Free Republic

The reactions will only continue as the week goes on after President Donald Trump disinvited the Eagles to the White House a day before the Super Bowl champions were scheduled to visit (see story).Politicians with local ties made their voices heard Monday night, while the president also sent out a tweet restating his stance behind the decision (see story).Some current and former NFL players also chimed in on the news."I guess he was upset with the delegation we were sending," Eagles safety Rodney McLeod said of Trump's decision in a text message to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Derrick Gunn.Former Eagle Torrey...

Remember  when “political football” was a euphemism and conservatives were always the Charlie Brown to the libs Lucy?Once again VSGPDT has changed the rules.Smart money’s on Trump.Posted from: MOTUS A.D.

Disney/ABC, Starbucks, and the NFL should merge, as they are this week’s prime example of how to drive away customers while engaged in absurd CEO virtue signaling. ABC/Disney I never watch television. Its news is a waste of time, with well-groomed, overpaid readers and hokey camera coverage that takes an hour to cover what 10 minutes of a well-written article can better convey. Take the news coverage itself: The EU is falling apart, the talks with North Korea are on and it looks like war will be averted and another country denuclearized, and the Mueller investigation seems more ridiculous than...

The National Football League has done nothing to recover during the off season from it’s miserable popularity ratings that are now at the lowest ever. Rocked by the issues of players taking a knee during the playing of the National Anthem, overly long games, and scandalous players, just 35 percent say they have a favorable view of “America’s sport.”

Five former Houston Texans cheerleaders are suing the NFL franchise, alleging the team failed to fully compensate them as required by law and subjected them to hostile work environment in which they were harassed, intimidated and forced to live in fear. The lawsuit was filed Friday in Houston federal court. At a news conference, Hannah Turnbow said she and other cheerleaders were treated "the lowest of the low."

The threat of terrorist attacks in France has put paid to fans’ hopes of watching the World Cup on big screens in public spaces, France’s ministry for the interior announced. “I remind all publicly-elected officials of the fact that ‘big screen’ zones are completely forbidden in public spaces,” said a statement from the ministry. France has been subject to several terrorist attacks in recent years, leading to an increased security presence all round.“In the current climate of terrorist threats, the security procedures used at the last European Championship must be deployed again, with the same degree of efficiency.” …

I remember when taking a knee in football was one of the most satisfying things in this life. It used to mean one of two things: a well-deserved respite from the grueling grind of sweltering practices during the hot and humid late summer weather of the pre-season or the final magnificent moments before a looming victory in America’s most popular sport. … No, this isn’t really about “free speech.” If a group of NFL players used the field to protest against same-sex “marriage,” abortion, or some other wicked perversion held dear by the left, I’m almost certain that many of...

As noted here last week, the adjustment to the national anthem policy should remove any impediment to the employment of quarterback Colin Kaepernick and safety Eric Reid, since neither will be able to kneel during the national anthem. Some players reportedly have come to the same conclusion. Shaun King, an independent reporter who has had several anthem-related stories in recent months, contends that “[s]everal NFL stars have told me they are considering sitting out the season until the de facto ban of Eric Reid and Colin Kaepernick is removed and both men are given spots back on rosters.”

It took two years, boycotts by fans, declining TV ratings, growing alarm among advertisers, a drop in the sale of gear and especially a public shaming by President Trump, but the owners of NFL teams have finally decided their players will not be allowed to kneel or make other protests during the playing of the national anthem. The NFL Players Association claims the owners' decision violates the players' "free speech rights." No it doesn't. Players are perfectly free to protest anywhere, anytime they wish, just not at the start of games for which the owners pay them large amounts of...

“LET'S GET REAL: If you think kneeling respectfully to protest injustice is more egregious than cops gunning down 12-year-old #TamirRice for holding a toy or murdering #PhilandoCastile in his car with his young daughter, then you have no moral compass. NONE.” – Peter DaouI love that quote because it’s like saying, “LET'S GET REAL: If you think urinating respectfully on Ted Kennedy’s grave to protest injustice is more egregious than an illegal immigrant murdering Kate Steinle, then you have no moral compass. NONE.”A reasonable person might ask, “What does urinating on Ted Kennedy’s grave or kneeling when it’s time to respect the flag have to...

Virtual Reality: Manziel taking reps without even hitting the field by Chris O'Leary As he baby steps his way through the offensive nuances of the CFL, Johnny Manziel’s most important work might be taking place in the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ meeting room. Through the first three days of training camp, Manziel has been using a virtual reality headset that lets him see what Ticats’ starter Jeremiah Masoli has seen in practice to date. “We used them (Monday) afternoon and I thought it was very helpful,” Manziel said. “It’s very high quality and I get to take some of the other guys’...

Conservatives seemingly got a victory this week when the NFL decided to change its policy regarding the national anthem. The NFL decided that players would be allowed to stay in the locker room while the national anthem plays, but the players and personnel that stay on the field will be required to stand for the anthem. President Trump reaffirmed his support for the decision by saying that players who don’t stand for the national anthem maybe “shouldn’t be in the country.” Leftists were outraged. This is a lot of controversy for such a small gesture, but I feel that both...

NEW YORK — Civil rights activists protested outside NFL headquarters Friday, calling on team owners to overturn their new national anthem policy and urging a boycott of the league and its sponsors. About 50 people gathered at the midtown Manhattan office building for a rally organized by National Action Network, a civil rights nonprofit. Kirsten John Foy, the group's northeast regional director, was the first of 10 speakers who took turns during the 40-minute demonstration to criticize NFL team owners and President Donald Trump. "Our demand is that the NFL reverse that immoral and unconstitutional decision," Foy said....

The NAACP criticized the NFL on Wednesday for its decision to ban players from kneeling during the national anthem. “Protest is an American tradition; by protesting we work to hold our country accountable to its highest ideals,” the NAACP said in a statement. “Instead of coming together to address an issue disproportionately plaguing the African-American, the NFL owners have chosen to bury their heads and silence players.” The association also pointed to the issue of police brutality toward black men

The United States is in the grips of a free-speech paradox. At the same time that the law provides more protection to personal expression than at any time in the nation’s history, large numbers of Americans feel less free to speak. The culprit isn’t government censorship but instead corporate, community and peer intimidation. Conservatives can recite the names of the publicly shamed from memory. There was Brendan Eich, hounded out of Mozilla for donating to a California ballot initiative that defined marriage as the union of a man and woman. There was James Damore, abruptly terminated from Google after he...

A few days ago, Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin was hoping he wouldn’t be in a position anytime soon to be asked a question about the national anthem and a statement by president Donald Trump that would result in a headline-making comment. Baldwin, like many of his NFL-playing counterparts, thought the issue of players making protests during the anthem was receding and the focus turning to the league acting in concert with players to address their concerns that led to the protests in the first place.

On a sun-splashed spring morning scripted by the local chamber of commerce, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald hops into his Lincoln Navigator and flips on his Under Armour sunglasses. He’s driving from Northwestern’s current antiquated football facility to its resplendent new one, a mile expanse from the program’s musty past to its glistening future. Fitzgerald tells the story of his favorite reaction to the new $270 million athletic facility, Ryan Fieldhouse and Walter Athletics Center, which opens next month. The facility looks as if a rendering from “The Jetsons” dropped on the shores of Lake Michigan, with 45-foot floor-to-ceiling windows that...

Sen. Marco Rubio is once again breaking from Donald Trump ... defending Colin Kaepernick's right to protest and telling TMZ Sports why he absolutely SHOULD be on an NFL roster. "Look, I support his right to stand for what he does," the republican senator tells us ... "I don't agree with what he did but I support his right to do it." "But if we're just talking football ... there aren't 63 better quarterbacks in the world." FYI, Rubio is assuming there are 64 quarterbacks currently on NFL rosters. Rubio said he's not sure if the NFL owners actually colluded...

The NFL and the Players Coalition finalized a partnership Monday that dedicates close to $90 million for efforts and programs combating social inequality, NFL Network's Jim Trotter reported. The partnership aims to work closely with players, teams and other groups in a new and expanded community improvement program that was agreed to in principle during the Fall League Meeting. The formal agreement comes after NFL team owners voted during the Annual League Meeting in March to implement a local matching funds component to the social justice initiative with the Players Coalition. The initiative comes in response to player demonstrations during...

To be fair, when Johnny Manziel said on NFL draft night that he was going to “wreck this league,” he didn’t say which league. Manziel is back in football. The former Cleveland Browns’ first-round pick who last played in the NFL in 2015, signed with the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats, he said on Twitter. He said it’s for “what looks like two years.” He said he missed playing football, and that’s why he signed. With that, the CFL became more interesting this season. Manziel flamed out spectacularly in the NFL. He was admittedly not prepared to be a pro...