NFL sucks!

[Davidk]

To the NFL players who took a knee during the playing of the National Anthem.

So, you want to take a knee?

Take a trip to Valley Forge in January. Hold a musket ball in your fingers and imagine it piercing your flesh and breaking a bone or two. There won't be a doctor or trainer to assist you until after the battle. Wait your turn while listening to the screams of pain from the wounded.
Then take a knee.

Go to Normandy where man after American man stormed the beach, dodging dead bodies and withering machine gun fire,...the very sea stained with American blood. Imagine that your fellow players are your dead brothers in arms.
Then take a knee.

Take a knee in the sweat soaked jungles of Vietnam. Over 60,000 Americans died in those jungles.There was no playbook or million dollar contracts for doing your job, but they understood what our flag represented. When they came home, they were protested by their fellow Americans.
Then take a knee while they spit on you..

Take another knee in the blood drenched sands of Fallujah in 110 degree heat..Trade in your pads for a Kevlar helmet and battle dress...You'll have to stay hydrated, but there won't be anyone to squirt Gatorade into your mouth. And watch out for those IEDs when you take a knee.

There's a lot of places to take a knee. Americans have given their lives all over the world. When you use the banner under which they fought as a source for your protest, you dishonor the memories of those who bled for the very freedoms you have. That's what the red stripes mean. It represents the blood of those who spilled it defending your liberty.

So while you're on your knee, pray for those that came before you, not on manicured fields striped and printed with numbers to announce every inch of game yardage...but on nameless hills and bloodied beaches and sweltering forests and bitter cold mountains...every inch marked by an American life lost serving that flag you protest.

No cheerleaders, no announcers, no coaches, no fans...just American men and women on the land, air, and sea, delivering the real fight against those who chose to harm us..so you would have the opportunity to dishonor their service by "taking a knee."

You have no clue what it took to get you where you are...but your "protest" is duly noted. Not only is it disgraceful to a nation, it points to your ingratitude for those who chose to defend you under that banner that will still wave long after your stats and game jersey are forgotten...

If you really feel the need to take a knee, come with me to church on Sunday and we'll both kneel before Almighty God. We'll thank Him for preserving this country for as long as He has. We'll beg forgiveness for both of our ingratitude for all He has provided us. We'll appeal to Him for understanding and wisdom. We'll pray for liberty and justice for all....because He is the one who provides those things.

But no protesting allowed. There will only be gratitude for His provision and a plea for His continued grace and mercy on the land of the free and the home of the brave.

[taxfree4]

Just to clarify, the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights protects American citizens against the government prohibiting their free expression. It has absolutely nothing to do with a spoiled, mediocre, America hating employee of a private organization, the NFL, and his America hating asswipe buddies, disrupting, at his workplace, the one minute and 37 seconds when all Americans, from whatever and wherever, come together to pay tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. And enjoy this gift of American Freedom paid for by the blood of the brave. It shows total and complete ignorance and disrespect for everything that is sacred to America and Americans.

If you are so wrapped up in yourself and your race, creed or color is more important than rising to the common unity of being a participant in this, the greatest experiment of human freedom, then get the fuck out. The boat is waiting for you at the the dock, the plane is on the tarmac, hurry and make room so one who appreciates freedom and is willing to join in and work hard, persevere and succeed can come here and be an American. I am not an Italian American, just an American, and if Italy slid off into the ocean today I would go home, eat a full meal and get a good night's sleep. What should happen at this private place of business is if ANYONE either takes a knee or doesn't hold their hand on their heart or salute you are not only out of the game but you are not paid for that game, do it 3X and you're off the team.

Instead of taking a knee when you're worried about people being shot, on your own time and with your own money, teach people to shut their mouths when pulled over by cops and follow their instructions. I have access to court proceedings and transcripts so if you disagree please give me the case you are citing where someone was pulled over and shot while cooperating with law enforcement.

And being this era of Trump, where the common folk are heard, I would put it on them that until every one of those American hating slime that took a knee publicly apologizes to their fellow Americans for disrespecting the flag and the anthem the stadiums will remain empty. I can dream can't I.

[Walcrow]

Just to clarify, the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights protects American citizens against the government prohibiting their free expression. It has absolutely nothing to do with a spoiled, mediocre, America hating employee of a private organization, the NFL, and his America hating asswipe buddies, disrupting, at his workplace, the one minute and 37 seconds when all Americans, from whatever and wherever, come together to pay tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. And enjoy this gift of American Freedom paid for by the blood of the brave. It shows total and complete ignorance and disrespect for everything that is sacred to America and Americans.

If you are so wrapped up in yourself and your race, creed or color is more important than rising to the common unity of being a participant in this, the greatest experiment of human freedom, then get the fuck out. The boat is waiting for you at the the dock, the plane is on the tarmac, hurry and make room so one who appreciates freedom and is willing to join in and work hard, persevere and succeed can come here and be an American. I am not an Italian American, just an American, and if Italy slid off into the ocean today I would go home, eat a full meal and get a good night's sleep. What should happen at this private place of business is if ANYONE either takes a knee or doesn't hold their hand on their heart or salute you are not only out of the game but you are not paid for that game, do it 3X and you're off the team.

Instead of taking a knee when you're worried about people being shot, on your own time and with your own money, teach people to shut their mouths when pulled over by cops and follow their instructions. I have access to court proceedings and transcripts so if you disagree please give me the case you are citing where someone was pulled over and shot while cooperating with law enforcement.

And being this era of Trump, where the common folk are heard, I would put it on them that until every one of those American hating slime that took a knee publicly apologizes to their fellow Americans for disrespecting the flag and the anthem the stadiums will remain empty. I can dream can't I.

[taxfree4]

And whether you like this version or not say what you want but a real man, not a spoiled asswipe, who achieved a certain amount of fame and served his country, while probably experiencing true racism, didn't use it as a crutch or an excuse. He gave honor to the anthem and therefore the flag, in HIS own way, and gave it as a gift to the people at Woodstock and therefore the world. Humble and with a true sense of what he thought was a display of American Pride, that is how a grown up professional operates Mr. Kapernick or whatever your name is.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B-ZYUaRKQkk


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vgyGJl_xm6o

[tiltingf6b]

To the NFL players who took a knee during the playing of the National Anthem.

So, you want to take a knee?

Take a trip to Valley Forge in January. Hold a musket ball in your fingers and imagine it piercing your flesh and breaking a bone or two. There won't be a doctor or trainer to assist you until after the battle. Wait your turn while listening to the screams of pain from the wounded.
Then take a knee.

Go to Normandy where man after American man stormed the beach, dodging dead bodies and withering machine gun fire,...the very sea stained with American blood. Imagine that your fellow players are your dead brothers in arms.
Then take a knee.

Take a knee in the sweat soaked jungles of Vietnam. Over 60,000 Americans died in those jungles.There was no playbook or million dollar contracts for doing your job, but they understood what our flag represented. When they came home, they were protested by their fellow Americans.
Then take a knee while they spit on you..

Take another knee in the blood drenched sands of Fallujah in 110 degree heat..Trade in your pads for a Kevlar helmet and battle dress...You'll have to stay hydrated, but there won't be anyone to squirt Gatorade into your mouth. And watch out for those IEDs when you take a knee.

There's a lot of places to take a knee. Americans have given their lives all over the world. When you use the banner under which they fought as a source for your protest, you dishonor the memories of those who bled for the very freedoms you have. That's what the red stripes mean. It represents the blood of those who spilled it defending your liberty.

So while you're on your knee, pray for those that came before you, not on manicured fields striped and printed with numbers to announce every inch of game yardage...but on nameless hills and bloodied beaches and sweltering forests and bitter cold mountains...every inch marked by an American life lost serving that flag you protest.

No cheerleaders, no announcers, no coaches, no fans...just American men and women on the land, air, and sea, delivering the real fight against those who chose to harm us..so you would have the opportunity to dishonor their service by "taking a knee."

You have no clue what it took to get you where you are...but your "protest" is duly noted. Not only is it disgraceful to a nation, it points to your ingratitude for those who chose to defend you under that banner that will still wave long after your stats and game jersey are forgotten...

If you really feel the need to take a knee, come with me to church on Sunday and we'll both kneel before Almighty God. We'll thank Him for preserving this country for as long as He has. We'll beg forgiveness for both of our ingratitude for all He has provided us. We'll appeal to Him for understanding and wisdom. We'll pray for liberty and justice for all....because He is the one who provides those things.

But no protesting allowed. There will only be gratitude for His provision and a plea for His continued grace and mercy on the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Well written DavidK - but I think there is a way to do both - see my post.

[dadeo]

But do players have the right to protest at NFL sanctioned events, including games? That is a purely legal question governed by the players' contracts and union agreements. The league PROBABLY DOES have the right to prohibit some, or all, players from exercising their constitutional right of first amendment expression at an NFL event. The NFL is not a governmental entity.

Now should the NFL go after the players? My personal opinion on this is that they should let the players do what they want, as long as their actions don't disrupt events. The players will either make their point and people will come to agree with them, or they won't.

What is also important is how the fan base reacts. Those who object to the player's protests SHOULD voice those objections, but they shouldn't try to bring down the league thru boycotts, as long as the players show up, play as hard as they can, and don't disrupt the game.

In my book people are getting far too worked up over what the players are doing. The players actions reflect what they have seen themselves. Even myself, a white, fairly wealthy man, has seen and heard far too many white people openly discriminate. I live in Northern VA, supposedly the liberal part of the state. I've listened to cops saying that they pull over blacks just because they are driving expensive cars, checking out black kids walking in supposedly white neighborhoods, who turned out to live there. I've got a black neighbor in the Air Force, married to a white women who was also in the Air Force. The stories they tell us are sick. Recent stories.

My opinion is that these things are still happening in 2017. And it needs to stop.

[taxfree4]

People tune in and have been tuning in to sports to escape the everyday B.S. that goes on in their lives whether it is political, familial, work-related etc.. In these times where both parents may work maybe 6 days a week Football Sunday is their only escape and maybe the only thing they can afford. To inject at your workplace your personal and political fantasies, wrong as they are, at the precise moment a memorial is being played is like talking on your cellphone during the playing of Taps, you can do it but all you're showing is how ignorant and stupid you are. And for the technically challenged out there here is the law 36 U.S. Code § 301

(a)Designation.—
The composition consisting of the words and music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem.
(b)Conduct During Playing.—During a rendition of the national anthem—
(1) when the flag is displayed—
(A) individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note;
(B) members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present but not in uniform may render the military salute in the manner provided for individuals in uniform; and
(C) all other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, and men not in uniform, if applicable, should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart; and
(2) when the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed.

This is how you handle these overpayed, under-informed, attention-starved babies, let a private school show you how it's done.

http://abc7chicago.com/sports/footba...nthem/2475204/

You want to protest do it on your own time and your own dime don't ruin my Sunday with your B.S.. The problem is men have been sissified into this "symbolism over substance". Colin Kapernick, like OJ couldn't give a rats ass about the people they talk about and they certainly don't want to live in those communities where they think this is happening. They want to ride right by these places on their way to golf courses, luncheons at poolside, shopping on Rodeo Drive and their villas. But from the safety of a stadium where people come to escape the world, and are charged heavily to pay for these overpriced mediocre players, they have to be exposed to this drivel. Again, the Bill of Rights Freedom clause does not apply to a private business, tax exempt no less, so that argument is moot, you either honor the flag/anthem or you don't.

[dadeo]

I revised my post,

So you think it's more important to stand for a symbol than protest racism in this country. And you feel this way so you can "escape" your everyday life.
I don't know which is sadder: that you feel people have to escape everyday life, or that we still have so much racism and you fail to recognize it.

And just because a bunch of falsely patriotic morons in Congress passed such stupidly as a law, does not mean it would ever stand the test of a court.

Folks like you would rather stick there head in the ground than see, and do, something about overt racism in this country.

Oh, well

[taxfree4]

I revised my post,

So you think it's more important to stand for a symbol than protest racism in this country. And you feel this way so you can "escape" your everyday life.
I don't know which is sadder: that you feel people have to escape everyday life, or that we still have so much racism and you fail to recognize it.

And just because a bunch of falsely patriotic morons in Congress passed such stupidly as a law, does not mean it would ever stand the test of a court.

Folks like you would rather stick there head in the ground than see, and do, something about overt racism in this country.

Oh, well

The only symbolism going on is kneeling during the national anthem. It solves nothing, it accomplishes even less. It is a superficial, vapid display consisting of nothing but schoolgirl symbolism put on by empty headed, overpaid idiots. However, that "symbol" you refer to, the flag/anthem, and the honor given it is the representation of the millions of dead soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice to give you the oppurtunity to spout the ignorance of that sacrifice from your mouth. Racism, are you serious? Is that what they teach you in city universities? There isn't a business out there that would discriminate in fear of the EEOC or a DOJ action, the only time the government authorizes racism for curing racism is Affirmative Action, please save your drama for another forum.

Calling a law you don't like passed by " a bunch of patriotic morons in Congress" tells me more about you that is why you are synoptic with the ignorance and stupidity of CK. Your misuse of "there" instead of "their" also tells me Public School or day care, just thinking out loud. I certainly want to do something about overt racism so I'm taking a knee right now on my own time and not during the national anthem to stop Affirmative Action. Funny when I arose it was still there. Gee, that was dumb, I'm not doing that again. Maybe if the cops were mandated to use body cams we could solve this problem like here:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wHnqZq9yP8c

[Walcrow]

The only symbolism going on is kneeling during the national anthem. It solves nothing, it accomplishes even less. It is a superficial, vapid display consisting of nothing but schoolgirl symbolism put on by empty headed, overpaid idiots. However, that "symbol" you refer to, the flag/anthem, and the honor given it is the representation of the millions of dead soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice to give you the oppurtunity to spout the ignorance of that sacrifice from your mouth. Racism, are you serious? Is that what they teach you in city universities? There isn't a business out there that would discriminate in fear of the EEOC or a DOJ action, the only time the government authorizes racism for curing racism is Affirmative Action, please save your drama for another forum.

Calling a law you don't like passed by " a bunch of patriotic morons in Congress" tells me more about you that is why you are synoptic with the ignorance and stupidity of CK. Your misuse of "there" instead of "their" also tells me Public School or day care, just thinking out loud. I certainly want to do something about overt racism so I'm taking a knee right now on my own time and not during the national anthem to stop Affirmative Action. Funny when I arose it was still there. Gee, that was dumb, I'm not doing that again. Maybe if the cops were mandated to use body cams we could solve this problem like here:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wHnqZq9yP8c

Well said, Mike.