Posted on 09/29/2017 7:14:57 PM PDT by Kaslin
After engaging in character assassination against Green Bay Packers fans who chose not to protest during Thursday’s National Anthem, FS1's Undisputed co-host Shannon Sharpe did the same with the American flag, declaring it to be merely a racist “piece of cloth” that “nobody fights for.”
“The flag, you see, to a lot of people, symbols, patriotism but what does that symbol actually mean? What does — what does – okay — you keep telling me that the flag means so much and it's opportunity and freedom and liberty. Okay. Can you honestly say that everybody in America has freedom and liberties and opportunity,” Sharpe wondered to co-host Skip Bayless.
FS1's Sharpe: Racist U.S. Flag Is Just ‘A Piece of Cloth...Nobody Fights For’
Bayless replied “no,” so Sharpe then noted that inequalities should be address. Fair enough.
But Sharpe went further by showing his disdain for this country, the flag, and Francis Scott Key’s Star-Spangled Banner (depicting the scene in Baltimore during the War of 1812) [emphasis mine]:
And stop trying to sweep it under the rug. But, see, as long as you paint that narrative, oh, it's the Anthem, I can’t — no — anybody that does something to the Anthem — well, we know what the anthem was originally written for and who it was written by, okay? The flag, okay? We understand what the flag? What does it represent? When did this narrative come to be that the military and the police own the flag and only them? I can go buy a flag and I can hang it up in my backyard. We need to stop this, Skip. We need to — the flag is a piece of cloth and nobody fights for a piece of cloth.
Bayless, who was almost universally in step with Sharpe on the protest issue, broke away by telling him that he shouldn’t “say that” because “[t]hat’s the symbol of this country” and “what it represents.”
Sharpe then dropped a befuddling red herring, repeatedly wondering if we all should then “fight for a pair of jeans.” Bayless replied that the flag itself dates back to our country’s founding in 1776 and everything that’s come since.
The hurtful, partisan, and short-sighted debate continued to drag on with moderator Joy Taylor ending it due to a commercial break:
BAYLESS: It’s the symbol of our country. What are you talking about?
SHARPE: Okay, so the symbol of your country — so the symbol of your country is racism.
BAYLESS: Why do white kids get shot in the '60s? For burning jeans? No, they burned the flag. And bunch of them died.
SHARPE: The symbol. The symbol. But what does that symbol represent? So long as you got a symbol — Skip — let me explain it to you like this. The symbol, okay, the American flag, what is the representation of that symbol? What does the flag actually mean?
BAYLESS: You know what it means. It stands for America. It stands for the greatest country in the world. That's how most people look at it.
Once this writer tweeted video of the segment, IJR’s Jason Howerton picked it up and it led to a series of responses from Sharpe.
As Howerton appropriately explained, it’s almost impossible to have a debate in America today as disrespect and demonizations immediately take hold.
Sharpe’s outburst about the American flag were sponsored by Undisputed advertisers Dairy Queen, Nationwide, and Playstation Vue.
Here’s the relevant transcript from FS1's Skip and Shannon: Undisputed on September 29:
FS1's Skip and Shannon: Undisputed
September 29, 2017
3:15 p.m. Eastern
SHANNON SHARPE: The flag, you see, to a lot of people, symbols, patriotism but what does that symbol actually mean? What does — what does – okay — you keep telling me that the flag means so much and it's opportunity and freedom and liberty. Okay. Can you honestly say that everybody in America has freedom and liberties and opportunity?
SKIP BAYLESS: No.
SHARPE: Well, of you can't answer, we will have a problem and we would like to have it addressed.
BAYLESS: Correct.
SHARPE: And stop trying to sweep it under the rug. But, see, as long as you paint that narrative, oh, it's the Anthem, I can’t — no — anybody that does something to the Anthem — well, we know what the anthem was originally written for and who it was written by, okay? The flag, okay? We understand what the flag? What does it represent? When did this narrative come to be that the military and the police own the flag and only them? I can go buy a flag and I can hang it up in my backyard. We need to stop this, Skip. We need to — the flag is a piece of cloth and nobody fights for a piece of cloth.
BAYLESS: Yeah, they do. Don't say that.
SHARPE: So, you —
BAYLESS: That’s the symbol of this country. That's what it represents.
SHARPE: So they’ll fight for a pair of jeans?
BAYLESS: You should own that.
SHARPE: They’ll fight for a pair of jeans?
BAYLESS: If that's what we had chosen in 1776, that represents our nation —
SHARPE: Skip, Skip —
BAYLESS: You better believe they would.
SHARPE: Skip, it’s a piece — the symbol — listen —
BAYLESS: It’s the symbol of our country. What are you talking about?
SHARPE: Okay, so the symbol of your country — so the symbol of your country is racism.
BAYLESS: Why do white kids get shot in the '60s? For burning jeans? No, they burned the flag. And bunch of them died.
SHARPE: The symbol. The symbol. But what does that symbol represent? So long as you got a symbol — Skip — let me explain it to you like this. The symbol, okay, the American flag, what is the representation of that symbol? What does the flag actually mean?
BAYLESS: You know what it means. It stands for America. It stands for the greatest country in the world. That's how most people look at it.
The enemy within is scurrying out from under the carpet.
Perhaps Shannon is unaware that hundreds of thousands of white and many black men did fight for that flag back in the 1860’s.
Fire him.
Immediately.
This would explain a lot about why many blacks don’t seem to have integrated in society or been successful. They’re taught this hate and racism and feel themselves outcast within society.
All because of Democrat power politics.
GTFO!
FSI? Seriously, never heard of it.
How ungrateful can you get? Just a piece of cloth?
Multimillionaire gets to rip into our traditions....
If I were his boss, he'd be fired.
Someone remind me, what flag flew over the 320,000 Union troops who died in the Civil War?
I am beginning to wish that my four great grandfathers had taken a knee instead of an oath to the Union and stayed at home to help their fathers run their farms.
Sharpe isn’t familiar with the concept of symbols?
This racists is still employed by the Sports Network?
These people need to know the history of Francis Scott Key’s writing of these lyrics.
It’s on you tube, but I didn’t save the link.
Does anyone know what it is?
I’m convinced now they aren’t entirely evil. Most of the people getting press these days are just overwhelmingly stupid.
You know what sad? Shannon Sharpe was always one of my favorite players. He came up from nothing and made something of himself as did his brother. What’s more American than his story? He is America and he doesn’t even know it. Well....screw him! I’m no longer watching him.
FS1, the employer of ingrate Shannon the Millionaire Sharpe, can be contacted publicly here on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/FS1
or @FS1 on twitter
Fox Sports 1
“.....Most of the people getting press these days are just overwhelmingly stupid”
Overwhelmingly true.
Can anyone decipher this FS1 reference for us?
Is this a subscription channel, or what? I wonder what their viewership is....
Thanks,
Leni
Thanks for that. I was looking for an email address on their website, but couldn’t find one, so I sent them a tweet instead.
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