Friends, the NFL seems to have a death wish. It's clear that last year their inaction in response to players' decision to kneel (or otherwise to show disrespect) during the national anthem did considerable damage to the League's image and brand. It seemed that they had wised up during the off-season and had instituted a new policy that would punish players who knelt on the field. But not so fast. Now, under pressure from the players' union, the League is backtracking, and the policy has been put on hold. What will happen when you tune into the first NFL games of the season? Nothing good -- that's my guess. Even if the NFL stuck to its new policy, given how feckless it's been on the issue, I would be shocked if some players didn't kneel regardless. Would the League actually punish, even suspend, black players for "protesting racism"? It's almost inconceivable in this PC age. The sad thing is that this whole kerfuffle could have been avoided, had the NFL acted with some backbone when the first player took a knee. President Trump is right -- that player should have been tossed out on his ear. That would have been that. As it is, the NFL will have to twist in the wind for another season, victimized by its own cowardice. C'est la vie.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/nfl-will-be-tainted-for-another-season-ex-super-bowl-champion
In other news, President Trump is considering revoking the security clearances of people like ex-CIA Director John Brennan, who called Trump's press conference with Russian President Putin "treasonous". I say: do it! It's one thing to criticize an administration you don't like, but men like Brennan have been running a sophisticated campaign to paint the President of the United States as a foreign agent -- without any solid evidence of collusion or "treason" whatsoever. President Obama gave "aid and comfort" to many traditional enemies of the United States, and he was never accused of a capital crime by responsible voices on the right. Instead he was accused of being a bad President. That's not enough for the likes of Brennan, however. They insist on blackening the name of President Trump and trashing the reputation of American democracy to anyone who will listen. Brennan has, in my view, ceased to be a patriotic servant of the American people. He has become instead an enemy of the American people and of our government. Let him spew his venom all he likes, but he should not have a security clearance, period.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/07/23/sanders_trump_considering_revoking_security_clearances_of_brennan_clapper_comey_others_137604.html
here here!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kenny! Here's another thought: Brennan says Trump's press conference was "nothing short of treasonous". I say Brennan criticism of the President is "nothing short of slanderous"! It's about time some of the most dishonest critics of Donald Trump are hit with slander/libel lawsuits. That might get their attention...
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy: I would love to see NFL owners aggressively disagree with protesting NFL players but it probably won't happen because most of the owners (without whom, after all, we wouldn't have an NFL and as about a B grade football fan I know even I'd miss it very much)made their livings in the cautious corporate culture. They did show Colin Kaepernick (not a great QB to be sure) the door. But it remains then for the fans to pitch the bitch.
ReplyDeleteHow can we do that? By not attending games? That would work overnight but its so unlikely. Turning off the TV (because radio broadcasts are always available) - now there is the ticket I think. Fans can still enjoy the action but send a message that the owners WILL receive. The NFL fan base is right out of the real America and if it stands up the kneeling players will look that much lower and discredited. The American police are NOT gratuitously brutal. I worked with them for 20 years in the prison system and I stand by that conviction and laud them for their endurance of unjustified excoriation and their continued devotion to duty.
Hear hear! Most attacks on the integrity and professionalism of the police are wholly unjustified and represent race-baiting at its worst. The idea that NFL players are among the "oppressed" is simply laughable. In any case, they're entitled to their opinions, but not on the job.
ReplyDeleteRatings for NFL games are already down, and clearly this does worry some owners, but enough to bench star players? That remains to be seen.
Dr. Waddy: Its hard to imagine what it must be like to be a multimillionaire. Its easy for us to say "you can afford to do this or that; you've got plenty". But most of them got that way by being smart, hard working and resourceful. I would doubt that most of them buy NFL teams in order to make an easy buck but they do have their priorities; winning is probably the major consideration and in some communities (eg Buffalo), its terribly important. Being entrepreneurs though, most of them are probably also personally conservative, though some may be among the many who, as you have pointed out, toady to the left (which would gladly put them in tumbrels if it ever gets the power to do so). Its quite a mix of factors and considerations and even though football is,at its very heart, juvenile and even absurd, it means alot to alot of Americans, including me. This could be a good hill to fight on; apparently the left thinks so. Much intense feeling involved.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's one of those issues that gets people hopping mad, even though, at its core, as you say, it isn't all that important. It goes to show how EVERYTHING is getting politicized these days, though. That's never a good sign.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy: Good point, good point.
ReplyDelete