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

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Where I disagree with this whole taking a knee during the National Anthem protest is when it is being done. The football players are on the job, in their company uniforms, on company time, on company property. They should, therefore, be there to do what their company has hired them to do, which is to play football. They are not there for anything else.

If my doctor hates the fact that some people can’t afford to go to the hospital he is affiliated with and takes a knee to protest that fact every time he walks into the examination room, I’d get fed up for the same reason. Not the right time or place. If my doctor really believes in his convictions, then on his own time he can do what he can to make changes and treat people.

Why can’t these players, on their own time and in their civilian clothes, help build a few houses at Habitat for Humanity, or help start after school programs that help kids with their school work since a good education is a big key to raising oneself out of poverty. Have any of them actually sat down and talked about their concerns (with the videos) to their police department heads about police brutality? How about doing some ride a longs with a few policemen to see if possibly the stress level is something that is adding to the bad choices some of them are making?

There is a time and a place for everything, and people paying/taking the time to watch a sporting event aren’t there to hear how the quarterback/tight end/kicker feels about anything.
 
I just can’t get over the irony that they are criticizing the same country that makes it possible for them to earn millions and be celebrities all for playing a game.
 
In that sense, the NFL is to blame. They gave air time to something they did not have to. I didn’t like Bob Costa’s halftime political rants a few years back on NBC, and apparently not many others did either, because they stopped it pretty quickly.

I suspect there would be an uproar if the commentators took an opportunity to something like “Touchdown, Lamar Jackson! Something of course that wouldn’t have been possible had his mother aborted him. Back to you, Jerry.”

Anyone being honest will admit the insertion of politics into sports (and during the anthem) seems okay as long as they like what is being said. Try commenting on gay marriage and see what happens.

I’d rather it all be left out for 3 hours a sunday, personally.
 
I’d just say if his goal to was to move people to the cause he supports, he failed miserably.

IF he actually cared, one would think he change how he delivered his message. But I suspect as often happens, it became more about him and his defiance, not actually caring about the problem.

We have had those discussions about using images of aborted babies on pro-life posters. Some favor them. Some feel they are counter productive to their message, and opt not to use them. Colin was insisting on using those images despite blowback, and thus, people don’t focus on that message.
 
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Politicizing sports is fine by me. Sports serve as an opiate to deflect energy that would otherwise go into nationalism and against globalism. Anything that turns your average person off in disgust can only help.
 
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That is my point. The ritual of the pre-game flag salute is totally subject to revision. It is not sacrosanct.
 
The national anthem stands for “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Besides, after all, why would a Christian ever need a safe place to get away from thinking about justice?

Sports is sports and politics is politics, but there is no place that is a stranger to the pursuit of justice, nor of any other virtue. Eliminating the national anthem won’t make sports or the arts into zones where there are no matters of conscience to bother us. That is because athletes and artists care about these things, and they care very deeply. As long as some of them are either free or brave, they’re going to speak up.

If you don’t like the national anthem, you’re also free to hit that mute button or the concession stand, I suppose. You are free to stop up your ears, if you want to do that.
 
They are paid to do a job. Few employers want their employees protesting on the company’s dime. Do you make it a habit of bringing up politics or religion during meetings at work?

If they want to protest on their own time (which some do), go for it. NFL ratings have been dropping and saw a more serious dip after the Kapernick issues. The NFL would simply well to stop filming pregame ceremonies. The stadiums are going to be empty this year most likely, so that way no one will see any protest anyway.
 
Dr_Meinheimer said:
They are paid to do a job. Few employers want their employees protesting on the company’s dime. Do you make it a habit of bringing up politics or religion during meetings at work?
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Entertainers don’t usually adhere to the guidelines you’re suggesting. They have a voice, and they know it. Their fans normally know it, too. (And yes, professional athletes absolutely are in the entertainment business.)
 
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What they get away with and what the paying customer wants are two different things. If the owner’s didn’t have a problem with it, Kap would have been signed the very next year. Instead, he doubled down with his racist anti-white girlfriend, insulted the one team interested, and no owner wanted to the PR. Now, he is too old and has been gone too long.

Heck, look at the grief Tebow got for kneeling after a touchdown.
 
Dr_Meinheimer said:
What they get away with and what the paying customer wants are two different things. If the owner’s didn’t have a problem with it, Kap would have been signed the very next year. Instead, he doubled down with his racist anti-white girlfriend, insulted the one team interested, and no owner wanted to the PR. Now, he is too old and has been gone too long.

Heck, look at the grief Tebow got for kneeling after a touchdown.
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Other entertainers also take hits for saying what they think. They say it, anyway. It is going to happen.

Yeah, I think the NFL is in a situation where they won’t be able to please the entire fan base, no matter what they do.

I wonder if Roger Goodell didn’t make his statement without consulting with the owners…just did it.
At this point, he’s looking to retire between now and a few years from now. Maybe he just did what he thought was right, what he’s going to wish he said when he’s on his deathbed, what he wants to have said when they write his obituary, and if The Shield doesn’t survive doing the right thing, what is there to defend?
 
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The NFL will do what it always does, which is err on the side of profitability. If they believe something will lose them money, then the “juice simply isn’t worth the squeeze.” I think we may see an increase in protests during the anthem next year (possibly), and depending on how the fans react, the NFL may try to distance itself again after awhile.

After looting and destroying half of America (the half the looters and protestors live in, ironically), I am not sure what purpose kneeing during an anthem would serve any more. If the wanton destruction, vandalism, and murder that has occurred in the aftermath of the Floyd murder doesn’t draw attention, does anyone think seeing some backup free safety for the Jaguars kneel during an anthem is going to do so? At that point, it becomes provocative grandstanding.
 
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