As NFL fans (and even those that aren't, due to the media blitz) know, the league has recently adopted a policy whereby the players will be required to stand for the national anthem -- if on the field -- but have the option of staying in the locker room if they don't agree with this mandate.
And you know what? It's just stupid, from top to bottom.
Let's count a few ways.
Does anybody seriously doubt the fans in attendance and, more importantly, the TV cameras won't zoom into who's on the sideline -- or not -- before the game when the anthem is played?
Put another way, this will give the TV announcers even MORE fodder to talk about, as they rattle off the names of who's on the field, and who's not.
Hence, the hordes of reporters will seek out the players, particularly those that stayed in the locker rooms, for post-game interviews, giving them an even BIGGER forum than they previously had to spout off about their beefs regarding "social injustices". Before, when no such policy was in place, when the game was over, all parties pretty much packed up their stuff and moved on. This is an improvement?
Some claim the new policy was to appease President Donald Trump. Anybody that believes that is an idiot.
The NFL and the 30 franchise owners don't care what the Donald thinks. They care about the bottom line -- see money. Whatever policy they can put in place to stop the recent bleeding (ratings) and maximize revenues is the one they're going to go for. Period. Who's kidding who?
The "poll" numbers get even more stupid.
OK, white people support this latest plan by roughly a 5-3 ratio. NFL fans, particularly those that actually attend games -- which are overwhelming white -- support it by an even larger margin.
No surprise there. Football fans (and most owners -- also white) have long been quite the patriotic bunch. We wouldn't see pre-game military color guards, giant US flags covering the field, and fighter-jet fly-overs unless this were the case. And good for them, if that's what yanks their crank. To each their own.
But it's also hardly surprising black people are likewise overwhelmingly against the same policy. HELLO, it is those very same people that had/have the beef in the first place.
Hispanics check in on the patriotic side. Of course they do. Given other recent "policies", many of them will do anything to appease Uncle Sam, lest they be detained and/or deported. You don't want to stand out in a "bad" way if you're in this position.
Yet taken as a whole, whites in America outnumber both blacks and Hispanics by a significant margin. So add it all up and the poll is skewed in the first place.
But here's the kicker. Roughly 70% of all NFL players are black. And they didn't get consulted regarding Roger Goodell's latest mandate, nor did the Players' Union. If you want peace and harmony, it's usually better when management sits down and works out some sort of compromise with their union counterparts, rather than hammering them with an edict from on-high.
Yes, the billionaires can force-feed the (mostly) millionaires such rules of behavior, but it doesn't solve anything. In fact, it might well make matters worse, due to resentment for the above-stated reason.
For now, the NFL, and many people, think this little "problem" has been put to rest, once and for all.
They couldn't be more wrong. Instead of dodging a bullet, the league, with the owners' sort-of approval has merely shot themselves in the foot.
[BTW, the league claiming the owners voted unanimously to adopt said rule rings about as true as your average Trumpism. A formal vote wasn't even taken, and a few owners are already going "rogue".]
Oh yeah, this is going to be a much BIGGER story this season than it has in the recent past, since Colin Kaepernick first took a knee.
Thing is, objectively speaking, who really gives a rat's behind whether jocks stand, kneel, or play with their smart phones while eating a Big Mac during the national anthem?
Hey, the US flag is a piece of cloth with a design, nothing more. And the anthem is a song with lyrics, nothing more.
[Also BTW, Francis Scott Key, generally given credit for composing the American national anthem -- did no such thing. He wrote a poem while watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. He was a poet, not a musical composer. The actual tune wasn't coupled with his verses until much later.]
One can dutifully worship them, or not. Since when is this anybody else's business? It doesn't cost them anything or put more money in their pocket either way. It's when you try to dictate the (lawful) behavior of others that problems arise.
[Personally, when I've been at various events, and that's in the hundreds, watching games over the years -- I've always stood and put my hand over my heart when the anthem was played. But that's just me. If others thought or acted differently, why should I care? It was none of my damn business, hence, who gives a rip?]
And that's all this whole sordid affair has been about in the first place.
Control of the masses, even over the minutest of things.
And it won't work anymore. At least not with people who can think for themselves and refuse to be led around like lemmings.
To even attempt it is just, well.... look back up at the title of this post.
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