Posted on 09/26/2017 1:50:34 AM PDT by abb
A Slidell-based Carnival krewe has uninvited a pair of New Orleans Saints players to serve as grand marshals for the krewe's 2018 parade after the players participated in a protest during the national anthem prior to Sunday's (Sept. 24) game, WVUE-Fox 8 reports.
The Krewe of Poseidon took back invites to players Kenny Vaccaro and Alex Okafor, who had already agreed to serve as grand marshals, after they sat during the anthem in Charlotte, according to the news station.
Vaccaro and Okafor were among 10 Saints and 150 professional football players around the National Football League who refused to stand for the national anthem Sunday. Four other players also stood in solidarity near the 10 Saints players as they sat during the anthem.
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(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Krewe of Poseidon rescinds Grand Marshal invitation to Saints players following protest
Monday, September 25th 2017, 10:22 pm CDT
Written by: FOX8Live.com Staff
(WVUE) - FOX8 New Orleans
The Krewe of Poseidon said that the controversy over the National Anthem protest prior to Sunday’s game in Charlotte has led them to uninvite two Saints players, who agreed to be their grand marshals in next year’s parade.
The Slidell krewe made the decision after Kenny Vaccaro and Alex Okafor sat during anthem.
Krewe captain, Ronny Kastner said the krewe needs to be careful putting itself on either side of the issue and felt it was best to look for another Grand Marshal.
“If you have a current hot button issue, where someone may be highly involved in something that is divisive, by putting them in the parade it could cause issues and we’re just not prepared to handle that,” said Kastner.
He added, “So this is not something that you know, we very well may be interested in having them again. At this point and time we’re just not interested in having someone participate and represent our krewe that the entire audience might not be interested in seeing.”
Kastner said krewe members have been supportive of the decision.
“We provided a very lengthy to our members explaining to them that it was a very tough decision and that it was something that they did not take lightly,” said Kastner.
When asked if the decision to uninvite the players came too soon, Kastner said that the krewe felt that it was an issue that would probably carry on throughout the season. Kastner said that they felt they wouldn’t have sufficient time to identify another grand marshal if they made the decision at a later date.
The krewe emailed both Vaccaro and Okafor, notifying them of their decision. However, they have not heard back from either player. Both players are currently in London for next week’s game against the Miami Dolphins.
The Krewe of Poseidon will roll on January 27, 2018.
We reached out to the Saints about the krewe’s decision, but have not received a response.
NFL lost THE GAME.
ping
Don’t back down and re-invite them. Stay strong!
NRL needs a public “shunning” to cause them to rethink the concept of American freedom and the symbols that represent that freedom.
Why only in Louisiana? No other patriotic states???
Slidell is not what you would call a military town. I moved here from one of those — Groton, CT — twenty years ago. I served in the Navy for 23 years. The people here, and in the South generally, are strong patriotic Americans who support the military and
America. This is going to get very ugly, the people of Slidell will be characterized as racists. I am not a racist. And I will fight back against any attack, either verbally or physically. Saint’s threw down the gauntlet, Slidell picked it up. Unless the Saint’s, and all the other NFL teams reverse course, the NFL will lose bigly in this mess they’ve created. On the other hand we’ve got to remember that most NFL player’s are dumb. The number on their uniform jersey is an indication of their IQ, I think. They are being manipulated by evil people. We should all take a knee now before someone is harmed.
Great
These rasists are in London where they can disrespect the American flag and stand up for God Save the Queen
A lot of NFL players like to party and hang out in bars and dives late into the night. There are going to be incidents and further team restrictions on what players can do after hours.
It's good they were uninvited, but Ronny better take a side.
All the locals need to say to defend this is that they have the safety of everyone in mind. If you put someone controversial up on a parade float, you make them a tempting target to a lot of people with alcohol-diluted inhibitions. These Mardi Gras krewes have to carry insurance in order to parade. If I was their insurance agent, I would support this decision.
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