Respectfully kneeling is somehow outrageous, but spitting, chewing (tobacco?), pulling on your collar, etc is somehow not called out.
I disagree with many “patriotic” displays (“one nation under God”? Indeed? Lost that one when I was 8) but I will stand quietly while others show their respect for what they believe in. The same way I would respect someone else’s culture as long as they respect mine (with some targeted exceptions - and even then I won’t be disrespectful).
All this uproar is so much more about race and place in society.
1
The kneelers have lost. Game Over. Victory to Trump
3
The willful mischaracterization of Kaepernick's bravery - putting himself and his livelihood at risk by leveraging his public status to protest the obvious racial inequality in the US - is unfortunate. He has clearly explained his position, yet so many choose to ignore his message.
Our increasing glorification of any, and all, things military, is profoundly unsettling.
Nationalism is nothing more than the celebration of one's accidental location of birth - "America is best because 'I' was born here".
8
This is perhaps a bit off topic, but with the Pats it's always something. Edelman who was the MVP was out 4 games at the beginning of the season for using a performance enhancing substance. I didn't remember this until this morning's paper mentioning it. In all my years of watching the NFL, since the early 1950s, I can't recall ever seeing quicker feet than he displayed. He was cat-like. He is shorter, but he seemed to go three directions at once a few times, much quicker than his defenders could deal with. His performance did seem enhanced.
2
We need to remember that it isn't patriotism but the military recruiting budget which pays $100,000 to the NFL to have the F 16s fly over the stadium and that it costs $10,000 an hour to fly the F16 in a publicity stunt....
I don't know how the military members on the field are compensated....or what the military pays to put them on the field.....
Retired army officer and Vietnam Vet
12
Politics detract from sports.
10
What I find annoying about the "unfairness" of Colin Kaepernick not being recruited is in 2015 his passer rating was 29th in league & so he was benched after 8 games. He had multiple surgeries on knee, shoulder and thumb & was a liability with a 14 million dollar contract, because his running game meant there was a good chance of injury. I used to watch him & liked him, but soon realized he was a QB who did not stay in the pocket, scrambled too often... maybe just didn't learn to see the field & play options. The next year he started kneeling and 3 games in said he was willing to risk his career to stand up for principles. This context gets lost in the drama.
11
Anyone who believes that kneeling for the National Anthem is disrespecting the military has never set foot on a military base at 5 pm when it’s played. If they did, the sight of people scurrying inside or rushing to get to their vehicles before the first note is played so they don’t have to stand and salute would silence much of their “outrage”. Do you ever wonder why you don’t hear active duty military making a huge deal about Kaepernick?
12
To all Americans,
Kaepernick has the right to protest to increase awareness of the problem of inappropriately applied deadly force. It part of free speech. It is not disrespectful to veterans. As a retired army officer and 2 time combat veteran, I take no offense to any American exercising their rights. Kudos to him for selecting a venue that attracted so much attention!
America has many issues and always has had problems and always has had solutions. All can be solved with the right public debate, legislative action, personal discipline and enforcement. From my view we have 3 main problems that threaten splitting our country:
1. Inappropriate use of deadly force (such as when fleeing) against African Americans and anyone of any ethnicity.
2. Determining root cause of why adult men continue to get themselves into those situations.
3. Out of control debt spending by our government. I had to include that it because it threatens our economic stability which everyone relies on to sustain themselves, their families and creates conditions for additional occurrences of number 1 and number 2 above!
12
The military and old civil rights' leaders presence was just over the top. Just ridiculous.
Then it was followed by a boring game and a boring half time.
New England got away with pass interference on a potential touchdown by the Rams.
3
As a retired cop, I always pause when the topic is "police brutality." (It pays to think before speaking.)
Yes, there is (and probably always will be) cops who shouldn't be wearing the uniform, cops who "lose it," and a great many cops who will do that job honorably.
As a prominent person, Colin Kaepernick can step forward to speak out as a representative of all of the people of color who have been hurt and threatened by bad cops. When you're famous, more folks pay attention.
Who knows how far his cause would have been taken, if he had gone on talk shows, given speeches, walked in public protests etc?
I don't really know if he was "right" to protest in the way he did. If he believed it was the best way to help people, then so be it. With our Country's history tarnished by slavery and racism, I think we can survive on man's attempt to speak out in this fashion.
It got people talking--not all of it pretty, but talking's better than a lot of alternatives. And I got to add, that most cops I worked with in 30 years of big city policing were decent.
Thanks for the forum, Colin K.
12
The anthem represent slavery, theft, and murder. Ditto with the flag.
4
Who bronzed Colin Kaepernick? If he were a manageable employee he would have been hired a long time ago.
8
@Dan Barthel
Not if he is being blacklisted.
And by managed you mean keep his mouth shut.
6
@Skip Moreland No, I mean do what the coaches want him to do.
3
I think most people overlook the fact that Mr. Kapernick was an employee. As an employee he must abide by the employers rules. Whether that be wearing the required uniform, being on time to practice, and yes, standing for the national anthem at the start of each game. If he wants to protest it should be on his own time. What if he was working at McDonalds and right after he punched in for work he told his boss he was going to kneel for a few minutes in protest of police brutality? He wouldn't have a job for very long. He has the right to protest whatever he wants, on his own time just like the rest of us.
20
I am tired of reading comments, not just to the NYT, about the NFL acting like slave owners.
Slavery was not a choice.
Nobody forces anyone to play pro football. It is a choice.
And, for those who say that it's not really a choice for some young men who only have athletics to count on in order to have a career or make money, then I have this to say:
At the college level, scholarship and walk-on athletes need a union. Yes, a union. Some power. And, the purpose of that union should be to guarantee that every college athlete gets the education that non-athletes get. No getting passed through. Must take and pass all courses; really get the degree. And, that's a long-term benefit. Can end up providing career choices, other than going "pro" at all, or deciding after some time playing pro to do something else other than playing a sport until your body breaks down or you are "cut" because you're just not good enough.
And, if anyone says that's not possible, because the young men don't have time to be a normal student and also have to train and play? I disagree. Twelve months in a year. Take as many courses as you can, in all semesters. And, if it takes you 5 years to graduate, so what? Your choice. Be a student and an athlete, or only an athlete.
And, yes, I understand that, for some college athletes, their pro salary saves their family from poverty. That is a very sad state of affairs. And a situation that no young man should be put into.
3
Does anyone still care about this?
5
@B Levin. I agree. Who really cares?
1
The NFL had record revenues, record attendances and record television viewing audiences for the 2018 season.
I'm glad the NFL can use it's platform and notoriety for all types of charitable and goodwill causes, including racial equality.
However, a majority of the owners believe demonstrations should be done off the field, not on....the fans agreed.
7
So glad to see the outpouring of support for Colin Kaepernick via the #I’mwithKap movement, Rhianna’s refusal to participate in the Stupor Bowl farce, and elsewhere. The NFL’s slaveholder-owner’s mentality may blackball him, even tear down Atlanta murals dedicated to him, but they can’t change the fact that he, and those who stand behind him, are on the side of justice and righteousness.
10
Pretty sure the NFL doesn't care if Ava and Colin don't watch. Most everyone else quit watching after the 3rd quarter anyway.
ps- it's not collusion if no one wants to hire you...maybe they just don't like you
9
Every African American in the NFL should be ashamed to take their million dollar paychecks for playing a game while Kapernick is punished for being the only man in the room with the integrity to kneel and expose this ugly country for what it is. Also sickening to see rep. Lewis take on the role as a puppet for the NFL.
10
Whether you are for or against kneeling, one thing is clear. The NFL has done a masterful job of getting folks on both sides of the issue to protest the SB and the NFL.
3
Dallas Cowboys players wanted to wear decals honoring police officers that had been killed by sniper fire on one horrendous night in 2016, but NFL officials forbid them from doing so. The players respected the decision. Where was the outrage by the NY Times then? Where was the outrage by liberals arguing for these players' right to express themselves? There wasn't any. They didn't deem that cause worthy of attention. It turns out that a single standard of conduct is being applied fairly to all players, but some want special treatment. There is a phrase for this kind of glaring hypocrisy: double standard.
18
I haven’t watched NFL football for two years because of the kneelers. When they are all done with whatever disrespect they are doing, I’ll return.
10
Sounds like Ali, when will it end...
1
while no one seemed to be taking a knee, a not insignificant number of players seemed to be holding the collars of their Jersey (while a number of others put their hand over their heart). what was the significance/meaning of the "collar grab"?
@bored critic
No players were kneeling. Some people just like to stir up controversy. I'm sure you'll find something disrespectful about that.
1
Didn't see the civil rights leaders but sounds right up the NFL's alley. I watched about half the game because others were. This season I watched less than one full game total. Before this year I watched at least 5 games a week and had been watching since at least Super Bowl 5. (Johnny Unitas & The Colts beat the Cowboys on a last minute field goal by Jim O'Brien)
This year I had had enough. The Kaepernick thing was the big reason but there were others. The league getting paid by the military to worship them (they do, big) nauseates me. The officiating, so bad as to warrant accusations of fixing.
The Marijuana policy, and so on.
I regret watching at all. As predictable as ever. Wish I would have been in Vegas if I was going to watch. I would have won some money betting the under. Ces't La Vie.
5
@Rick
Of course it's fixed. Too many red-hat-wearing owners want their ROI. The NFL is business after all, not sport.
1
Tim Tebow kneeled and was crucified for it
12
The hypocrisy of the NFL in portraying itself as a civil rights supporter, considering the blatant and contradictory ostracism of Colin Kaepernik for exercising the right to protest peaceably for equal treatment under the law, cemented my disinterest in the NFL. It's all about the money, not any principles. A conscience is not part of corporate DNA. It's all about the money, so don't get in the way.
11
The NFL has far more than this that it should be continually publicly shamed about.
Most importantly, its cold shoulder to the league veterans suffering from forms of brain injury.
As HBO's Real Sports has pointed out—repeatedly—the NFL bends over backwards to deny medical benefits to former players who absolutely, positively have CTE or have lost cognition in some form by bringing in their own doctors who find different conclusions than the four or five doctors who have confirmed a veteran's diagnosis.
They should be shamed daily until they do what they have promised. And it's not like they don't have the funds to do so. It's that the average veteran NFL player is of no use to the league anymore and they feel any money spent on them is wasted. You played the game, you had your glory, you knew the consequences.
Did they?
8
and the President claims he and he alone resolved the NFL controversy.
HE created it.
Kapernick took a stand.
The president turned it into an anti-military and anti-police protest. He fueled the fire and used his predictable fear mongering. (and he made it antj-billionaire)
His white nationalists, David Duke, and his "base" loved it.
But that's ok because there are fine people" on both sides of the issue.
15
Maybe if Colin had decided not to protest during the Anthem he would still be playing. How is the simple act of kneeling, which takes no effort and requires no sacrifice, a protest of anything? Only by disrespecting the Anthem and the Flag, symbols which countless Americans have Sacrificed Life and Limb so it was not a 'protest' as much as a act of disrespect. Or, looked at another way. When he was a first string Quarterback he had no need to 'protest'. As a second string quarterback with no eyes on him he suddenly found his social conscience. I stopped watching the NFL two years ago because of him. I did watch the superbowl yesterday but skipped the halftime show. Colin is owed nothing. He made his choice to disrepect others who sacrificed far more than he ever has. He is rich and healthy, free to protest and owes all of that to the people who he disrespected with his 'protest'. But, people are paying attention to him again so maybe it was all worth it.
12
No one is protesting the flag or veterans. It was about police brutality. You and others inserted that completely false narrative yourselves. Learn to listen to others.
7
I refuse to watch any more NFL games. The referees are horrible and seem to determine desired outcomes and the NFL has no problem with violent abusers on teams but a problem with someone who is trying to get anyone to do the right thing in the US. I'm tired of taxpayers paying for these huge stadiums that most of us will never use and for jet flyovers for a football game yet somehow we have no money to fix our infrastructure or do something about climate change. The NFL owners are millionaires and billionaires yet the NFL is a non-profit. What is wrong with this picture?
20
Kaepernick isn't entitled to a job - and there's plenty of evidence that even without the knee 'controversy', he likely wouldn't be working. I don't care about the take a knee thing - do it, don't do it, it's up to your employer if they want to make it a job issue.
I think boycotting because a few players take a knee is silly, but hey, everyone has a choice of what they support - then boycotting because someone didn't get a job - equally silly. This just isn't worth the amount of airplay it is getting, but since some people had to blow it up into the biggest scandal ever that a few players were kneeling rather than standing, it became one of our social issue controversies.
7
Clearly, none of your correspondents interviewed a cross-section of Atlanta residents about Bernice King's efforts and influence on the civil rights movement. You would have discovered they are nil. Treating Atlanta like it is Wakanda does a disservice to the many communities that call Atlanta home, but especially the black ones. Trivializing the work done so far and the vast amount left do be done does no one any good.
3
Why oh why did John Lewis and Andrew Young, two heroes of the civil rights movement, lend their distinguished reputations to the NFL opening ceremony? This is a League that stands back while Kaepernick cannot find work because he took the knee for the same reasons that led Lewis and Young to cross that bridge in Selma.
11
What does being a liberal have to do with this controversy? I am so sick of this knee jerk reaction!!! Please do some homework, use real words that pertain to the subject at hand. Let's make a point to have an informed, coherent conversation based on facts, not labels.
3
I only wish I had been using Nike products just so I could stop.
6
@Texas Liberal "Just Do It!"-Nike
Ridiculous how this ‚game‘ is just a money-making venture for an entitled few who have somehow convinced the rest of America to see it as an ‚all-American‘, must-see sport. What does the national anthem have to do with football anyway? Nothing. I never stood for the anthem, and I am talking 40 years ago. I got some strange looks but that was about all. Because the anthem has no place in sports. And because ‚America‘ has always treated those who are not white badly, me included. So I did not see a reason to stand and acknowledge a fairy tale about America being the home of the free. And if I ever attended another game - which I never will do again - I would kneel too.
7
I don’t have mixed feelings about legacy civil rights activists forgetting the value of progress and resistance in a time when new clarity is required as the best example of leadership. These civil rights activists choice to be used in this manner were selfish and disconnected from the suffering of Black people today and the urgency of revolutionary shifts in a racist culture.
Too often previous leaders’ achievements linger too long in the psyche of suffering people and disrupt the need for a new and clear articulation of a compounding problem of no relief coming from emerging relatable leaders.
We need to stop clinging to the past to avoid facing the here and now, and attend to the need for fresh perspectives and actions that bring new solidarity.
1
Like DuVernay I have not been a viewer or supporter. But not for the same reason. I strongly oppose Kaepernick and all of his sycophants. He has truly destroyed what the NFL formerly represented. That is the true sport of football and great competition. Now it is all political correctness.
It is time that we get back to playing ball and forget about all the "noise" coming from those who could care less about the game. NFL management needs to get back "the way it was".
Stand up to the critics and just play football.
2
Cynical? The height of pandering by Goodell - but really by the pretenders Kraft, Jerry Jones and the owners whoa him. Most of whom would have had slaves on their plantations if they lived in 1800’s
3
PR for NFL. Got it. To be expected. After all, the white billionaires club that has its plantation play in taxpayer-financed stadiums also gets tax breaks for its "social justice" bows. And who pays for the Air Force flyovers at these games?
6
We watched the super bowl, without our usual guests, who were all on family leave. By and large, it was good football, though I felt that the game is getting more violent in that the definition of of interference with the receiver has gotten looser, not tighter. It was a guilty pleasure, since I have at least three reasons to boycott the event. First, the black quarterback Colin Kaepernick hasn't been allowed to play since the season in 2016 when he took a knee against police shootings of unarmed black men, and second, the brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., makes the whole thing something to revise or avoid. Third, the NFL is guilty of false claims. They insist this is the world championship, which is nonesense. They are not international like the real international sport of football at the World Cup.
The reason for this post is to share the rap video by Ava Duvernay in honor of Colin Kaepernick in the NYT article below. I'm afraid it is exactly what the white billionaires's club of NFL owners deserves.
David Lindsay Jr. is the author of “The Tay Son Rebellion,” and blogs at TheTaySonRebellion.com and InconvenientNews.wordpress.com. He performs folk music and stories about Climate Change and the Sixth Extinction.
2
Adam Levine should have taken a knee rather than taking off his tank top.
10
They drag those old, tired men out for the coin flipped by a descendant of MLK and you wonder why race is a joke in Atlanta.
3
Most cynical was maroon 5 performing she will he loved - they should’ve played in the background all those videos that have surfaced of nfl players physically abusing women. The nfl is gross - not to say it doesn’t have its entertainment value - but as some sort of moral spokesman or authority, puhlease.
3
Really? The NYT is going with Ava DuVernay as the representative of the many who refused to watch the game in solidarity with Kaepernick? Memo to the Gray Lady: Ms. DuVernay hasn't met a scenario that isn't filled with white privilege and black oppression, including her response to criticism of her film "A Wrinkle In Time" where she blamed the universally panned film on bad reviews from "caucasian journalists" who didn't understand her.
Bottom line on Kaepernick is he simply turned out not to be very good. His career passer rating was 59.8%, his average passing yards per game was a paltry 177 yds and his record over his last two seasons was a less than stellar 4 wins and 16 losses. Teams generally take on players despite the distractions of the drama swirling around them when they can contribute on the field.....but not when the cost outweighs the benefit.
5
Yawn. NFL only cares about $$ - who can take the cheating, scandal, oppression? No one I know even watched.
1
I used to be a rabid Cincinnati Bengals Fan back in the 80's and 90's. But this obsession has passed. I moved to Key West, Fl in 1999 and never looked back. Now I enjoy the Key West High School games. Pro football has cut its own throat. Go Fighting Conchs..!!!!!!!!
2
Smallest TV ratings in 10 years. That's an awful lot of people voting with their feet, or their remotes.
The Colin Kapernick fiasco was compounded by the NFL's refusal to deal with one of the worst refereeing calls (a no-call) in history two weeks previous in the Superdome. Compounding that was news that the referees who failed to call that flagrant foul were from Los Angeles. That last one cost CBS nearly every television in the state of Louisiana.
Smallest TV ratings in 10 years, after a season that was actually going pretty well. The NFL now has some work to do in order to survive. Somebody please give Kapernick a job. Make pass interference calls and no-calls reviewable and challengeable. Never again schedule referees to call a game involving their hometown team. Schedule the season opener between the Saints and Patriots, and everyone can call it "The Super Bowl That Should Have Been". And then fire Roger Goodell for being stunningly insular in both cases.
7
@Voter Do not see where Colin Kaepernick has earned a job on an NFL team, but maybe you know of one.
4
@Robert Avant There is only one proper place to determine that - the playing field. He can succeed (or fail) there based on his own talents (or lack thereof). That is the whole point here. It is not for politicians or armchair quarterbacks like you and me to determine Colin Kapernick's athletic prowess.
1
@Voter. Absolutely right.
So let Mr. Kaepernick and all the other dissatisfied millionaire football players form—or buy—their own football team and hire Mr. K to be quarterback so he can show how great a player he really is.
2
It’s my understand that performing the national anthem at football games was only recently instituted at the request of the armed services; they pay handsomely for this recruitment promotion.
7
The anthem has been sung at NFL games since World War II - about 75 years. Hope this helps clarify the situation.
6
To be a fly on the wall during the negations between the kings, Young, Lewis and the NFL. I wonder what form each of their 30 pieces of silver took
5
I live in Naples, FL. Dish network is in a fight with the CBS affiliate so they have cut off service. Besides Colbert, it seems I'm missing nothing besides a reduction of my dish bill for a service I was paying for and not receiving.
Anyway, it should be renamed the Super Bore as the commercials are usually the most entertaining portion of the broadcast.
4
Hardly tuned in - just switching channels last night. Tired of NFL scandals and hypocrisy. Seems like the last decade has been nothing but negative news about the NFL; hiding the truth about concussions, players being arrested left and right for violence, quarterbacks deflating balls, managers offering rewards for physically injuring other teams players - it’s been endless. Shame on Goodell and the owners for being so oblivious and tone deaf.
8
@Sixty One
Prior to the last decade we didn't have the internet providing us with everyone's innermost thoughts and daily activities.
As with all other groups....this "stuff" has likely always been happening but it was much easier to keep under the carpet. We now have media (social and others) deciding what and how often we should be seeing everyone's activities.
1
Honestly NFL, how stupid do you think we are? None of the hours of PR and millions spent by the league regarding caring about communities, and women, and people of color, and voting, registered in MY house. I guess I'm immune.
The billionaires who own teams, especially the Krafts, do not care about us. They do care about the size of their yachts though. The don't care about women, they wish we'd vote less, and they steal tax dollars from local communities by threatening to leave, just like the St. Louis Rams did.
If you owners and the men who shill for you really cared about your communities with young men who bash their brains out then live a lifetime of hurt, you'd supply bucks to the campaigns of Progressives. Instead, you buy red state senators to make sure your corporate taxes and low and getting lower.
Call me crazy, but I will never buy the PR.
28
The NFL should be embarrassed. What a sanctimonious charade.
21
Kaepernick WAS a great quarterback. By the time he took a knee he had become a less than mediocre quarterback coming off a terrible season.
So no matter what one thinks of taking knees during the national anthem, he was no longer a quality player.
12
@Shadai Two words for you: Nathan Peterman.
@Shadai Kaepernick was never a great quarteback. He was a moderately talented QB in a perfect system for him. System gone, Colin gone
4
@Shadai True. But he's been to the Super Bowl, and you have lesser QBs that still got hired. So there may have been something else explaining his lack of play besides his stats.
1
The NFL has become irrelevant and lost all credibility with the blind refs it employs. Mr K. is just another distraction by a spoiled, rich, & self-important player. I stopped watching NFL football when the first knee touched the ground. College football is much more enjoyable & worthwhile.
2
I used to watch NFL football all the time, but I no longer do so since the absurd kneeling episodes began. Lots of other former NFL fans have done likewise.
I used to buy Nike products, but now I will never buy another Nike product.
I have nothing against protests, but there are appropriate times and places. If you think anyone can protest anything anytime and anywhere, just try protesting whatever at your place of employment and see how long you remain employed.
13
@Ro Ma - Sorry, but I respectfully disagree. US citizens have been protesting at places of employment for a very long time. When employees feel they are treated unfairly or are not being heard by management, they stage protests by going on strike. Union workers have picketed the factories they work in. Public employees such as teachers, police and emergency care workers have picketed and protested in front of their places of employment, and have asked the fellow colleagues not to cross the picket line by going to work.
The NFL is unique because the games are televised. What better way to call attention to your cause than by staging a protest (I should add, SILENT protest) on national TV? Given that the root of the protest is the systematic unfair treatment and questionable killing of black American citizens in our country, and given that the NFL is made up predominantly of young black men, silent protest by NFL players was inevitable.
It seems that more Americans are concerned with the platform used for the protest than the cause of the protest itself.
6
@Ken
"When employees feel they are treated unfairly or are not being heard by management, they stage protests by going on strike. "
Exactly. They don't show up at work, dressed for work, and then protest in their workplace. Kaepernick was on the job. While you are on the job and being paid: Your employer dictates your behavior. If you don't like his instructions: Quit. Don't create a scene and expect to remain employed.
4
Why did the civil rights leaders let themselves be used by a corporate entity like the N.F.L.?
26
@Whole Grains They were paid off, either directly in substantial "appearance fees" and/or substantial tax-deductible donations to their non-profit organizations.
Nothing new about this, that's how the system works.
2
@Whole Grains
Pride is the most evil sin. And the love of money is the root of all evil. With the exception of the eldest daughter the King " kids" resemble vipers.
The corporate spectacle continues: Air Force flyovers, military heroes on the screen, the national anthem sung by a conservative black singer who has disavowed Kaepernick; aging civil rights activists co-opted and trotted out on the field. What do these people have in common? Preserving their status in the status quo. How does this differ from a Roman spectacle in the Colosseum, other than there were no Christians thrown to the lions?
20
Bottom lIne, we are not the great nation we aspire to be if one of our own, exercising his First Amendment rights to protest by "taking a knee" causes such hatred. Cannot those that are so offended not see the hypocrisy in claiming patriotism while at the same time "demanding, forcing" others to do exactly as they do or else! That is not America but a totalitarian regime that, through coercion, force others to quack, walk and look like the oppressed under the weight of such despotism. I get that we are, hopefully, far from there but do not minimize the real risk of any country from falling. After all, "Democracy dies in Darkness!"
20
@DemonWarZ Teams have rules. Go to practice, eat right, get your sleep, don't get distracted, and focus on the game. The Patriots defense had to learn a zone defense within two weeks of the Super Bowl. They had run 12 extra sprints after practice. They had to watch film past midnight almost every single night. They stayed out of the limelight. They did not attend pre-Super Bowl Parties. When asked if it was worth it(?), the answer was easy - they won the Super Bowl. Colin Kaepernick is an enigma. He is distraction. He is footnote on NFL History. We have passed some criminal justice reform. Maybe he had an impact on it. However, no different than Johnny Manziel, no one wants a distraction in football. It is hard enough to win and impossible to overcome an unneeded distraction.
4
people have a right to protest in their own time. But if you are one someone else's dime than it is very different. When someone is paying you to on their premises. you have to do what boss tells you to do. if you are in a restaurant, can the waiter exercise his freedom of speech to make an unpromted criticism of Trump?. Actually he can IF the boss allows it, but the boss can also forbid it.
Taking the knee at the anthem is annoying the customer, who pay the players salaries. Customer is always right! Banning this activity would be as much a commercial decision than a political one. Perhaps they should be fined as compensation for loss of revenue which the NFL suffers from this activity.
8
@eugene Not true. Taking a knee is not annoying to ALL customers. Plenty of us watched the games and had no problem with it. Viewers at home add to the NFL's bottom line, as do taxpayers in the cities where these stadiums are built with our considerable tax dollars! If the owners want the players to do exactly as they say, then they should pay full price for their own stadiums.
13
@eugene
Do you have a problem with teachers protesting at their place of work?
1
@eugene
" Taking the knee at the anthem is annoying the customer, who pay the players salaries. "
I find the militaristic spectacles at NFL games much more annoying and repulsive.
I am also annoyed by them playing the national anthem in the first place. It has no business being played at non-international sporting events.
5
I think there is a national fatigue setting in with "activists" in general. Their sense of moral signaling, moral outrage, attacking anyone who may disagree as "racist" or "bigot", propping demands while taking people's reputations hostage, etc., seems to be a shtick which has run its course.
20
@D
It's astonishing, the number of people who stand proudly in favor of police oppression of minorities. You'd think they'd be ashamed to admit it.
2
@Mike S.
Actually, that statement encapsulates the problem.
If one does not agree/engage/overtly support protests, one is "standing with oppression of minorities." The sheer absurdity of the proposition is the evident.
Everyone is against oppression, there is nothing special in saying that one supports "good things", in this case, being against oppression. The lack of depth in thinking is the problem. The "you're with us or a bigot" is the problem. Life is complex, most adults recognize and try to deal with the complex.
6
While Gladys Knight and her misguided re-claim-the-Anthem rationale angered me, It broke my heart to see John Lewis and Andy Young standing at the Super Bowl coin toss! They should’ve known better! What possibly could have been their point? If anything the kneeling controversy has shown that, by and large, the owners in the NFL see their Black players as little more than slaves in golden chains!
Were Martin Luther King alive, and tweeting, I’ll bet that neither Lewis nor Young doubt the he’d be doing so under the hashtag #ImWithKap!
26
These people all sold their souls a long time ago. Kaspernick shames them all and show how they have all lost touch with the people they are suppose to speak for. Football has truly become the sport of poor people desperate to escape poverty. Just rename it gladiator games because the lack of real improvements will lead to death and permanent disability.
6
What does the contract between the players, the employees, and the reams, the employers say?
If the contract says you wear a certain unform, and that you show up at a certain hour and that you stand during the Anthem and that you otherwise comport yourself in a certain way you do it.
11
In what other business would it be acceptable that a third of the employees suffer brain damage? Why has steroid and opioid use in football never been investigated? The “sport” is gladiatorial. It is a metaphor for war. And like modern American warfare, the combatants are disproportionately African American. In a way, it is akin to pornography, another great American business, in that it hollows out and parodies profound human experience for the sake cheap, immediate, and risk free vicarious gratification. “America’s Game”?
12
A game with its outcome not decided until the last two minutes is not a "nail biter"?
3
To those saying the Super Bowl should be cancelled are insane and living in a fantasy world. The Super Bowl is one of the largest and most important events in the world. NFL players didn't kneel because they worked all their playing lives to get to this goal. To force them to kneel or not play would be terrible. I'm glad the players stood up for themselves and didn't cave to the radical left's crazy demands.
5
@david1987 It's large but it's not important. It's a game and I think that has been lost sight of.
1
@david1987
"The Super Bowl is one of the largest and most important events in the world. "
In the United States, not the world. And even then, it's certainly not the most important
2
I was brought up not to belabor whether someone does good because they truly are good or if they do good because they just want to show that they are good. Good work was done yesterday, for a variety of motives, that would not have been done if Colin Kaepernick had never kneeled. My sense is that Mr. Kaepernick has an enormous opportunity right now, and he needs a better business manager and better counsel working with him to dramatically expand his positive impact. Changing the system means effecting systemic change - that takes more than inspiration, and that takes more than passion - it will take organized, powerful strategy and buy-in from stakeholders. Only then will Mr. Kaepernick's legacy have permanence.
Separately, or not really separately, I am awed by the simple brilliance and exhortation of Beatrice King's Twitter display name - Be A King. If more of us heeded her family's call, the world would be a better place, so I'll end this comment on that note:
Be A King.
4
Not that many years ago ALL players kneeled for the National Anthem. A sign of respect. And it is still a sign of respect...
4
Meaning what? Oh, that today's extremely courageous heroes (!) such as Mr. Kaepernick (!!) are right on target with their VERY necessary (uhhm, not to mentioned 110% justified) kneel during the national anthem? Hmmm? Cool! Really great to see we're totally aligned!
I have to admit to having mixed feelings seeing prominent civil rights leaders featured before the game — the only segment I watched.
My question then, as it still is today, is where was Colin Kaepernick? He is fighting for civil rights and social justice on behalf of all of us, and should have been there. Instead the league continues to disappear him.
17
Football is a "team" sport. Activists spotlight Kaepernick's "individual" stats but fail to recognize the negative distraction he caused to his teammates and coaches by the attention the media and fans paid to his protests during primetime, which is the worst moment. Players and coaches need to be focused on the game - not a players social activism. The New England Patriots just won the Super Bowl exhibiting teamwork by a "no name" defense that has not manipulated the media to get individual attention. No team owner or coach rightfully should sacrifice their "team" for an individual regardless of the social nature of their disruptive actions or their potential "individual" performance.
9
Many an empire gave the people "sports" "entertainment" to distract them from the injustice and abuses they were subjected to. Anybody that thinks they can separate humanity's plight and quest for equality from any facet of human civilization needs to leave the planet because that "ball" has left the court. This is it, folks, we are done with the blood, the violence, the injustice. You are either on the bus or will be left behind stuck in the Middle Ages to become history's relics.
4
I will never understand why a peaceful protest by kneeling during the National Anthem has brought such a strong response while people ignoring the anthem and going about their normal activities at games is considered acceptable.
94
Because it wasn't Tom Brady that did it but instead Colin Kaepernick, a young, successful black American man!
23
Until Goodell is replaced by a commissioner who looks like the players, this kind of stuff will continue.
27
so you don't want bbn some who will be the best commissioner, you just want someone to be a black commissioner? and that's not racist?
9
The billionaire owners pick the commissioner. The chance that the next one will be more like the players and less empathetic to the owners -- zero point zero.
5
@bored critic There are lots of competent people of color in this field. Since all of the commissioners have been white and nobody has characterized that as racist, I think a black commissioner can be found without making skin color an issue.
1
It's very encouraging to hear Ms. King seek to transcend our collective selfishness in our nation's so-called race "dialogue," and put the emphasis on the means that will help achieve the noble aim of equality: "My mission is #JusticeForAll. Humanity is turning the tide and our efforts must include bridge builders, strategic negotiators and ambassadors,” she tweeted.
Without more such voices, progress on race relations will remain limited.
8
This Kaepernick thing is out of control. He was on a big contract, playing poorly and riding the bench before he started his social justice baloney. The NFL is about performance and he didn't have it. People keep touting his height and speed as reasons for him to have a QB gig. But guess what - brand new QBs (some far shorter - see Baker Mayfield) come into the league every year, and there are only 32 jobs. Nobody is guaranteed to have a starting QB job, ask Joe Flacco (who actually won a Superbowl by the way). Shaming the league into a job is ironic. Would he take a QB job away from Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton or Russell Wilson? He's not taking it from Tom Brady (6 Superbowls). And Kaepernick isn't the only woke NFL player. Michael Bennett, Malcolm Jenkins and a slew of others manage to promote criminal justice reform etc, without playing the Kaepernick card. The difference is they are actually good.
40
@TL The difference is no one signed him even to a backup position. And there are a lot of pretty poor backup QB's. Good try though.
And it's very generous of you to allow players to promote criminal justice reform in the appropriate venue, in the appropriate way, so that it doesn't disturb you. I think the point though, was to disturb you, as the point of most protest is to disturb the equilibrium.
25
@TL
So, by your standards a player must be especially good at the sport to "earn" the right to protest police brutality (even murder, in a few cases) in that fashion?
Strange, that.
13
@TL
I’m going to guess at three things:
#1) you feel you are eminently qualified to judge who is ‘good enough’ to play in the NFL, because.....no, I can’t even guess.
#2) you did NOT grow up worrying about driving-while-Black, walking-while-Black, standing before a judge-while-Black, i.e. being Black.
#3) nothing in your American-experience warrants protesting to encourage change.
3
Trump's vile and undemocratic intimidation succeeded. A tragedy for freedom of speech and expression and a stain on the NFL and our nation.
34
If the kneeling was about police brutality, then why has there been no acknowledgement by Colin that police departments all over the country are working with their people to be less trigger happy and more sensitive to their effect on the black community. There has been progress despite the increase in deadly assaults on police who are just out doing their job.
Let's face it that the kneeling by Colin was a slap in the face to America and overt hate despite the fact that America is still the best country in the world for Blacks and that is evidenced by the fact that Black unemployment has never been lower. Most people in America believe in Mao's saying: "I don't care if the cat is white or black, just as long as it catches mice."
14
@Dan Locker The fact that "Black unemployment has never been lower" (if that is true), tells us little or nothing about the actual lives of Black people in the US. What your post tells us is that you repeat Trump's talking points. But this particular canard is nothing more than sloppy critical thinking and deliberate obfuscation to avoid rigorous analysis to develop real solutions to America's race and other problems.
12
@Dan Locker It will take over 200 years for black wealth to reach the current amount of white wealth. Black people are still over-incarcerated, under-employed, under-educated compared to white people. They are subject to systemic racism and cultural barriers to success. We have a looooong way to go before we can call it good. Mao was not part of an oppressed race in the United States of America for over 400 years, or living in a society that was built on racism that continues to this day. It is the attitude that claims "racism is over" why we need to keep kneeling regardless if it makes people uncomfortable.
9
@Dan Locker implied here is the proposition that there is an acceptable degree of police trigger-happiness! A proposition more amenable to those who are historically not disproportionately the objects of the hilarity!
7
Seams like exchanging unapproved speech with something approved by corporate.
10
The sincerity of the NFL toward the Civil Rights icons and movements ranks up there with their salutes to the military. An empty gesture that allows the NFL to check another block on some charity form.
67
and so just what do you suggest should have been done?
3
The whole spectacle revealed much about misplaced values of our society. There was the blatant use of civil rights leaders to gloss over the subjugation of the players’ right to protest. Extreme jingoism and militarism were on display along with the self-serving nod to our soldiers, whose lives and sacrifices are otherwise taken for granted by leaders who needlessly put them in harm’s way. Our nations love affair with violence was evident in the advertised movies and TV shows. And capitalism was on display with ads such as Verizon’s shameless attempt to promote their service by associating themselves with the heroic work of first responders.
95
@Ted Kohler
Right on!
Martin Luther King, Jr. warned against the malign toxic mix of capitalism, militarism and racism that has America number one in money, arms and prisoners.
Singing the national anthem at sporting events was the idea of and paid for by the American military-industrial complex. Francis Scott Key was a slaveholder white supremacist bigot.
Since 9/11/01 a mere 0.75% of Americans have volunteered to wear the military uniform of any American armed force. While the rest of us pretend to be brave honorable patriots by rising to sing the national anthem and saluting the flag at sporting events.
3
The Needless Federal-tax Leeches (NFL) are as covfefean as their would-be boss. I'm happy I missed the Bowl entirely.
2
Trump would like to think it's a crime to kneel during the National Anthem but if you're of the opinion that the song doesn't reflect a nation that treats all of it's citizens equally then it's easy to understand why someone would do it.
In all respects it's a peaceful form of protest and Kaepernick and others are only trying to get communities to talk about their problems and anyone who doesn't think that their community doesn't have a problem is only kidding themselves.
74
@BTO The song, our national anthem, is about the defense of a fort in a Baltimore harbor in 1814. Trying to make it connect with racial issues in absurd. The comment on slaves in the lyrics has to do with the British using Hessian soldiers, our 'enslavement' to British taxation and our misrepresentation in British parliament. The NFL has absolutely nothing to do with police profiling in Detroit. Using your employer as a launch point for activism is barking up the wrong tree and will have a poor result.
7
@kevinhugh. "Using your employer as a launch point for activism is barking up the wrong tree and will have a poor result." Unless your employer is the NFL. You have to admit that Colin Kaepernick opened an huge discussion on the topic.
2
Shame on those who provided the NFL with their civil rights PR moment...how much were they (or their charities, or election campaigns, or not-for-profits) paid? All the NFL demonstrated was that it is utterly tone deaf. Glad I didn’t watch this one.
35
and what do you suggest was the right thing for the nfl to do?
2
@Andrew Of course they were paid off, either directly in substantial "appearance fees" or "honoraria" and/or substantial tax-deductible donations to their non-profit organizations.
Nothing new about this, that's how the system works.
@Andrew. “Shame” on John Lewis?! “Shame” on Andrew Young?! Wow, you must be some kind of uber social justice warrior to feel comfortable calling out two towering legends of the Civil Rights Era, both of whom were close associates and by all accounts personal friends of Martin Luther King.
It's mostly minorities that play in professional football, an occupation that greatly increases the chance for dementia. Let's hope that in 20 years this sport is gone, like gladiator fighting, and these healthy and strong young men can be saved from serious health issues later in life.
33
@Gene Saving those who don't wish to be saved is a fool's errand. This game is the only opportunity the vast majority of these men will have to make millions and millions of dollars. As long as that is true the game will be with us 200 years, not 20.
1
NFL cares about civil rights like trump cares about the rule of law. I’m shocked no one has the guts to protest before/during the super bowl. It also would gave given people something to talk about during a legendarily boring game.
57
The hypocrisy of many football fans on full display. I wonder how many Trump critics, who are often incredulous about the blind loyalty of his supporters, are also football fans. They may share more common ground with those they criticize than they would like to admit.
4
I'm not waiting to see what the wealthy white oligarchs of the NFL owners circle will do. I'm not going to be standing during the anthem, an irrelevant part of the game, because I'm not going to be there.
15
let's face it. the nfl is all about winning. want to maximize ticket sales, apparel sales and gross revenues in general? the more you win the more revenue you will generate. Kaepernick hasn't played since 2016. is he still capable of being a winning QB? questionable. but if owners thought so and there were no other considerations, he'd be hired. but if he was capable, the other issue is chemistry. will his presence create issues that will lead to the team not being as successful because he's there? possible. and so maybe his ability is offset by what happens to team chemistry and therefore owners feel the team is better without him. will the fan base not be accepting of him and possibly boycott games or not spend as much as they normally would? quite possible. And maybe owners don't want to jeopardize the revenue stream. to be honest, it's all about winning and revenues. everything else is secondary.
9
Actually this SB confirms the trouble the NFL is in both on and off the field. It blew what could have been one of the best SB's (Brady vs Breez) and instead gave us Brady vs Goff. I barely watched.
4
I’m deeply shocked that not a single player took a knee. Where’s the solidarity? Where’s the patriotism of making our country accountable? The joy and freedom of being American have vanished from our land.
23
@Sunspot EXACTLY!
@Sunspot
" Show me the money! " Rod Tidwell, Jr. from " Jerry McGuire" .
People seem to forget that the NFL is a business. It's not the government. It's not a public forum. It's not a platform for those who want to spread a message. It exists to make its owners money. And everything on the field, even the national anthem, is in support of that.
48
@Fernando. So, we can all check our humanity at the door?
2
no kneeling. but what was the meaning players who held each hand to one side of the jersey collar? did you see it? more than several players stood that way on both teams.
3
I saw that. And also wondered. I hope it is a coordinated action.
And not a word on police brutality, which was the whole point of the protest in the first place. Instead we got a nod to the civil rights movement of the 60s, so people can say, "that's all in the past." No mention of the current civil rights movement or the similarities between the treatment of past and current civil rights leaders. If people aren't uncomfortable, there will never be change.
149
@Jade L I found it so disheartening that there was not a soul who stood up---no, I mean KNELT!---on behalf of Colin Kaepernick and his continued bravery and compassion. Everyone on that stage should have taken a knee!
52
@Jade L your last line is everything. If people aren't uncomfortable, there will never be change.
14
The nfl spoke implicitly but loud and clear on police brutality - in its (much warranted) support of first responders.
2