The NFL Is The New Sunken Place
Aldon Smith is introduced by Commissioner of the National Football League Roger Goodell as the seventh pick to the San Francisco 49ers at the NFL Draft 2011 at Radio City Music Hall in New York, NY.
Credit: Debby Wong via Shutterstock
The NFL, the National Football League, the field of dreams! Let's call it for what it is, it's the actual sunken place. The NFL as a corporation is trash. The commissioner, trash. The owners, super trash. And the President who endorses all the bs surrounding the league, is the garbage collector.
"You have to stand proudly for the National Anthem and the NFL owners did the right thing if that's what they've done," stated Trump in an interview with Fox News. "You have to stand proudly for the National Anthem or you shouldn't be playing. You shouldn't be there. Maybe you shouldn't be in the country."
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell instituted a new policy that will require NFL players to stand for the anthem or face fines, with the alternative option of staying in the locker room. This is the equivalent of shut up and play, and completely ignores the entire agenda of why players were kneeling in the first place.
Black players make up nearly 70 percent of the NFL. Out of 32 teams, there are only 8 black head coaches. Even more staggering is that out of 32 teams, there are ZERO black owners. So here lies the problem; black players are being used purely for entertainment purposes only and are a minority in terms of true leadership positions in the NFL. This new policy which is supported by the commissioner and its owners is a way to silence the voice of the players, and save face for the league which is trying to protect its fan base and finances.
This is all about money. The NFL tv ratings were down 9.7 percent in 2017, mainly due to fans being upset over players kneeling during the anthem. A policy such as this shows that the NFL truly has no loyalty to the players, no true integrity to American values and freedom of speech, and that they only care about ratings and money. It's a business, sure, but at what point do you begin to show respect for your employees?
At a time where racial tensions and issues are rising, black players have chosen to use their platform to bring awareness to social injustices in black communities, police brutality, and racial issues. Still, there are fans and obviously executives within the league who either can't comprehend what the protests are about, or simply just don't want to.
The NFL refuses to acknowledge the collective voice of its black players, so maybe it's time the black players ignored the NFL. What will it take for black players to truly take a stand and collectively sit out a few games until some real change is made, or is the paycheck that comes with playing more important than the stand they are trying to make? If even half the black players sat out for a game, there would be no game. How much of a backbone do you really have, players? Because clearly the league doesn't have one and they don't want you to have one either.
There are fans who still can't clearly comprehend the reason the players are protesting in the first place. But It’s not that they can’t comprehend it, they just refuse to acknowledge the reality behind the protests. The notion that they are there purely for entertainment and should protest on their own time is tone deaf. If the same issues were happening consistently in the white community, we wouldn’t be having these discussions.
Protests are not meant to be done at a specific time that’s convenient to certain, but meant to gather your attention. Black people never have a choice at a given time that they have to endure whatever problems they deal with, so the convenience of the players protesting by kneeling is unfortunate to some because it somehow messes up their "entertainment." Now let's be clear, we all love the entertainment factor that sports and football brings, but at the end of the day there are more important things in life which is what these players are trying to bring attention to.
Here’s the kicker, if black people started rioting in the streets and beating up police officers the way they beat us, shoot up schools the way these kids are doing now, we would be seen as animals. But they have merely chose to protest in a peaceful manner and it’s become a major deal. But still, there are people who have chosen to ignore the issues, but put their focus on the actual action of kneeling during the anthem, which is apparently disrespectful to them. Black people feeling disrespected is cool as long as they protest in a manner thats not disrespectful to you?
The NFL is already facing criticism for the poor product they put on the field as a result of new rule changes, and this new policy is only going to make it worse. Certain NFL players have begun to speak up on twitter and interviews, but is just simply speaking up enough?
The NFL has made its move, now what will you do? You still watching?
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