Malcolm Jenkins Has a Message for the White House: "You Aren't Listening"
Philadelphia Eagles Safety Malcolm Jenkins gave a very outspoken interview without actually saying anything at all. A day after President Trump rescinded his offer to the Philadelphia Eagles to come to celebrate at the white house, the veteran safety was interviewed about how the team felt about Trump's remarks and why they decided not to go. Instead of answering verbally, Jenkins responded to each question with handwritten cards. Malcolm Jenkins, you were a real one for this.
Without saying anything, he said a lot. NFL players are fed up with not being able to have their voices heard and their protests misinterpreted. In what was supposed to be a celebration of the SuperBowl Champs, President Trump became frustrated at the tiny number of players that were expected to show up. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, most of if not all of the Eagles black players were planning on not attending. Trump issused this statement:
“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow,” Trump said in a statement. “They disagree with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country. The Eagles wanted to send a small delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better. These fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony — one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the national anthem. I will be there at 3 p.m. with the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus to celebrate America.
Trump cancelled a party that wasn't even happening. Going to the White House after winning a national championship is supposed to be an honor for sports teams, but recent disagreements with the President have discouraged teams and players from wanting to show up. For as long as Trump is in office, we could see a trend of college and professional players turning down the opportunity to visit the white house.
When asked about how he felt about Trump cancelling Eagles trip, Lebron James responded “I mean, I know no matter who wins this series, no one wants the invite anyway. So it won’t be Golden State or Cleveland going.” Players are beginning to make a statement by not wanting to meet with the President and it's slightly embarrassing. It's embarrassing that the highest political position held in the country is occupied by a bigot, and professional athletes are making it known that they won't stand for it, literally. If we're being real, who honestly wants to volunteer to go party with Donald Trump, shake hands and trade fake smiles.
The Eagles also made headlines when Fox News released a story on the team showing Eagles players kneeling down in prayer before the game and tried to used that as propaganda to make it seem as if they were kneeling during the anthem. Not one Eagles players kneeled during the anthem last season.
Conservative news outlets and Trump supporters continue to push the agenda that kneeling for before the anthem is disrespectful to the anthem. We're tired of hearing this arguement. Malcolm Jenkins silent protest pretty much summed it up, "You aren't listening." In all honesty, they are listening. These people know what's up and they what the issues are. They are just choosing to remain ignorant on this subject for whatever personal reasons. It's much easier to call players privileged and tell them to protest on their own time than it is to actually hear them out and come to some reasoning. Donald Trump's statements on NFL players on enables these people to perpetuate their ignorance more and more.
This will be an interesting NFL season and we can almost guarantee that their will be many more protests to be seen. Grab some popcorn and take a seat so you can sit back and watch this fake outrage playout like a lifetime movie.
Check out the full interview here:
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