Good Monday morning NFL fans !!!1!
As the Kaep Kronical unfolds, we've seen college and high school footballers, following the lead of their sister volleyballers, taking the knee this weekend. Students, of course, are in a far different situation than the professional soccer and football players who are also protesting.
Soccer pro M.Rapinoe didn't take a knee before yesterday's match. Instead her Reign team stood and locked arms during the anthem. In the NFL, we had a few Dolphins take the knee. We had a Chef, a few Titans, and a few Patriots, raise their right fist. Notably, the Patriots raised their fists upon completion of the anthem. The Seahawks team, including Jeremy Lane who took a knee last week, as well as the Chefs team, stood and locked arms. Notably a NFL boss, head coach Pete Carroll, joined the Seahawks in protest.
As for the reaction, well so far there really hasn't been anything substantial to speak of. Sure, bitterness is running rampant in the MSM pundit class, among some celebs (like MLBer
Jason Verlander's fiance, WTFBBQ), among the usual suspect pols, and of course Donald Trump. Anecdotally, I'd say 75% of the NFL viewing public is anti-Kaepernick. Sure, #boycottNFL got all 'trendy' on Friday. But that anger hasn't transferred from Kaepernick, the second string QB, over to the NFL y/o their sponsors. There is no actual boycott at this time. Amazingly, we haven't had our 'Dixie Chicks' moments.
As I mentioned in my OP, I'm not primarily interested in the vilification of Kaepernick. I'm more interested in this carving out a place for on-the-clock protest in the professional sports work place. This quote from
The Wall Street Journal deserves sharing...
Quote:
NFLPA spokesman George Atallah said that players can’t violate the dress code—for example, by writing on their helmets—and they can’t interrupt the game. Apart from that, Mr. Atallah said, players can express themselves as they choose.
The league hasn't disciplined Mr. Kaepernick. NFL executive vice president of communications Joe Lockhart said the league has a “somewhat broader” view than the union of what players can and can’t do but explained the league would work together with the NFLPA to deal with the behavior on a case-by-case basis. He said drawing up an exhaustive list of prohibited behaviors wouldn't make sense...
Tonight we have a MNF doubleheader: Stealers @Washington 4:10 pdt, followed by the return of the LA Rams @49ers 7:20. The 49ers team features Kaepernick, and Eric Reid, who took the knee last week
Quote:
Originally Posted by mongidig
Are things better or worse for blacks since BLM started?
Better, and better for all rank-n-file folks. AINIC.
Last edited by Shame Trolly !!!1!; 09-12-2016 at 01:12 PM.