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Election of Donald Trump Deepening Racial Divide in NFL Locker Rooms
Bleacher Report ^ | 10 November 2016 | Mike Freeman

Posted on 11/10/2016 7:59:53 AM PST by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

"One of the greatest days of my life," a white offensive lineman from the AFC told B/R.

"Easily one of the worst days of my life," said a black offensive lineman, also from the AFC. "It's like my dog died. Worse." The reaction from NFL players to me in the wake of Donald Trump's election as the nation's 45th president was swift and long-lasting. It carried through election night, into the next morning, and throughout Wednesday. Over two dozen players expressed themselves in numerous complex thoughts, simple outbursts and heated arguments with me.

The general feeling among the six white players with whom B/R communicated was that the Trump election was good for the country and happened because Americans wanted change and a fixing of economic issues. In sharp contrast, eight black players I spoke with expressed the sentiment that the Trump election was one of the ugliest moments in American history and was about white America wanting to keep blacks, and other people of color, as one black player said, "in our place."

The comments from both groups of players were at times raw, angry, introspective and dizzying, even more so than for a similar Trump story I wrote before the election. In all my conversations, the most striking aspect was the difference in how black players and white players viewed Trump. It was as if they were talking about two different people, a phenomenon that likely mirrors the American electorate. Take, for example, how two white players felt the election of Trump would help bring players closer to fans and maybe even reverse the recent ratings decline.

"Trump is creating a more blue-collar America," said a special teams player, "and at its core, our sport is a blue-collar sport." Meanwhile, several black players expressed a different view of some fans. They felt those who voted for Trump would root for them on Sundays, but once the games ended, those fans wouldn't, as one player stated, "give them a bucket to piss in." Perhaps most importantly, players on both sides of the Trump aisle insist that NFL locker rooms remain divided over Trump and have seen that chasm grow in the wake of the election.

It's impossible to tell how accurate this view is, but it continues to be something mentioned to me. What's certain is I have never seen NFL players both so happy and infuriated at the same time. I've never seen players this fired up over anything that wasn't related to a work stoppage or Roger Goodell. There was definitely some locker room polarization when Barack Obama was first elected president in 2008, but the dynamics were different. The player base is approximately 70 percent black, and most of the black electorate backed Obama.

Exit polling by NBC this year showed that 89 percent of black voters were either concerned or scared if Trump were to win. My guess is those percentages would hold up, or be close, in NFL locker rooms. "If you voted for Trump," said one AFC offensive starter, "I don't trust you." "Black players are constantly playing the race card [when it comes to Trump]," a white NFC player said. "This election had nothing to do with race."

He wasn't alone in his views.

"Hillary Clinton was a terrible candidate," another white player said. "That's why she lost, not because of race." Other white players said Trump won because of the increase in Obamacare premiums and Supreme Court appointments. All of the white players, in fact, said Trump's election had nothing to do with race. White players who voted for Trump, or knew people who did, in fact, were furious with the notion they or Trump supporters were racist.

All of the black players, on the other hand, said Trump's election was mostly, if not all, about race. Several black players with whom B/R spoke saved some of their anger for Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who wrote a letter of support to Trump, who then read the letter at a rally on the eve of the election. Belichick defended writing the note, saying it wasn't politically motivated and was penned because Trump was a friend. But some of the black players I spoke with said they didn't understand how black players on the Patriots weren't enraged with Belichick. Or with Tom Brady, who Trump said supported his candidacy.

"Very disappointed in [Belichick]," one player said. "I thought he was better than that." (One aside: In my time covering the league, Belichick has been one of the most open-minded men I've ever known. Yet in various front offices around the league, there was surprise he so publicly endorsed Trump.) In the end, maybe everyone should heed the words of former NFL offensive lineman Damien Woody, who tweeted some pretty good advice this week: "Onward and upward America. Let's figure this thing called life out together for the betterment of our country."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: elections; nfl; politics; trump
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To: 4everontheRight

Uh, I really think the Dem ticket had two ‘gays’ on it.......


41 posted on 11/10/2016 8:27:54 AM PST by originalbuckeye ("In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell)
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

Well,bye NFL. Don’t watch anymore. I feel cleansed.


42 posted on 11/10/2016 8:28:13 AM PST by Lent
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh on Trump:

“The thing I like about Donald Trump is he’s not afraid to fight the establishment.”

Go Blue!


43 posted on 11/10/2016 8:28:30 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

How utterly sad that Obama deliberately gave voice to these poisonous emotions. He legitimized and even enhanced the feelings of hatred by others. He told others that they were justified in their grievance and simmering hatred. For this alone Obama will be held morally accountable.


44 posted on 11/10/2016 8:28:38 AM PST by Obadiah
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

Washington State coach Mike Leach says support for Donald Trump has not impacted recruiting

http://usatodayhss.com/2016/washington-state-coach-mike-leach-says-support-for-donald-trump-has-not-impacted-recruiting

Now you know why I want this guy to come to Gainesville.


45 posted on 11/10/2016 8:31:55 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

Where can Minnesota tax payers go to get their billion dollars for us bank stadium back?


46 posted on 11/10/2016 8:32:45 AM PST by cableguymn (We need a redneck in the white house....)
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To: stocksthatgoup
I blame Colin Kaepernick for this mess. And he made it worse by NOT voting on November 8, 2016--and many people are now calling him a phony.
47 posted on 11/10/2016 8:33:09 AM PST by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's economic cure)
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

Trump received 8% of the black vote. Romney got what ... 3%?

This division is on Obama, not Trump. He owns this.


48 posted on 11/10/2016 8:33:35 AM PST by al_c (Obama's standing in the world has fallen so much that Kenya now claims he was born in America.)
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I do not care about adult illiterate college graduate millionaires who may be able to run or jump, but otherwise have created nothing of tangible value


49 posted on 11/10/2016 8:34:13 AM PST by dsrtsage (One half of all people have below average IQ. In the US the number is 54%)
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
Several black players with whom B/R spoke saved some of their anger for Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who wrote a letter of support to Trump, who then read the letter at a rally on the eve of the election.

First of all B/R (Bleacher Report) is a sh*t-stirring progressive media mole. Why don't these cowardly players go on record??

2) Belichick does NOT live in a Commie dictatorship; He's American and a FREE man, free to speak openly because of the First Amendment without being jailed. OR necklaced as though he lives in South Africa (as these hypocritical blacks obviously would prefer.)

3) Bill Belichick does NOT need the permission of ANYONE to support his choice for President, at ANYTIME -- from a bunch of racist black separatists who hate Whitey.

50 posted on 11/10/2016 8:34:14 AM PST by HangUpNow
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To: Parmy
Collin K the most expensive player in NFL history

And he didn't vote.

51 posted on 11/10/2016 8:34:34 AM PST by al_c (Obama's standing in the world has fallen so much that Kenya now claims he was born in America.)
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

Oh, you mean overpaid black athletes have had their sense of entitlement upset? I could care less. It`s time to stop babying these spoiled brats.


52 posted on 11/10/2016 8:34:46 AM PST by mbrfl
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

NFL: Negros, Felons, and Liberals. No one else accepted.

Screw the NFL. I stopped watching that crap this year.


53 posted on 11/10/2016 8:35:36 AM PST by CodeToad
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To: canalabamian

You @!!:!$@# :)


54 posted on 11/10/2016 8:35:59 AM PST by dp0622 (IThe only thing an upper crust conservative hates more than a liberal is a middle class conservative)
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To: dp0622

;)


55 posted on 11/10/2016 8:38:16 AM PST by canalabamian ("The same things win, that always won..." Coach Paul W. Bryant)
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

Election of Donald Trump Deepening Racial Divide in NFL Locker Rooms

And I don’t give a damn. The National Felons League doesn’t come on in my house anymore.


56 posted on 11/10/2016 8:40:10 AM PST by JayAr36 (Just maybe the Repugnant party can be be brought back now.)
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To: HangUpNow

Belichick is the man! He treats the liberal media with the contempt they deserve.

Even if Kaepernick drops dead tomorrow, the NFL has an underlying problem with its predominance of black athletes and discrimination of equally qualified whites.

It’s incredible that the Pats can have three white WR’s (Edelman, Amendola, and Hogan) on the field at the same time. Add to that All-Universe TE Gronk and you have quite a receiving package. In fairness, backup TE Martellus Bennett is having a fine year.

But overall, most of these Afroletic teams look like undisciplined mobs out there. Today’s black athletes are simply not sportsmen, like the old Packers with Willie Davis and Willie Word, or Shula’s undefeated 1972 Dolphins with Paul Warfield and Larry Little.


57 posted on 11/10/2016 8:40:34 AM PST by Nothingburger
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

It’s all about race for the Black players. The White players seem concerned about a number of concerns and issues excluding race.


58 posted on 11/10/2016 8:41:04 AM PST by windsorknot
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To: kearnyirish2
Obama used countless dog whistles for eight years...

Yup. His language was consistently suggestively and openly racist. Except NO media would dare call him out on it.

Not only that, he was openly and brazenly a racist SOB who ridiculed Bible and gun clingers, characterized his own granny as racist, ridiculed "Okie-dokies" (another anti-white pejorative), demanded blacks "get in the face" of Whites," sat in a church pew of a fake "Christian" church for 20 years absorbing Reverend Wright's sermons NOT of the Gospel, but of hatred for Whitey.

59 posted on 11/10/2016 8:42:25 AM PST by HangUpNow
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

“Keep us in our place”. Never specifics from the racists and they are racists obsessed with claiming they deserve special rights and excuses for THEIR bad behavior because of slavery. It’s all about seeking to attack white people nonstop and I’m sick of their racism. Obama has not done anything to help anyone in this country and blacks are worse off.


60 posted on 11/10/2016 8:43:53 AM PST by VermithraxPejorative
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