Posted on 09/26/2017 7:40:21 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Allahpundit noted this morning that there has been a run on Alejandro Villanueva jerseys after he became the lone Steelers player to come out of the tunnel during the national anthem yesterday. Today, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger published his explanation of what happened, saying he wasn’t able to sleep last night and wishes the team had done things differently.
I was unable to sleep last night and want to share my thoughts and feelings on our team’s decision to remain in the tunnel for the National Anthem yesterday. The idea was to be unified as a team when so much attention is paid to things dividing our country, but I wish we approached it differently. We did not want to appear divided on the sideline with some standing and some kneeling or sitting.
As a team, it was not a protest of the flag or the Anthem. I personally don’t believe the Anthem is ever the time to make any type of protest. For me, and many others on my team and around the league, it is a tribute to those who commit to serve and protect our country, current and past, especially the ones that made the ultimate sacrifice.
I appreciate the unique diversity in my team and throughout the league and completely support the call for social change and the pursuit of true equality. Moving forward, I hope standing for the Anthem shows solidarity as a nation, that we stand united in respect for the people on the front lines protecting our freedom and keeping us safe. God bless those men and women.
It certainly sounds as if Roethlisberger will be standing the next time the anthem is played, even if some of his teammates are not. It’s understandable that he and other players wanted to maintain team unity but that’s not how politics works. Politics, especially left-wing politics, works by diving people into categories and then pitting them against other categories. For many Americans, football represents a respite from the kind of divisions we encounter in politics. Steelers fans, like players, come from many different backgrounds but at the stadium, they’re all on the same side. At least that’s how it used to work. Now that politics has reared its ugly head, teammates and fans have to pick a side. Do you support Kaepernick and BLM or do you support President Trump? The Steelers tried standing in the tunnel to avoid the question, but clearly, it can’t be avoided.
At the Federalist, Robert Tracinski pointed out today that no one really knows how this is supposed to end:
The message is supposed to be “I’m protesting injustice,” but it turns into “I’m protesting injustice, which I equate with America itself.” It is the petulant demand that everyone else fall in line with the protesters’ exact political preferences and their vague political program—I haven’t found anybody who can tell me what concrete measures would convince the knee-takers to stand up again—or else they will refuse to love their own country…
What if you don’t go along with them? Well, if you’re not in the Resistance than you’re a collaborator and you must be the racist enemy, too. That’s how we go from a disgruntled quarterback taking the knee, to dozens of players taking the knee, to an inquisition in which every player will be required to take the knee. That’s what’s coming next. People are already demanding that all other players join the kneelers. #TakeTheKnee ends up sounding a whole lot like #BendTheKnee, a demand for obedience to the Left’s anti-American pageantry.
Turning football into a political football seems destined to do for sports exactly what it does for colleges and universities, i.e. turn people away. I see only three possible solutions to this problem. One, as Tacinski suggests, is everyone can bow the knee to the left’s demand for cultural obedience. Two, the NFL could crackdown on protest until the fad wears off, something that seems unlikely in the current climate especially since it would be seen as siding with Trump. Third, the NFL could remove the opportunity for the protest by either keeping teams off the field during the anthem or by cutting the anthem from the game. Of the three, I think option three is the most likely outcome. In fact, CNN has a story up today which makes the case that the requirement to have the team on the field for the anthem is a recent change:
After World War II, the commissioner of the NFL at the time, Elmer Layden, made a specific plea to keep the anthem as a game-day tradition.
“The playing of the national anthem should be as much a part of every game as the kickoff,” he said. “We must not drop it simply because the war is over. We should never forget what it stands for.”
While the anthem continued to be a game-day fixture, NFL players typically stayed in the locker room for it.
There were exceptions, of course — players observed the anthem after 9/11, and during Super Bowl games. But it wasn’t until 2009 that players were mandated to be on the field for the song.
If the NFL sees a few more weeks of declining viewership, something will change. Keeping the players off the field seems like one way to take personal politics out of the game without taking action against individual players.
The NFL has lost many fans — permanently. Like with any business, this will have long term financial consequences, and they know it.
That’s what they regret.
Boo hoo. Take a knee to the nuts, you jackasses.
Not so fast: Villanueva Apologizes For Standing For Anthem
They pulled this stunt before a road game in Chicago.
Now they're facing the prospect of coming home to play a home game in "Dear Hunter Country" in western Pennsylvania ... a region that put the blue in "blue collar."
There were video clips posted all over the internet yesterday showing fans burning their NFL paraphernalia. It's no coincidence that most of the ones I saw were white men who were Pittsburgh Steelers fans.
For a guy who ain't too bright I'm sure it's finally dawned on "Big Ben" what has unfolded over the last few days:
President Trump rolled a whole bunch of hand grenades into the circle-jerk known as the NFL and their media partners. And every one of these @ssholes couldn't wait to pull the pins out.
Ben: Define “social justice” and “true equality”. What would be different?
*************
They want both things, but cannot define them in any concrete way. This is nothing but a litany of vague complaints with no factual framework or specifics.
These guys have 163 hours per week where they can do anything they like. They are free to protest, speak out, or take part in any political activity they like.
They chose to force it into the game. They are going to pay a very heavy price.
These NFL teams are going to learn a tough lesson. Letting your black players establish your team’s public image is like taking a Zimbabwe grain farm away from its owner and giving it to his workers. Within one growing season the entire place is out of business.
Had to wade through the whole thread to finally find your comments using the words in the following quote from the article.
“I appreciate the unique diversity in my team and throughout the league and completely support the call for social change and the pursuit of true equality.”
That quote pretty much spells out the problem. Teams are not diverse no matter what any brainless individual thinks. That is the exact opposite of a TEAM. Not to mention the two you mentioned that have nothing whatsoever to do with pro football. Just MHO.
You came up with gold there
love that closer.
...President Trump rolled a whole bunch of hand grenades into the circle-jerk known as the NFL and their media partners.
And every one of these @ssholes couldn't wait to pull the pins out.
A great deal of the entertainment industries are full of lost fans. Comic book sales are in the drain. Hollywood got 1/6 less revenue this year from low theater attendance, and I haven’t looked at the NFL stats buy wouldn’t be surprised if they were low compared to 10 to 30 years ago.
“Keeping the players off the field seems like one way to take personal politics out of the game without taking action against individual players.”
Too late for that. Not being present for the anthem is more insulting than kneeling.
This is the NATIONAL football league. Even the LOGO looks like an American Flag.
With all the money they spend on marketing intelligence, how could they not know where this was going?
Go to a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game. You will hear it every night.
Free speech only exists for America and Trump haters. If you like America and like Trump you don’t have the right of free speech.
Thanks! :-)
I have a suspicion that the crowd at Heinz Field will stand and sing the national anthem for at least the remainder of the year. The next home game will be extra loud—well, that is if there aren’t too many no-shows.
“Keeping the players off the field seems like one way to take personal politics out of the game without taking action against individual players.”
It’s no way now, because everyone has been “exposed” to these anti-American blacks and their “$hit cannot now be put back into the horse!”
The masks are off.
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