Free Republic

On Friday's Speak for Yourself TV sports talk program on Fox Sports 1, co-host Jason Whitlock (see photo) characterized NFL Players' Association executive director DeMaurice Smith as a "foolish looter burning down his own neighborhood" and demanded his firing. The NFLPA has reportedly hired several lawyers to fight the league's new policy requiring players to respect the national anthem or remain in the clubhouse. Whitlock said, "The NFL Players' Association should fire its executive director, DeMaurice Smith. According to the site Pro Football 'Woke' (officially known as Pro Football Talk), and its editor Mike Florio, Smith and the NFLPA have...

In San Francisco Bay area, anyone can be considered a unicorn. Just look at the Golden State Warriors’ past few seasons. It was not long ago a franchise that was once criticized for taking (now NBA All-Star) Steph Curry and largely defined as underdogs. However, not only were the Warriors innovative in their approach to rebuild, but the organization put up the numbers and earned the championships to prove it, and when it comes to Silicon Valley and finding use for blockchain, only a few companies have been able to truly succeed in establishing a solid footing. While we hear...

In 1969, NFL linebacker Dave Meggyesy walked away from the NFL in disgust over the way he believed football was acting as a reactionary social force in society, an impediment against meaningful social change. In his book Out of Their League, he wrote, “Politics and pro football are the most grotesque extremes of a dying empire.” In 1975, sportswriter Robert Lipsyte had a similar analysis of not just football but sports as a whole. He wrote in his classic book SportsWorld: An American DreamLand: "A great deal of the angry energy generated in America through the coming apart of the...

The Press Is Determined to Claim Trump Is "Polticizing" Football. Have They Not Noticed Their Leftist Allies Politicizing Football, and Everything Else, For a Decade? Half of the country is broken and in the middle of a nervous breakdown, and they can't understand why the rest of us are sick of hearing their endless conniptions. The press says Mr. Trump is pushing the battle of the national anthem because it plays to his base. I suppose it does. But here's what galls even non-Trumpia>ns about this kneeling kerfuffle: We live in a world soaking in partisan politics. Then one day...

Whichever team wins the NBA championship, President Donald Trump says he won't be inviting them to the White House. "I didn't invite LeBron James, and I didn't invite Steph Curry. We're not going to invite either team," Mr. Trump told reporters on Friday. But Mr. Trump said he'd be happy to host the Washington Capitals, who just won the Stanley Cup for the first time in the club's 44-year history. He said: "If they want to be here, it's the greatest place on Earth. I'm here. If they don't want to be here, I don't want them."

What do Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Obamacare, and President Trump all have in common? All of those people, and institution, have higher favorability numbers than the NFL. According to a Fox News poll released on Thursday, the NFL’s net favorability rating comes in at 42%. Only former FBI Director Robert Mueller, Rudy Giuliani, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Roseanne Barr, have lower favorability numbers. The NFL’s lack of popularity stands out even more, when looking back at where the league was only five years ago. In October of 2013, the league had a 64% favorability rating. By October of 2017,...

--SNIP-- Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said he has no problem with that form of protest. But Jenkins has instead raised his right fist while standing during pregame anthems for the past 22 Eagles preseason and regular-season games, and he has an explanation for that. "The reason I don't kneel is not because I think it's disrespectful. It's because I think it's misunderstood," Jenkins said. "I want my demonstration to be effective and received. I think whatever that is is going to be to the individual, but everybody's saying the same thing: We need change. We want to be that vehicle...

When the San Diego Padres played the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, the game was far from exciting to some people. Padres fans watched the Braves completely pummel the home team, winning 14-1. But if things were seeming predictable, that changed when a foul ball flew into the stands. The Braves' Ender Inciarte hit the foul high into the stands, where a woman named Gabby DiMarco sat, casually sipping her beer, CBS Sports reports. She was shocked when the ball flew her way, and she caught it right in her beer cup. But that amazing feat wasn't the end of it....

WASHINGTON — Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook has jumped into the controversy surrounding this week’s canceled White House visit by the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Cook posted a tweet Tuesday night: “Nebraska would love to go to the White House! Huskers would be honored and proud to visit our leaders in DC and represent Nebraska and the Natty! #gbr” The tweet appeared to be deleted Wednesday afternoon. Cook’s statement quickly drew a wave of responses from others on the social media platform, ranging from attaboys to how-dare-yous.

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...

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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...

There's a great scene in the movie Witness where a bunch of bullies start picking on some Amish farmers, and then they pick on Harrison Ford, who is sporting Extreme Mennonite drag. They knock off his straw hat, laugh at him, and then he beats the crap out of them.The bullies are shocked, stunned, and bewildered. Why, he’s not supposed to fight back! Why, the Amish, they’re better than that! But Harrison’s not. As his buddy says, he’s from Ohio.I am not better than that either. How about you?Because today, being “better than that” means being willing to allow other people...

What happens when the national anthem isn't played before a ballgame? In Fresno, Calif., first the crowd boos, then it takes it upon themselves to sing it anyway -- a cappella. In a show of patriotism before Memorial Day, the crowd at a high school softball championship game at Fresno State's Margie Wright Diamond on Friday night launched into their own rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" after it was announced that the song wouldn't be played because it had already been played before an earlier game. “Honestly, I was shocked (when) the announcer stated, ‘There will be no anthem, let’s...

The 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500- the greatest race in the world!!! Hometown and VP Pence family favorite Ed Carpenter sits on pole, the only driver to turn a lap in excess of 230MPH during qualifying. Marco Andretti has been strong the entire month of May but slipped in qualifying. Final race in the career of Danica Patrick, which will be covered annoyingly today. Gentlemen- Start Your Engines!!

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...

Link only due to MSN site however the entire WSJ article is there, no paywall.

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...

A new city has emerged as a possible site for NBA expansion. One league executive told SEC Network's Jarrett Sutton that Kansas City will inevitably be awarded a franchise, as it's viewed as the NBA's most valuable market for league expansion, alongside Seattle. The Kings called Kansas City home from 1972 to 1985 before moving on to Sacramento. The state of Kansas is well-represented on the college circuit, boasting the powerhouse University of Kansas, but the addition of an NBA franchise would come as a surprise with other notable options being discussed far more. The city has an arena which...

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...