Posted on 05/25/2018 4:44:34 PM PDT by davikkm
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 sides are missing a crucial point.
Seeing as the conservatives have been the ones promoting free speech in recent years, does it really make sense to encourage the NFL to limit the players’ expression. I know, the NFL is perfectly within their rights to make this rule. They are a private entity and therefore not bound by the First Amendment in the way the government is. But shouldn’t we be pressuring private companies to respect all our free speech.
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It goes beyond that. They are salaried under a contract that most likely includes clauses regarding behavior and how it reflects on the team.
If you get some negative publicity for, oh say, dog fighting or wife beating you are out on your ass, no appeal.
Politicians don't chastise that, but do when some sports player takes a knee, it becomes the end of the world. People are easily manipulated.
He is right. We should encourage the thugs in the BLM/NFL thug league to keep insulting America so their criminal cartel will collaspe and wither away sooner.
the $100 million to SJW groups is enough for me to stay away.
I dont care what the players do on the field.
I refuse to fund the LEFT directly or indirectly.
The NFL is irredeemably corrupt and it does the national anthem no honor to be sung at their shows.
“But shouldn’t we be pressuring private companies to respect all our free speech.”
No, we shouldn’t.
Not when employees are at work, in uniform, and representing their fans (allegedly), who are present.
Players are fined over their behavior constantly. There’s no special dispensation for subject matter.
I suggest anyone who wants to lose their job simply start kneeling in public, while being paid to work, and making political statements.
My first job was in a Baskin-Robbins. The owner asked me if I knew what we sold. I replied, “Ice cream!” She replied, “No, we sell happiness.”
I’ve thought about that a lot over the years. I think she knew what the NFL players do not.
The players are free to express themselves on their own time. When they are 'on the clock' their employer makes the rules.
Parking at NHL games probably better than NFL games.
And to top it all off, the “protests” are based on a lie. Black men are not being selectively hunted down and killed. They are, however, the demographic most likely to commit a violent crime. Therefore they are more likely to be the ones that are injured by police.
Statistics is a cold science, but a truthful one when used correctly.
Patriotic fans now know that they are hated by a substantial number of the players. That won't change if the players stop kneeling, or keep kneeling, or if they start prancing around in tutus. The goodwill went goodbye.
I’m still off the NFL.
Agree, let them demonstrate by kneeling, turning their backs or giving the country the finger.......Agree with you “I would rather know which players love and appreciate the country and which do not.”
I know that there are many players that love and respect this country and I hate to see them get tarred with the brush the kneeling protesters are deservedly tarred with.
Many (maybe most) NFL teams play in stadiums built with taxpayer dollars. The NFL are hardly “private” companies.
Great perspective.
Progressives ruin everything they touch.
“Arguably, due to their importance, overwhelming market power, and near monopoly status, they may even deserve to be treated as banks, railroads, or utilities and made subject to routine oversight by a primary regulator.”
It brings up something interesting. Going back to the old days, before internet, what would have been the reaction if AT&T simply disconnected the phone lines of JFK and all other Democrats, because they didn’t like their politics?
Scary thought...but this is the equivalent.
“I have no problem with the multi-millionaire prima donna’s believing in a cause...”
Agree. In fact, if the players REALLY want to ‘send a message’ to a stadium full of people, they can simply RENT OUT that stadium and have a rally protesting ‘police abuses’.
I doubt there’s a SINGLE PERSON on this site who would object to their right to do that.
Exactly. They're on the company clock on game day. Acting out your own protest angst is not company business.
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