We did this back in 2017, and regretfully I brought it back with my comments this week. We must stop talking about the flag and shift our attention to the real issues of systemic racial injustice, economic oppression, police brutality, and judicial & prison reform. We are at a critical juncture in our nation’s history! If not now, then when?

“We as a white community need to listen and learn from the pain and suffering of our black communities. We must acknowledge the problems, identify the solutions, and then put this into action. The black community cannot do it alone. This will require all of us.”
 
Might help if a message and action were extended to Colin Rand Kaepernick.
 
ThinkingSapien said:
Might help if a message and action were extended to Colin Rand Kaepernick.
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We’ll see. Jameis Winston has a job; Cam Newton doesn’t.
But yes, Kaepernick is only 32 years old, he has a resume, and I don’t know what unsigned QB can match it, excepting maybe Cam Newton (and their relative ranking depends on their physicals, since both have had some non-trivial injuries and surgeries). They both need something unfortunate to happen to a colleague at a franchise that has a QB that runs to extend plays, though. Not to wish bad luck on anybody, but the chances are that there will be an opening for at least one of them.
Since Goodell’s statement indicates that the NFL has come around to a favorable view of the protests Kaepernick started, the risk-averse franchises ought to be somewhat less skittish about hiring him.
 
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Well…was the NFL wrong for not listening or not?
Should the player protests of 2017 been handled differently?
Or is Trump right and Drew Brees wrong?
I don’t see how it is possible to agree with them both, but the reason to post here is to hear if the other ways of looking at it are different than what I might imagine.

Also: Do you think the NFL getting to have it both ways by having a low tolerance for protests when the fans did and now having a change of heart only after the general population started having one or is this an example of Goodell being a leader?

I’d rather not discuss the owners as a bloc, because I think they’re very different people in very different places with differing relationships with their fan base and even different reasons for owning their team. What do you think the owner and fans of the team or teams you root for will think of this?

I’m a Saints fan, and as a franchise the team, from Gayle Benson through Sean Payton and on down the line, has come down pointedly on the side of the players and their right to advocate for reform of the US justice system.
 
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Goodell can’t order owners to sign anyone; that is collusion of a different sort. Kapernick made himself a polarizing figure and did so freely. If he wants the aplomb that comes with being a rebel for a cause, he has to accept the downside too.

Plus, he isn’t that good, and has been away from the game for years. There is little upside to bringing him in for an owner. Unless someone else sees some? These are businesses, not JV teams.
 
RidgeSprinter said:
That would be an interesting turn of events. But Colin should accept with dignity and humility.
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Just because he was willing to sacrifice his career if he had to does not mean he doesn’t want it back.
The pool of QBs available in case there is an injury is not so deep that Colin could not physically qualify as a viable candidate. A political shift could make a difference in the perception of what his presence would do to a locker room. (In contrast, for instance, to the very talented Mr. Antonio Brown…)
 
ThinkingSapien said:
Might help if a message and action were extended to Colin Rand Kaepernick.
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Why support such pandering?

The football field during a game is neither the time nor the place to protest failures in local municipal govt.
PetraG said:
Just because he was willing to sacrifice his career if he had to does not mean he doesn’t want it back.
The pool of QBs available in case there is an injury is not so deep that Colin could not physically qualify as a viable candidate.
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I think his career was already over, because of his on field performance. His kneeling was pandering to become relevant. Given his Nike contracts, it was a shrewd move for him financially.
 
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I still don’t think it’s okay to disrespect the flag, protests or no protests.
 
tomarin said:
I still don’t think it’s okay to disrespect the flag, protests or no protests.
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How is genuflecting disrespectful when it is the flag but respectful when it is the Blessed Sacrament?
Colin Kaepernick changed from sitting to taking a knee in order to keep his protest respectful.
 
Theo520 said:
I think his career was already over, because of his on field performance. His kneeling was pandering to become relevant. Given his Nike contracts, it was a shrewd move for him financially.
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Yes, that and his injury history are the greater problem. It is also true that an attention-getting player isn’t wanted unless he’s the first-string Hall of Fame kind. You accept that from Deion Sanders, but you’re not willing to risk it for Tim Tebow. You have to know you’re not sitting that splashy guy unless he’s in a cast, or you hesitate to hire him. Splashy has an inspiring side when someone is one of the better players on the field (especially in a game that runs on emotion) but distracting when the same player isn’t getting onto the field at all because he’s not making the plays or doesn’t fit the play-caller’s system.

Having said that, if someone hires him and he turns out to be either a first-string QB or a back-up who really contributes, then his resume is re-written. At this point, he’ll need to hope he gets a chance when the inevitable injuries roll around.
 
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You cannot love God and at the same time ignore injustice towards your neighbor. It is impossible.

Why during the national anthem? Because when that ritual of patriotism is used to honor what is a pretense of liberty and justice when a life of liberty and justice for all is not actually being pursued, it is complicity in the pretense to just go along with it. Taking a knee when we pause for that ritual is a way of saying that we are not living up to what the flag represents. It is saying that we are failing what the flag stands for. It is no disrespect to the flag. It is actually standing up for what we tell the whole world the flag means.

How does it disrespect the flag or our nation founded on the principles of justice if our pre-game ritual becomes a penitential rite instead of a moment of gratitude only? I fail to see how.

There is nothing that Drew Brees said in his apology that is not something to be proud of. He gets it.
 
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My point is that bending the knee is not an inherently disrespectful action.

No, it doesn’t. There should be room for differences in how to talk about this and how to give witness to one’s views. I don’t think anyone is suggesting that everybody in the stadium ought to be taking a knee!! Why is it necessary to condemn people whose stated intent is to protest an unpleasant truth that has been ignored for too long? The ritual of standing to salute the flag isn’t written in the GIRM.

Honestly, people are much less worked up about people who ignore the flag salute entirely than they are about those who take it seriously in ways they don’t like. This amazes me. Does anybody even notice if someone on the sidelines isn’t paying attention or keeps his hat on? They don’t.
 
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Asking “how is the offensive” misses the entire point.

I don’t mind hearing a slew of words that others find offensive, so I opt not to use them. It is not up to colin’s audience to explain why they found the gesture offensive, not to mention, sports for most of us is an escape from politics.

As soon as you start telling someone they shouldn’t be offended, we can safely argue NOTHING is offensive and everything is okay. If that is what we want to pursue, so be it, but I personally hate sitting at a Ravens games and here profanity all the time or language used to insult homosexuals being thrown around.
 
Dr_Meinheimer said:
Asking “how is the offensive” misses the entire point.

I don’t mind hearing a slew of words that others find offensive, so I opt not to use them. It is not up to colin’s audience to explain why they found the gesture offensive, not to mention, sports for most of us is an escape from politics.

As soon as you start telling someone they shouldn’t be offended, we can safely argue NOTHING is offensive and everything is okay. If that is what we want to pursue, so be it, but I personally hate sitting at a Ravens games and here profanity all the time or language used to insult homosexuals being thrown around.
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The President, as an example, did not stop at feeling personally offended. He publicly called for the firing of the people who were engaging in the protest, and he did it using very gross language unfitting to his office.
 
Agreed - if he genuinely intends not to offend by kneeling during the anthem, he should at least take note of the fact that for large swaths of the population (especially at a football game) it is offensive.
 
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