As President Trump wages war with the National Football League (NFL), it has become distinctively clear that the United States is no longer united.
According to the results of a poll done by this very paper that employs me, 48 percent of you agree with me. To the other 52 percent, I hope that you read this piece with an open mind.
Let me take a moment to catch you up before we get started. Puerto Rico is recovering from two hurricanes that have left the island in shambles, North Korea is becoming a larger threat everyday to the safety of the United States and lawmakers are trying to repeal legislation that brings health coverage to millions of people nationwide. But for now, let’s focus on getting that “son of a bitch” off the field.
Oh Colin, look at what you started. I applaud you, because it has worked. You’ve brought light to a subject that most would prefer to be left in the dark and now you’ve got the entire country talking.
I am not one for kneeling. You can come to any of this wonderful university’s sporting events and you will catch me standing, eyes locked on the flag. But I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that I admire the members of this movement for creating the conversation that they have.
This is not a flag issue. This is a social justice issue. Rosa Parks didn’t protest public transportation.
The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States provides those involved the right to kneel. You know, the right that our brave men and women have served and fought to protect.
What’s worse than calling all involved sons of bitches (for the record, Donald, I’m sure most of their mothers are rather nice ladies), is calling them ungrateful. Why, Donald? Because most of them are wealthy African- American men? They are just supposed to take the money us white men provide them and entertain us?
These men are the elite of the elite in their profession. They are getting paid what they are earning. The league creates the revenue by using the players and in turn, pays the players accordingly.
Ultimately, this movement was started to get this country talking and it surely has. Whether you agree with it or not, you have to respect their right to do so.
For those of you that want to leave politics out of sports, great. The president can quit complaining about football players and football players can quit worrying about whether they are going to stand or kneel anymore, because they are there to play football.
In our homecoming game Saturday, our football team along with Wayne State’s decided to stay in the locker room for the anthem, which isn’t any different than they’ve always done. I guess nobody noticed that until this was such a big deal.
I salute all the brave men and women who have fought to protect our country. I also salute all of those using their rights and their platform to bring about change where change is needed.