Posted on 08/21/2017 4:59:46 PM PDT by EdnaMode
Anquan Boldin’s preseason career with the Buffalo Bills amounted to one reception for five yards. Had he retired at any other time for any other reason, the decision would have been noted respectfully but quietly. Here is a 14-year NFL veteran less than two months shy of his 37th birthday electing to hang up the cleats. Pay homage to his 1,076 career catches. Note his 82 touchdowns. Remember he was an integral part of the 2012 Baltimore Ravens, who won the Super Bowl. And move on.
But Anquan Boldin is retiring in this moment — in Donald Trump’s America, just more than a week after the horror of Charlottesville — because the moment calls for his voice and for his work.
“This is something that I’ve been dealing with for the last couple of years, to be honest with you,” Boldin said in a phone conversation Monday morning. “I feel more convicted than ever to step away from the game of football.”
This NFL preseason has its position battles and injury news. In those ways, it’s like any other. But it also has a striking element, one that offers professional football players the chance to be at the center of a national discussion on race and human rights, on what we believe in as a country. In this era in which players are routinely asked to “stick to sports,” Boldin decided to stick to the fight.
“My time will be spent doing exactly what I said I would be doing: fighting for equality, fighting for equal rights in this country,” Boldin said. Football requires players to think almost exclusively about, well, football. Boldin has too much else in his head and his heart to concentrate, any more, on his crossing route on third down.
“I didn’t short football; I gave it my all,” he said. “But I think in order for me to be as effective as I want to be, I don’t think I can split time.”
Boldin is in an unusual position as an athlete — active or retired — to push for discussion
[Anquan Boldin says events in Charlottesville prompted his surprise retirement]
and change because he has been pushing for it when people weren’t paying attention. He has spent time on Capitol Hill talking to lawmakers about criminal justice reform and the relationship between police departments and the communities they serve. He has headed a foundation that has supported — and listened to — underprivileged children. He has endured the pain of losing a cousin, who was shot to death at the side of the road by a plain-clothed police officer.
He watched the Aug. 12 events in Charlottesville as so many of the rest of us did: aghast. But in the aftermath, he said he received a call from a Jewish friend who had watched marchers boasting signs adorned with swastikas, who heard them chanting “Jews will not replace us,” that crystallized his thinking.
“We had a candid conversation,” Boldin said. “And like I told him, ‘Trust me, I understand what you feel. I understand what you’re going through.’ . . . As African-American people, we’ve been screaming these same things for I don’t know how long — well before I was born. And we’re still screaming the same things now. Unfortunately, people never really gave it the attention it deserves.
“Every time we talk about inequalities or injustices, the only thing that we get is that we’re complaining. What I said now is, it’s the time where it’s not just African Americans now. You have Jews screaming the same thing. You have LGBT people screaming the same thing. Now is not a war against African Americans. It’s a war against Americans, period.”
It is a war that NFL players are reluctant to fight, save for the select few. Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback who began this discussion — as it pertains to athletes and their opinions — by kneeling during the national anthem a year ago, still doesn’t have a job. There are, of course, encouraging signs, because Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Malcolm Jenkins, an African American, stood with a defiant fist in the air during the national anthem prior to a preseason game last week, only to be joined by white teammate Chris Long in a show of unity and support. A day later, Seattle offensive lineman Justin Britt placed his hand on the shoulder of defensive tackle Michael Bennett as Bennett knelt for the anthem, and the two embraced afterward.
Sorry I forgot to excerpt the article. There is more.
No. He's retiring because he's hit the end of the road.
Self-identified race Percent of population
White alone 72.4%
Black or African American 12.6%
Asian 4.8%
Native American and Alaska Natives 0.9%
Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 0.2%
Two or more races 2.9%
Some other race 6.2%
Total 100.0%
Hispanic and Latino Americans (of any race): 16.3%[12]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States
What “horror of Charlottesville”?
[What “horror of Charlottesville”?]
The narrative set by the left. They’ll keep repeating it.
If Wapo calls it “convictions” he’s a lib.
Millions of poor people live in poverty, so to make things equal, this hypocrite should give away all his hard-earned wealth to them. Otherwise, if he doesn't, he remains a hypocrite.
Good. Early this summer, there was talk about Boldin returning to the AZ Cardinals. He was a crybaby “all about me” PITA the first time he was here. No thanks.
In the war against blacks those actually killing them are almost all black.
Compared to that, the cops are statistically bupkis. Even the maybe 200k Neonazis in this country do bupkis compared to what some habitual criminals who are black are doing to many blacks.
... or what habitual criminals who are white do to whites for that matter....
Just as with whites or any other bunch, there are those who prey on their neighbors and they are the problem. In most sub-cultures such individuals aren’t calling the dance or are being glorified by the sub-culture.
What we need is more repentance, not social justice.
I'm guessing he wasn't an English major.
LOL.
Translation, he fumbled his chance to retire with class and grace.
I would seriously like these sanctimonious toolbags to identify ANY nation on earth that is more peaceful, hospitable, generous, forgiving and free for black people than the US.
Being a statistical minority is all but irrelevant. An entire continent, Africa, is comprised of mostly nations that are majority black. And they are hellholes.
The other amazing thing is that self-appointed ‘activists’ behave as if there isn’t already a surplus of grievance mongers.
Well, some of the Antifa women had their faces uncovered....
Quite.
Historic = anything leftists agree with
Controversial = anything they don’t
I admire Boldin for his conviction. The NFL is not his stage - keapernick has a right to protest, but not as an employee. The owners really aren’t paying millions of dollars for their ‘viewpoint’ - just for their abilities on the football field. Bennett and the rest should all just quit. If they can find a job making that kind of of money, fine. Otherwise, they didn’t pay for that stage- the owners did. And the fans will tolerate their bs less and less.
I admire Boldin for his conviction. The NFL is not his stage - keapernick has a right to protest, but not as an employee. The owners really aren’t paying millions of dollars for their ‘viewpoint’ - just for their abilities on the football field. Bennett and the rest should all just quit. If they can find a job making that kind of of money, fine. Otherwise, they didn’t pay for that stage- the owners did. And the fans will tolerate their bs less and less.
Yes, that's all you do. Scream. You have absolutely NOTHING to say, and you use a lot of words to say it. In a very loud voice. GFY.
Unfortunately, people never really gave it the attention it deserves.
People have already given your loud-mouthed meaninglessness infinitely more attention than it deserves. STFU and build something with your life.
This is what is left of “sports” reporting.
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