Louisiana lawmakers question New Orleans Saints state funding after players protest

nola.com ^ | Sept 25, 2017 | By Julia O'Donoghue

[11th_VA]

Offended by New Orleans Saints players who protested by sitting during the national anthem Sunday (Sept. 24), state House Rep. Kenny Havard, R-Jackson, called for Louisiana's government to pull state funding, tax breaks and other support from the professional football franchise.

"Disrespecting our national anthem and flag in the name of social injustice is the highest form of hypocrisy," Havard said in a written statement Monday.

State Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, has also requested the Saints' state benefits be reviewed by the Legislature's Senate and House budget committees as a result of the players' protest. Hodges is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which oversees state finances.

About $165 million of the Saints' $1.5 billion value can be attributed to public funding, tax breaks and incentives given to Saints owner Tom Benson each year, according to an analysis The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com conducted in 2016. Benson, Louisiana's richest resident, owes a good portion of his estimated $2.2 billion fortune to his ownership of two professional sports franchises, the Saints and the New Orleans Pelicans, which are both supported with taxpayer money.

"I believe in the right to protest, but not at a taxpayer-subsidized sporting event. Do it on your own time. There are plenty of disabled children, elderly and veterans in this state that would appreciate the money," Havard said.

[11th_VA]

BooYah !!!

[Cowboy Bob]

Why does the NFL hate America?

[stars & stripes forever]

It’s about time professional sports teams are cut off from government subsidies.

[bagster]

Oh my, they questioned the funding. That'll show 'em.

I hope they follow it up with a stern talking to.

[SkiKnee]

IF the Louisiana legislature has the testicles to end the funding, or subsidies, or tax breaks, or whatever, we all know what the next act in this little play will be, don't we? The Saints lawyers will shop around for a nice, activist judge who will declare that the legislature's action is in violation of the players First Amendment rights!

Right?!? We've seen this show before!

[bagster]

Absolutely right Skiknee. I have no idea how any court can force the Government to give money to anybody or anything. What is the deelio with THAT?

[snarkytart]

And support cop murderers.

[SkiKnee]

I think of it as a new, twisted form of involuntary servitude (slavery?). All of us, working our tails off, paying taxes, to be handed over to a mob of wealthy elites, so they can wipe their arses with our flag and declare it is their right to do so, and to demand that we just shut up and be grateful to them for gracing us with their bread and circuses.

[Pollster1]

I’ve always opposed corporate welfare, including these stadium subsidies. Perhaps this treasonous protest will finally kill that abuse of our tax dollars.

[Boomer]

B,b,b,but...aw heck; I lost it. What was the meme this month to tear down America?

Oh yeah, that’s right, white privilege, white supremacy, all things Confederate, and those mean old statues representing slavery.

I didn’t get the new memo for next month yet; what’s the new meme for it?

I bet a donut this kind of dialogue does happen between the SJW’s and their leftist overlords.

[bagster]

It puts me in mind of that speech Davey Crockett gave before Congress when they were contemplating giving tax dollars to some widow who's house burned down or some such disaster. I read it a long time ago. He basically said the Govt. doesn't have the right to take money from one to give to another. I think about that speech all the time.

We've come a long way since 'ol Davey was in the Senate.

[Terry Mross]

Pull their taxpayer funding and the millionaire owners would cry, call people racists then raise the ticket price. Then those who still go to the games will stop buying merchandise and the owners will call THEM racists. The vendors will start losing revenue and they’ll start closing.

All of a sudden the owners will start making all kinds of promises to try to get those tax dollars back. But it will be too late. Those fans won’t come back.

[bagster]

I bet a donut,,,

Ganbling is frowned upon, here at the FreeRepublic. Tsk.

[bagster]

I’ve always opposed corporate welfare...

I'm opposed to the government giving tax dollars (subsidies) to businesses, but beware of the liberal tendency to label tax breaks as corporate welfare.

NOT taking money is not the same as giving money.

[SkiKnee]

Depressing, isn’t it? Crocket was opposed to subsidizing a widow. Today our government is taking our money and giving it to a bunch of wealthy, professional athletes so they can have themselves a really nice playground. And we STILL have to pay to watch them play.

[bagster]

Depressing, isn’t it?

Yes, very. And once the damn burst, there is no end in sight. Socialism is bad no matter how you slice it.

[rovenstinez]

I think the NFL players who are discontent with the flag, the police should go start the American Football league in Cuba. They probably would fill stadiums.

[varon]

I’ve always opposed corporate welfare, including these stadium subsidies

If corporate welfare was eliminated, Washington D. C. would become a ghost town...........

[momincombatboots]

Well said.

[Flick Lives]

The NFL. State tax payer funded, multi-million dollar per year player contracts. Defined by the media as the oppressed.

The fans. Working jobs, if they’re lucky, that pay the same meager wages they did 10 years ago. Losing half of their hard-earned money to pay taxes to give to the State to hand-off to the NFL. These fans are defined by the media as privileged.

And the media wonders why the fans are pissed off.