The publicity of course, is due to the NFL players showing a disrespect to the country and to their fans like we've never seen before, and it's also due to President Trump taking shots at the NFL. Some are supporting the players, and others are burning jerseys.
This all seems to have started when Colin Kaepernick decided that he wasn't going to stand for the National Anthem anymore. He stated that it was his way of calling attention to injustice. As can be expected, he had his supporters as well as he had his detractors. He later decided to take the knee as they're now calling it, and it wasn't long before other players were joining in.
Of course this generated more chatter, and President Trump said some things that the players didn't like. The reaction to that was more players taking the knee, others locking arms, and some doing both. In London, several players took the knee for our Anthem, but stood for the Anthem of the United Kingdom. And we've had flagrant displays of disrespect.
Now those who support the players are making the "free speech" argument. They say it's a First Amendment expression. Although no court has ruled that you must stand for the Star Spangled Banner, my argument is that the First Amendment does not apply in the workplace. The football field is a workplace (I know I'm stretching the term "work" here) just like being behind the counter at McDonald's is also a workplace. McDonald's employees, if they say rude things to a customer, are going to be fired, and that employee does not have First Amendment recourse in any litigation that they bring against their employer. If you doubt me, and you need something to do, call up your local ACLU and ask them about this.
That said, I'm fine with football players saying bad things about their country. As I sometimes do here, I'm going to ask you to hold that thought for a moment.......I'm going to come back to this, after I come back to the First Amendment angle.
As stated, it's a workplace setting here. But there's something else here involved. That something else is the rulebook and the expected code of conduct for a professional football player.
NFL rules state that a player must stand for the National Anthem. That player must stand and face the flag, with their helmet removed. The rules are the rules. There are rules that set the conditions for how the game is played and scored. There are rules for how many players can be on the field. There are rules for how many players can be on a team. There are rules for who can be on the sidelines. There are rules that tell you what can be brought to the sidelines and there are rules that list prohibited items. Players on the bench are not allowed to harass opposing players........and clearly that is a situation that is not subject to First Amendment protections.
Now let's get back to how the players feel.
Again, I don't care what the players think of their country. They're entitled to hate this country. They can gripe on their Facebook page if they want to. They can tweet their disgust. I of course won't be reading it since I don't do the Facebook thing and I don't tweet.
That said, I agree with the President that they're disrespecting their flag and their country. These guys are making in one year what others will not make in a lifetime. The very country that enables them to make this kind of money is being spat upon here, and because of that they're losing fans. In one way I want them to double down on this and to keep going, and in another way I'm sad.
Truth be told, I stopped watching the NFL three, maybe four years ago. I think that Saints Super Bowl win that I posted about several years back may have been the last time I watched an entire game. In the seasons after that, I got to thinking of the NFL as being a corrupt institution that could not possibly be honest due to the amount of money involved. I stopped long before Colin Kaepernick started taking the knee.
I felt that I wasn't the only one, but didn't really know that until last year. Their ratings started going down last year. The league of course denied that it was the anthem protests that caused it. They said too many people were distracted by the election.
Well this isn't an election year, and guess what? Ratings are down even further. Last Thursday the 49ers had a half empty stadium for the first time in decades. The two teams who returned to Los Angeles (yes, the Chargers used to play there) can't sell out their stadiums. Whether or not the league wants to admit, they are in real trouble........and it's going to get worse.
What do you think will happen at after the next Super Bowl is won? Is the MVP going to thank the fans, God, his family, and his team...........or is he going to go on an obscenity-laced tirade against President Trump?
I for one, won't know until I read about it on Drudge after the fact.
And it could be uglier than the picture below.
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