{"id":65071,"date":"2018-05-08T07:14:10","date_gmt":"2018-05-08T07:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=65071"},"modified":"2018-05-08T07:14:10","modified_gmt":"2018-05-08T07:14:10","slug":"why-stop-at-nfl-allowing-teams-to-decide-national-anthem-protocol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/why-stop-at-nfl-allowing-teams-to-decide-national-anthem-protocol.html","title":{"rendered":"Why stop at NFL allowing teams to decide national anthem protocol"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why stop at NFL allowing teams to decide national anthem protocol?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Word is that NFL owners, unable to come to an agreement on a league policy for the national anthem, are considering letting each team create its own rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to The Washington Post, the idea would take the thorny issue out of the league\u2019s hands and allow each owner to decide what is proper protocol during the anthem. Why stop there, though? Since owners like Jerry Jones and Bob McNair are determined to make a show of who\u2019s for ‘Merica and who\u2019s not, the NFL ought to realign the league so there can be no confusion about anyone\u2019s position.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of the NFC and the AFC, let\u2019s call the NFL\u2019s new conferences the CSC and the KNC.<\/span><\/p>\n

The CSC would be the Constitution Supporters Conference, made up of teams whose owners recognize that the protests during the anthem are neither anti-police nor anti-military, but meant to draw attention to police brutality in communities of color and economic inequality. These owners know the right to free speech that\u2019s protected by the First Amendment refers to censorship by the government, not employers, but they\u2019re also smart enough to know that stifling political dissent in a country founded on protest is the very definition of unAmerican.<\/span><\/p>\n

The San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs would all go in this division. Maybe the Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

The KNC would be the Know Nothing Conference. For those who\u2019ve forgotten what they learned in eighth-grade social studies \u2013 and it\u2019s clear there are plenty in this country who could use a refresher course \u2013 the Know Nothings were a political party in the mid-1800s that cloaked discrimination in the defense of traditional religious and political values. These ideologues wanted to preserve what they saw as their rightful place in the social, economic and political hierarchies, and were horrified that some people were actually taking that \u201call men being created equal\u201d idea seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n

McNair\u2019s Houston Texans and Jones\u2019 Dallas Cowboys would be the charter teams in the KNC, of course, and the Carolina Panthers are with them at least until they\u2019re sold. The Cincinnati Bengals deserve a spot in the KNC, too, after Mike Brown reportedly asked free agent Eric Reid if his protests would continue this season, signaling that a contract offer was more dependent on the safety\u2019s answer than his actual skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t like those ideas for conferences, then I\u2019d suggest the Hypocrites and the Non-Hypocrites.<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember what NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said last fall, as he tried to calm the furor ignited by President Donald Trump calling protesting players \u201cSOBs\u201d and saying they should be fired?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are trying to stay out of is politics,\u201d Goodell said in October.<\/span><\/p>\n

Did you see an asterisk by that \u201cwe,\u201d meant to clarify Goodell was only referring to the players? Neither did I.<\/span><\/p>\n

And yet, Edward Glazer of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted a Trump fundraiser in March that cost attendees between $35,000 and $250,000. Robert Kraft donated the New England Patriots\u2019 team plane so Parkland survivors and their families could attend the \u201cMarch for Our Lives\u201d rally.<\/span><\/p>\n

So it\u2019s actually not politics or political statements NFL owners want to avoid, just those with which they don\u2019t agree.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s admirable that NFL owners want to identify those who wish to undermine our most cherished ideals, whose actions are an affront to our democracy. But it doesn’t take a change in the league’s anthem protocol.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/columnist\/nancy-armour\/2018\/05\/07\/nfl-why-stop-allowing-teams-decide-national-anthem-protocol\/586722002\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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