Boycott the NFL

Opinion | 10 Sep 176 | Xzins

[xzins]

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack ever on American soil. Thousands died in the attack, and many thousands more died in wars that resulted from that attack. Solidarity with the dead drives patriotism in this regard. Our flag and our anthem are symbols of the unity that compels us to stand together in affirmation of those murdered lives and in determination to defend ourselves from those who would wantonly kill us.

Football also unites us in a way. To be sure, the NFL is a pastime. That is, it is a diversion -- a game that people watch to pass the time of day. As a game, it matters not one whit to the vast majority of the world what the NFL does or doesn't do. In terms of normal daily life and history, its championship makes no difference, its records are irrelevant, its play is completely 'here one moment forgot the next'.

It is a game.

At the same time, it is a multi-billion dollar wing of the entertainment business, so there is some impact in the lives of hot dog venders, parking lot attendants, beer salesmen, and tail-gate connoisseurs. It also features curiously paid 'stars' who are rewarded millions of dollars for throwing, pushing, shoving, tackling. But, the money would not be present if Americans didn't watch the sport by the millions. It gets close attention. From grade school to grave, football concerns our culture.

Therefore, the dissonance of professional football intentionally disrespecting our national anthem and flag, symbols of our unity in the face of vicious attack, leads to instant notice. The bottom line in the thoughts of most people is that the disrespectful behavior is rude.

It would be rude to enter my home, knowing that we have prayer before our meals, and choose that moment to launch into a diatribe over your hatred of religion. Better to not accept the invitation to dinner at all. Perhaps it would be wise to excuse yourself at the beginning of the meal for some errand you had overlooked or for a trip to the facilities.

It would be rude to attend a Christian funeral, knowing what is to transpire, and choose that moment to harangue the grief-stricken with your version of anti-religion. Surely it makes more sense simply to attend the visitation only or to send a card. Why impose on the grief stricken with bitter disrespect?

It would be rude to disrupt the annual town parade with its police, veterans, American Legion, and others marching proudly with their flags and banners. Surely your disagreement can more politely be handled with a letter to the editor or with a speech at the town council opposing the tradition.

It is the same with the football players who choose rudeness over understanding. With their access to media, they could voice their opinions and be heard all over the nation. And it would then be so easy for them politely to stay in the clubhouse for the duration of the anthem. Instead, they choose to disrupt, to disrespect, to ridicule, and even to promote injuring public servants.

The NFL allows them to do this. You can bet, though, that if any of the players chose to disrespect issues important to the NFL that the NFL would cite the players' relevant contract clauses and come down on them with a rebuke heard through the ages.

The NFL could require respectful disagreement, because the NFL and all the players are part of a private business. They are not the government.

Instead, the NFL seemingly is encouraging disrespect directed at its own fans who just want to enjoy their pastime and their traditions and their uniting symbols.

It's time to rebuke the NFL. Boycott them. Ignore their radio broadcasts, shun their TV broadcasts, avoid their stadiums, leave their merchandise on the shelves.

Remember, the NFL is simply an amusement. They seem to have forgotten that. We should remind them.

Some might want to boycott only those teams involved in the disrespect. Fine.

As for me, I'm ignoring them all.

[wally_bert]

There should be heavy jail time for some of that Wells Fargo crowd.

[wally_bert]

Some of those guys are so sad to watch.

Another reason I avoid sports bars.

[wally_bert]

If the spouse has a ball game on, I am somewhere else.

[Alberta's Child]

Like I said ...

LOL.

[wally_bert]

I use the term “sports wacko”.

[Heart-Rest]

Good idea.

For those who say that that asinine clown represents just one percent of the NFL, a turd floating in the punchbowl may be just one percent of the contents, but it still spreads a disease-ridden stench over the whole punch bowl, and that turd-infested punch should be avoided like the plague by all intelligent individuals.

Last week, that one turd became two turds, and who knows what the percentage is going to be floating around in there this weekend.  Those players may have a right to insult the country that pays them a ridiculous amount of money to play a kid's game, but by the owners and sponsors who control the "punch bowl" condoning and allowing the turds to continue to float there, they are all disgracefully insulting the country that allows those idiots to have the freedom to continue to spout their putrid nonsense, and to insult the men and women who have fought and sometimes died to give them that right.

When the NFL openly supported and even celebrated this player's (below) public perversions, they already began to show everyone that the NFL involved something that was no longer the manly sport it had been back in its glory days.   This flag-dissing is another indication of just how far this whole enterprise has fallen in recent years.

[Alberta's Child]

That's a good point. Without even doing it deliberately, I've ended up only watching sports that I play. That means hockey, and that's about it.

By the way, the oldest guy I've ever seen in a hockey league around my neck of the woods was 86 years old. Go figure. LOL.

[maddog55]

There’s azzholes in every aspect of society i.e. liberals being the main source. If I boycotted every institution that had a few idiots that hated or protested America, the Anthem, the military and everything American I’d have little if anything.

Free Republic wouldn’t exist because you’d have to boycott the computer manufacturer, the software that allows you to use it, your internet provider etc and the list goes on.

You want to complain complain to the owners. They control the income and the people that work for them. A decent person person would take charge. Every time a player fails to stand for the anthem or any other BS protest.. they don’t get paid or you just fire them.

[morphing libertarian]

Iwould hope that patriots who don’t want to have their values insulted would be more thoughtful.

[morphing libertarian]

It was the league who told Dallas they couldn’t honor cops. It is the league not taking a stand for the anthem. And tomorrow when entire teams or groups sit or kneel perhaps you will reconsider your post.

[Alberta's Child]

Q: What has ten legs and an IQ of 60?

A: These five players on the St. Louis Rams, doing some kind of "Hands up, don't shoot!" idiocy before a game a couple of years ago.

I take pleasure out of watching the two guys who come by my building collecting the garbage twice a week than this sh!t. Those two guys probably have more brains than the five buffoons in this photo (combined), too.

[maddog55]

I put the blame on the owners of the teams that protest.. they control who they hire not the NFL. The NFL hasn’t had any leadership in years.

[morphing libertarian]

yes, the owners need to feel the burn

[American Guesser]

Count me in. Don’t watch or give them a dime until they get a handle on their feral employees. People don’t have a right to be disruptive at work.

[Canedawg]

A month of running around in PINK is a perfect example

I hate it.

[xzins]

The owners and the NFL are one and the same.

The commissioner is the owner-selected leader.

[zek157]

The too big to fail bank also laundered drug cartel money, but don’t make a habit of making cash deposits to your own bank. You will not have the option of paying a nominal fee as a cost of business.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-06-29/banks-financing-mexico-s-drug-cartels-admitted-in-wells-fargo-s-u-s-deal

this NFL thing is a distraction from the real loss in our land.

[xzins]

I don’t find it entertaining to have my values, my beliefs, my patriotism, and the unifying symbols of my nation disrespected.

Why would I go to that event on purpose and subject myself to that?

[Auslander154]

“if a NASCAR driver chose to sit or kneel during the anthem”

How about a COEXIST sticker on his bumper ?

You could tolerate that couldn’t you ? ( jus havn fun )

[Auslander154]

“I know that f no case in which Juan Williams has shown disdain for the country or its symbols.”

I agree. Juan is just a clueless little boy who doesn’t know what to do from one day to the next. He and Mika are made for each other.