The NAACP’s interim president Derrick Johnson is requesting a formal meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to the failure of any team to pick up Colin Kaepernick and how the NFL will honor his “constitutional rights” and those of other NFL players. I have said previously that I strongly disagree with the decision of Kaepernick and others to refuse to stand during the national anthem. However, I fully accept the first amendment right to carry out such protests. However, the question is far more complex when moved into the realm of employment and demonstrations at work. The question becomes less a constitutional matter than an employment matter.
In the letter, Johnson accused the NFL of “blackballing” Kaepernick, who is often booed by fans who view his protest as disrespectful of the country’s values.
Last season, Mr. Kaepernick chose to exercise his First Amendment rights by protesting the inequitable treatment of people of color in America. By quietly taking a knee during the national anthem, he was able to shine a light on the many injustices, particularly, the disproportionate occurrences of police misconduct toward communities of color. As outlined in your office’s public statement, this act of dissent is well within the National Football League’s stated bylaws. Yet, as the NFL season quickly approaches, Mr. Kaepernick has spent an unprecedented amount of time as a free agent, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that this is no sheer coincidence.
“No player should be victimized and discriminated against because of his exercise of free speech — to do so is in violation of his rights under the Constitution and the NFL’s own regulations.
We have previously discussed the issues of free speech and privacy within the realm of employment. The first amendment protects citizens against censorship from the government as opposed to private parties. The latter is more of a “Little Brother problem.” Employees generally do not have the right to use their workplace for political statements or protests. They are hired to perform a task and such protests can have a significant impact on customers and business. When someone goes to Starbucks, they want a coffee not a controversy.
Having said that, the national anthem is viewed by Kaepernick as a type of forced political speech in favor of a national symbol that he associates with the oppression or abuse of African Americans. In the public school setting, the Court has recognized the constitutional right of students to refuse to recite the pledge of allegiance. Standing for the anthem is heavily laded with symbolism — indeed that is precisely why people are upset. That certainly makes this controversy a closer issue but not, in my view, a determinative one. Employers generally have a right to bar players from using games to carry out a political protest.
Adding to the difficulty for asserting a constitutional violation against Kaepernick is the fact that he is not a particularly good player. According to ESPN, he was one of the league’s least-accurate quarterbacks in the NFL with a dismal 60.1 completion percentage — ranked No. 23 in the NFL. His percentage of off-target throws — judged on video by ESPN Stats & Information — ranked No. 18 (17.6 percent). Accordingly he brings much controversy to games but not an equal amount of talent.
Thus far, the NFL and owners have not stopped players from protesting at these games despite the majority of fans who object to the demonstrations. However, when firing decisions are made, teams make a holistic judgment on what a player can offer to a team in both of talent and controversy.
In the end, I still do not appreciate these protests. The flag and anthem represent the values of a country that has not always lived up to our beliefs. We remains a nation with deep racial and social problems, but the anthem reflects a commitment to work through those problems together. It represents a constitutional system that has had many triumphs in the fight for equality from desegregation to voting rights to anti-discrimination laws. Standing for the anthem reflects our mutual support for those ideals despite the fact that we have not always down the most to maintain them.
The allowing players to protest raises some difficult questions for the NFL. Would the teams feel the same way if players took a knee to oppose immigration policies or the other issues? When benefit of a ban on protests during the anthem is to avoid a slippery slope where teams have to decide what protests will be allowed and what will be barred. At the moment, the NFL appears to be saying that you can refuse to stand for any reason.
What do you think?
“but the anthem reflects a commitment to work through those problems together”
Sounds good, Professor, but you are smart enough to know that that is a lie, or awfully close to it. Reflects a commitment? Hogwash! And you know it. So sad! A Georoge Washington University professor.,
Spot on Ben! I agree with you 100%. Thank you for your comment.
Like, how *ignorant* are you of the history of this country and the people in it? Where do you get *your* information from on which to base your opinion of Hogwash? Celebrities? Rap music? Huffington Post or any of the extremely biased Media Mags?
Have you ever actually studied History? of the World? of Civilizations? of the US?
Have you ever *read* Rousseau or Voltaire on the notion of “The Social Contract”?
Please go somewhere else where there is no legal system, no legislative process for making Rules to serve and protect the interests of the Community at large…and write to us about how successful you are – if you stay alive without becoming a Gangster with your own militia.
Do you have no insight into the fact that people much more intelligent than *you* have spent their lives studying these issues – usually as more or less “Objective Observers” in an attempt to increase the Knowledgebase of Civilization?
They almost all agree that the American System is not perfect, but it is one of the best for governing a group of people so that they do not have to resolve all of their conflicts through Bloodshed…because *THAT* is what you get when you have people who refuse to Respect the System and its Regulatory aspects – go try to live in Chicago’s Ghettoes and watch your children get shot while going to Church if you do not believe me.
It is impossible to have a Social System – which includes a Legislative System for Making Laws and Sharing Resources, and a Legal system for Enforcing Laws, which is NOT going to have a bias towards the interests of the people who got there first and created the System.
Why don’t you actually go join a Non-profit Community Organization and see how the Real World works when people try to engage in Action to serve the agenda and interests of the Group?
Go join a UNION. Unions are some of the most socialist-inspired groups in the world that practice the spirit and principles of Democracy.
You will see how they serve the Group at large, but human bias and greed for power controls even purely Democratic institutions, without a hell of a lot of oversight to keep people behaving ethically.
One bad apple, or even a couple, does not spoil the entire barrel.
America sucks at a lot of things, but the principles it was *founded* upon have solved a lot of the problems of living that *most* people encounter in their daily lives.
Not perfectly, but it has mechanism for changes – instead of staying exactly how a Dictator like Castro or a King chooses it to be.
And changes *do* occur, or there would never have been an Obama in the White House.
What *you* are preaching is the real Hogwash, which is to throw the baby out with the dirty bathwater.
You are like the people who disown their own Parents when they find out they were not perfect and made mistakes in raising you.
Most of them did the best they could with the limited knowledge and resources they had to work with.
But they kept *you* alive until you could fend for yourself and do better if you are so damned smart.
You don’t undermine and sabotage your parents while you at living under their roof, unless of course you are like the Gang Bangers who deal drugs out of their Mama’s basement.
Parasites, destroying the system which fed them, from within.
Have you ever actually studied *Leadership and Management* and tried to practice what you preach in a Real Organization?
Do you think the NAACP is better than America, in terms of a functional Organization?
If it were, then why do you think it is besieged with Leadership problems and sputtering in terms of resources? Why do you think they actually let a white woman sucker them into believing she was Black?
Grow up. Get educated. Try practicing what YOU preach, and then come back here and *show* us how much better YOUR system is before you trash *the VALUES* that ours *tries* to live by.
Creating a Perfect Social System is like trying to create a Perfect Gambling System – there is NONE that will work perfectly in all situations…only those that can keep you from going Bankrupt quickly.
Go study the Swiss. Very interesting. Great benefits for the Public, universal income.
But it only works with a limited population. Maybe that is the answer for the future. Breaking things down to smaller Units.
Oh, wait…we DID that already. They are called States.
The Swiss don’t have to bother with feeding or supporting anybody but themselves.
So they don’t Bleed Resources at the same pace as other countries. How big is their Foreign Aid Program?
How big is America’s?
We have a number of States which would do just fine if they did not have to share their revenue with the states which cannot support themselves.
The Swiss try to stay neutral.
How long do you think *that* would have lasted if Hitler had won WWII?
If Stalin had spread Communism throughout the rest of Europe?
Without the Hogwash of America which YOU trash, we would all be living under Dictatorship in one
form or another.
Puerto Rican nationalists engaged in Terrorism at one point.
Many want to leave the US system.
Oh, wait….now that two hurricanes have demolished their infrastructure,
do you think they are going to be calling the American System which will help them rebuild “Hogwash”?
Trump is *not* one of America’s greatest Hits.
But people like *you* helped pave his way to success,
and “The System” will deal with him sooner or later…
if we survive long enough.
I’m a Blackjack Expert.
No System *works* unless you apply it and work at it.
DOH.
Nothing worse than starting to Play using a System, then
making decisions which cost you profits by not following it.
You get burned almost every time,
and will eventually go Bankrupt.
Same thing with America.
If we don’t all contribute to the system, it will fail.
It works when people apply it properly.
When you start preaching that people should ignore the Rules and the Laws
and impose their own morality over that of the Group,
then we are all going to Hell in a handbasket.
Go live in Englewood to see what I mean.
We need a “draft”. Not an NFL Draft but a military draft. And draft this dork and make him fight in Afghanistan.
I agree with JT. When you work for someone else, you must comply with your employer’s reasonable requirements as a condition for employment. The right to freedom of speech and free exercise of religion are not unlimited. What if an NFL player decided not to wear a helmet, for instance, on the grounds that his hairdo was part of his religious expression? That could not be allowed. He wouldn’t win an injunction, either, for the reasons JT expressed: he couldn’t prove that not getting picked up was punishment for his exercise of free speech.
Hey, you finally said something sensible! As a reward, let me tell you about a kewl progressive thing, and even save you some money. The Evergreen Review is kicking back into business. It was an old timey left wing progressive magazine. I found a couple of compilations online, and stole one from my dad. They had articles from people like Ginsberg, Salvador Dali, Samuel Beckett (who was later killed by a king or something?), Bertolt Brecht, and William Burroughs (not the Tarzan one.). I mean all kinds of Lefties, galore. And a lot of poetry.
Anyway, OR books, where I have maybe bought like 20+ books, is a very progressive bookstore, and even has the Ed Woods book Blood Splatters Quickly! Sooo, they have printed facsimile copies of the first three Evergreen issues from way back in the 50s. You can get them free as pdfs, or save 30% if you order the physical copies if you type in the discount code “evergreen” at checkout!
http://www.orbooks.com/foxrock/
They have all kinds of left wing stuff that you would probably just eat up.
http://evergreenreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/eg-ks2.png
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/06/nfl-colin-kaepernick-blackballed-chip-kelly-comments-49ers
“We’ve now heard from Kelly himself, a coach who had zero tolerance for distractions in Philadelphia (see the LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson trades, come out and say that Kaepernick wasn’t a distraction at all. His teammates echoed that sentiment by giving the free agent quarterback the team’s leadership award.
“That should be enough to end the “He’s too much of a distraction and not good enough a player to put up with it” argument, but I have a sneaking suspicion it won’t. Or the “This is only about football” crowd will continue to move the goal posts. Either way, their view isn’t going to change no matter what evidence is place before them.”
anonymous – then why did they not offer the free agent a contract if he was such a great catch?
Dave Zirin
@EdgeofSports
May 9
Replying to @EdgeofSports
“Anonymous NFL sources” say this to cover up for a transparent political blackballing that is getting more & more embarrassing & obvious.
Dave Zirin used to write for The Nation. And, like all smear alt leftist scribes, “anonymous sources” is their go to move. Right, anonymous[this anonymous is Elaine]?
Why don’t you change your name one more time, this time to, “The Missing Link”, and you could maybe use a cute little monkey image as your avatar, like:
https://i.pinimg.com/236x/29/87/90/29879075786081477cfaca3cb9a61b85–monkey-business-smoking.jpg
or J. Fred Muggs, who used to be on TV in the olden days:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SmEXp7ti3oY/UZzVUxGaZUI/AAAAAAAAUp8/s_anJtJbQEo/s640/u1296601inp.jpg
By doing that, you would “own” the criticism that all you do is link, and shut all of us up who complain about it. This is meant as helpful advice, not a slam on you. I’ll slam you about stuff, later, OK???
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
And here are some bits of “advice” for you, Squeeks:
Ignore.
Scroll.
Oh well, no good deed goes unpunished.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
So you say, Squeeker. Now put on your back brace and go work on your bunker.
And keep trying to get that poetry of yours published. Maybe you could work on that, after you lay in some more supplies for the coming ZA.
“Some 5,000 former players have sued the NFL, claiming it hid the dangers of repeated head trauma.”
So let’s get this straight. You’ve chosen of your own free will, to entertain yourself by performing physical acts so patently violent, that you, those around you, and those you’ve witnessed in living color on TV 1,000 times, routinely break bones; tear ligaments; destroy knees; bloody faces; get repeatedly body-slammed on the hard ground; collide head-on with others just as prone toward violence as you are.
You have witnessed with your God-given 2 eyes players bigger, badder and stronger than YOU – carted off the field in agony – too many times to count.
The entertainment you’ve chosen provides no better example on the planet (with the possible exception of rodeo cowboys) for long-term bone, joint, nerve and head damage.
The entertainment you’ve chosen is so punishing on the human body that you need to be wrapped and padded helmeted and taped.
But by God, now that you’re hurt – it’s someone ELSE’S fault.
This type of juvenile, babies-in-the-sandbox, “other people are to blame” mental midgetry is counterfeit indignation which – in a logical society – would never gain the dignity of a courtroom.
By even allowing this type of blame-game yammering to achieve legal traction at all – does not strengthen society – it weakens it.
Everything you need to know about this type of madness can be learned on a farm by first grade:
“If you don’t like apples conking you on the head . . . why would you shake the tree?”
LOL! Love the “apples” thing!
I saw something on Hee Haw once that I have never been able to find on youtube. There was a doctor and some fat guy in overalls, and the guy in the overalls said “Doctor, it hurts when I do this. . .” while he was doing some contortionist thing with his arm.
The doctor whapped him over the head with something like a newspaper or cap, and said, “Then don’t do that!”
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Dave Zirin:
Colin Kaepernick Shouldn’t Have to Beg to Play in the NFL
By Dave Zirin
The idea at work is that Kaepernick somehow did something wrong by taking a knee during the anthem, something amoral, something that demands atonement. The rhetoric that he needs to “make amends” with fans and the league ignores the fact that—while his politics are certainly polarizing—former players and coaches swear by his character and fans are still keeping his jersey among the league’s top sellers.
What this is really about is owners seeing if they can break him. He needs to be publicly broken so the blackballing can have its desired effect: a shot across the bow at any player who thinks that they can use the field to express their politics. With so many NFL owners supporting a disastrously unpopular president, their desire to crack the whip makes all the sense in the world. If Kaepernick can show that they’ve broken him, they’ll take him back.
It reminds one of the Martin Luther King Jr. quote that “a man cannot ride you unless your back is bent.” But Kaepernick won’t bend to this. He’s not chasing brand appeal or paychecks and that makes him resistant to the coercion of owners. He just wants to play football and thinks he should because he had a great season and is by any measure better than—at minimum—half the quarterbacks currently on rosters. No one is asking quarterback also-rans such as Austin Davis or Mark Sanchez to explain whether they in fact deserve to be in the league. No one is asking the quarterback whose job Kaepernick took last year, Blaine Gabbert, whether he has the right to his job as a backup on the Arizona Cardinals. There is a principle here that Colin Kaepernick is defending through his silence: the principle that he deserves to play in this league on merits and that that should be enough. The NFL often asserts that teams just want to win and they are, as Roger Goodell bleats, “a meritocracy.” This embarrassing off-season has exposed this to be a lie. Colin Kaepernick should not have to plead on Good Morning America for a job. If NFL owners could just keep their politics out of sports, he wouldn’t have to. [Dave Zirin]
Dave Zirin is the author of the book: “Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports” (Haymarket).
David Zirin worked for The Nation. For anyone not in the alt left cult they know that makes him a blind ideologue, like the person who loves to link. I think Elaine might be a cousin of Lancelot Link.
…says the prison guard turned dick.
Some of Dave Zirin’s books:
What’s My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States
Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports
Muhammad Ali Handbook
A People’s History of Sports In The United States”
Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love
The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World
Game Over: How Politics Has Turned the Sports World Upside Down
Brazil’s Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Fight for Democracy
Others should be so productive.
“a shot across the bow at any player who thinks that they can use the field to express their politics.”
…And that is the way it should be. Anonymous, how would you like it if while you were up on the table for your gyn exam and all the doctor did was spew his political philosophy no matter what side he is on?
I go to a football game for a specific purpose, to forget about work and all the noise out there. I don’t expect some A$$ like Koepernick interfering with that time.
Plus, if Colon Kaepernicks’ mind is on a bunch of political bullsh*t, then his mind isn’t on the game. Where it should be. He’s like those idiots who are just about to score a touchdown, but drop the ball prematurely sooo they can go into some stupid ratchet endzone dance. Except, he’s in that mode at the start of every game.
Oh well, he isn’t getting any younger.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Are you off your meds today?
I am off my meds all the time, because I am not a dope fiend. I do drink, although a lot less since an unfortunate little accident a few years ago. And now mostly just Franzia White Zinfandel Wine, in the box. And Margies. On a rare occasion, I will pop some downer type pain pills, and put on some really cool music. But that is like once or twice a year at most and only if my back is hurting,too. Because I have like a ton of prescription pain pills and valiums that I never took. I am saving them for the Zombie Apocalypse, to trade for food and ammo and stuff.
Although, if it was somebody I knew very well, I might trade some of them for a Gibson ES 335. . . 🙂
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Maybe you should go work on your bunker.
try Vin Vault – it’s at Krogers. delicious box wine.
Thank you FFS! I will give it a try. That is where I mostly shop for groceries. Kroger has all kinds of kewl stuff. Their coffee selection is fantastic, and so are the Tea’s that are available. And where else could you find Texas Sour Pickles???
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
The 9th Circuit very recently published an opinion related to this topic.
http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/08/23/16-35801.pdf
I wonder if that is going up on appeal to SCOTUS???
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Thanks for that, Darren. From the summary of the opinion:
“The panel held that plaintiff spoke as a public employee, not as a private citizen when he kneeled and prayed on the fifty-yard line immediately after games in school logoed-attire while in view of students and parents. The panel held that plaintiff had a professional responsibility to communicate demonstratively to students and spectators and he took advantage of his position to press his
particular views upon the impressionable and captive minds before him. The panel held that because plaintiff’s demonstrative speech fell within the scope of his typical job responsibilities, he spoke as a public employee, and the district was permitted to order him not to speak in the manner that he did.”
While not a public employee or a constitutional issue, a lot of the reasoning is applicable to Kaepernick’s case. In other words, while you are at work, do your job and protest at your own risk.
No mention, here, of CTE — though maybe I missed it. A good time to highlight it:
(Maybe this is a blessing in disguise for Kaepernick.)
http://www.bbc.com/sport/american-football/35809485
In giving his answers, Miller cited the work of Boston University neuropathologist Ann McKee.
She told committee members there is no doubt in her mind the illness, which can only be detected after death, is linked to playing football.
“I unequivocally think there’s a link between playing football and CTE,” said McKee.
“We’ve seen it in 90 out of 94 NFL players whose brains we’ve examined.
“We’ve found it in 45 out of 55 college players and six out of 26 high school players.”
Some 5,000 former players have sued the NFL, claiming it hid the dangers of repeated head trauma.
CTE is associated with symptoms such as memory loss, depression and progressive dementia.
The disease, which can only be diagnosed after death, has been found in the brains of dozens of former American football players. – BBC article
It is very possible that repeated head trauma could contribute to a degenerative brain disease. I wish the article had mentioned what she used as a control group. There was no mention, either, of how often this disease is found in people who never played football.
1 in 3 people over age 75 have dementia, and 1 in 3 people did not play football. So what I want to know is what the increased risk factor is for someone who plays football. A study sample of a group of 94 people is cause for concern and further study, but it’s too small for statistics.
Head trauma is a good avenue of study considering it affects many sports, as well as car accidents, childhood playground accidents, and anything else that leads to head injury.
Karen wrote: “It is very possible that repeated head trauma could contribute to a degenerative brain disease.”
Oh, my. I think you have some catching up to do, Karen.
I ride horses, so I’ve long followed concussions. Plus there are numerous concussion information forms to sign if your kid plays sports. There’s been a concussion controversy in football for years.
Plus, it was a bit of a hobby of mine to follow bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt Jacob, as well as Alzheimers. Believe me, a study of 94 people is just a teeny tiny first step in research, and is not a sufficient sample size.
Karen, There are a few anonymous trolls. This one is full of snark and feces. Dumber than a bag o’ hammers.
Prof. Turley points out that this is a personnel decision, it’s also a general business decision. Each franchise makes its own decisions as to which players are hired or not hired. It seems reasonable that each franchisee is going to look at what a QB like CK brings to the organization in terms of benefits (will he strengthen the team and increase the winning percentage? will he bring in additional fans and revenues, either by force of personality or because his play strengthens the team?) and what he might bring in terms of baggage (NFL fans likely tend more conservative than the movie industry or population at large, especially in the South and Midwest). If any franchisee saw that hiring CK would bring more benefits than the baggage would offset, he’d be hired in an instant. But he just doesn’t have enough talent to overcome the self-imposed baggage. It matters not a whit that less-talented QBs have been hired, for each of those hires, the franchisee decided the benefits outweighed any baggage.
I have no idea how this topic has 70+ posts and counting. As a player, he’s proven to be a liability to his team. As an activist, he’s proven to be a liability to his employer and to the NFL brand. If he wants to be a player for an NFL team, then he needs to prove he’s worthy of hiring. If he wants to be an activist at an NFL game, he can buy a ticket like everyone else and remain seated during the opening ceremonies.
The rest of it is meaningless.
Here yet is another example where the MSM gave an amplified voice to a negativist (Kaepernick), who himself was just echoing the false-narrative negativism put across daily by….you guessed it, the MSM. The country is suffocating from a “conventional wisdom”, a set of false narratives amplified by the MSM for dramatic effect.
You are exactly right! The MSM has been pulling the scab off racial wounds for about 40+ years, to support the Democratic Party Narrative of Black Victimology and Liberal White Saviorism.
My goodness, but they had pulled as many scabs as often off World War II as they have off Jim Crow, we would have been in a Cold War situation with Germany and Japan instead of allies with them.
This is also an example of how Democrats like to politicize every thing that moves, in furtherance of keeping them in power. They gave penetrated the family, our bathrooms, and now football. The best way to put an end to this is for all sensible people to stop voting for Democrats, period. Even if the Republican is one of those idiotic buffoons spouting off their “Capitalism will save the world!” nonsense, at least they don’t race bait and try to invade every facet of life.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Re[orter
I think that Professor Turley raises valid points.
No employer should be required to hire someone who would negatively impact their business. This is always the difficult question for an employee’s activities outside the workplace. For me, outside activity should only affect employment if it endangers or damages the company’s business. In this case, it’s not a gray line at all. Kaepernick engaged in a political protest during work.
I also agree with Professor Turley that once the NFL allows this protest during the national anthem, then they would have to allow all protests, or appear discriminatory. Don’t go down that road. The NFL is about football. If they want to do a sanctioned display to promote a charity, like wear pink for breast cancer, then that is a different matter. It requires the team’s approval and does not harm the team’s image. Kaepernick was wrong to engage in a political protest during work. The NFL was wrong to let him do it, but I understand why they did. Everyone is afraid these days to piss off the Liberals, or they will be labeled a racist, evil Nazi, and then that could negatively impact their business.
That said, shouldn’t someone tell Kaepernick that the African continent is still a hotbed of slavery? Liberals keep creating these controversies to try to keep themselves relevant. Perhaps they want to fool people into ignoring that they were on the wrong side of civil rights, and are seeking a do over. They need an avenging angel cause. Racism is comparatively rare nowadays, and there are laws against discrimination. So…what to do? Manufacture a crisis! They’ve repeated the declaration that racism is an existential threat, marched, rioted, screamed, cried, gone hysterical enough that some people actually seem to believe that racism is a worse threat today than during the Jim Crow era. Personally, I think the over use of the “racist” accusation has cheapened the word until it’s like “meanie.” That’s reprehensible to me.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/10/17/this-map-shows-where-the-worlds-30-million-slaves-live-there-are-60000-in-the-u-s/?utm_term=.259f50f6ec4f
Perhaps this will soothe the hysteria. The US is actually one of the most racially tolerant countries in the world:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/05/15/a-fascinating-map-of-the-worlds-most-and-least-racially-tolerant-countries/?utm_term=.7a4854c8e27b
“People in the survey were most likely to embrace a racially diverse neighbor in the United Kingdom and its Anglo former colonies (the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and in Latin America.”
I neglected to add that since Kaepernick is a demonstrably poor player, they can demonstrate no bias. Poor players don’t get picked up. Poor players who bring controversy, whom the fans boo, would be at the bottom of the list.
The Cardinals sign Blaine Gabbert, but somehow Colin Kaepernick can’t get a job
By Des Bieler May 10
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/05/10/the-cardinals-sign-blaine-gabbert-but-somehow-colin-kaepernick-cant-get-a-job/
In other words, we may have our clearest evidence yet that NFL teams simply are not interested in signing Kaepernick, an apparent blackballing that can only be attributed to his political activism and, specifically, the protests of the national anthem in which he engaged last season. That certainly was the opinion Wednesday of San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami, a longtime analyst of the Bay Area sports scene who went on a tweet storm to express his dismay at the Cardinals’ choice.
“There’s no video of him punching a woman in the face or sucking down bong hits through a gas mask,” Robinson added. “He’s not in the league’s drug-testing program and has never been suspended for PED use.”
Tim Kawakami ✔ @timkawakami
Even better if I type it correctly: Gabbert getting a job ahead of Kaepernick was my “black ball” line of demarcation. Just crossed.
6:17 PM – May 10, 2017
Tim Kawakami ✔ @timkawakami
Just say you want Kaepernick black-balled and are happy it’s happening. Don’t tell me Gabbert is “system” or “great in the room.”
6:28 PM – May 10, 2017
Tim Kawakami ✔ @timkawakami
Am I saying Kaepernick is an NFL starting QB right now? No. I am not. But he’s better than Gabbert in every tangible football way. Every one
6:31 PM – May 10, 2017
“There’s no video of him punching a woman in the face or sucking down bong hits through a gas mask,” Robinson added. “He’s not in the league’s drug-testing program and has never been suspended for PED use.”
Moreover, Kaepernick has indicated that he will stand during renditions of the anthem, discontinuing his protests that caused so many headlines last season. His former 49ers coach, Jim Harbaugh, said in March that Kapernick will “have a great career and be a great quarterback, win championships,” but so far, there have been no takers.
Maybe NFL teams really are worried about getting a disapproving tweet from President Trump? -Des Bieler
anonymous – if his former coach loves him so much, they can rehire him. What is the problem?
LOL! This anonymous is dumber than a bag o’ hammers. Ham n’ egger Gabbert will be making 900k. Ham n’ egger Kapernick is demanding $10 million. The Washington Post is fake news and retards think it’s real. Or, do you think the retard can’t tell the difference between 900k and 10 million?
Answer: The difference is $9.1 million.
When I write the words First Amendment I capitalize the the first letters of each word. I do the same with other Constitutional Amendments. The author can show respect and do the same. he will probably skip it when he gets to the Second Amendment and the right to arm bears.
This is where two sets of freedoms overlap and become diluted. In the end, however, football is an industry that has the right to protect its bottom line. If you can’t dance in the end zone, then perhaps you can’t kneel during the national anthem. Kaepernick is free to protest all he wants. He is not free to not follow the rules of the game/industry/job/etc. He should save his protests for when he gets pulled over for a broken tail light and beaten near to death.
I completely understand why a team owner or general manager or coach would not want the distraction. Just think about the possible conflict this could cause in the locker room among other teammates. Surely, not every teammate or member will be supportive of sitting/kneeling during the anthem regardless of the reasons. Team chemistry is a huge deal in all team sports, and often necessary to become the national champion. Anyone who has ever played team sports competitively knows this.
As others have alluded, I agree that this is the employer’s decision. No one told Kaepernick he couldn’t sit during the national anthem. He decidedly did so. And he is not that good of a player. Regardless, that decision is up to the particular NFL team whether they want to roll the dice on him.
More and more, employers are being forced to be more aware of their employees’ actions on and off the field, in large part due to social media and how fast information is shared with the world. This is even more so in the NFL as of late. Reputation matters in business. Regardless of what you think about Kaepernick’s underlying cause or whether it is just, his actions can cost a team real money. This is only because fans (customers) do care. In decades past, employees were not under such scrutiny because employers and their customers were unaware. Fast forward to today, where virtually everyone is walking around with a video camera in their pocket that is capable of sending huge amounts of information to the world in a matter of seconds.
And Kaepernick decided to do this protest at work? He made a decision. Regardless of his motives or how admirable one may think his protest was, it caused controversy in the league, and most certainly on the team.
Instead of Kaepernick, what if a mediocre NFL player was a skinhead white supremacist and protested the anthem by sitting. Would anyone think a team would be unwise to not snatch him up from free agency? Even if he was the best player in the league?
“What do you think?’
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Better Question: If you were Goodell, would you give him a “formal meeting”?
I would do it and then I’d politely explain that the NFL is a business that operates on profits generated by a good product on the field and the good will of its audience. I’d tell out former linebacker that the police are a valued constituency of our audience along with their family and supporters among many such constituencies. I’d explain that Kappy has every right to be outrageous and a private company has every right to decline his services as a result. And lastly, I’d tell him that constitutional rights in this country are secured by laws and courts (not private corporations) and he is free to try and prove an antitrust violation on behalf of Kappy. But I might caution him to check with his membership before launching an expensive suit funded totally with their money. We’ll see then who puts what mouth with what money.
“I’d tell out former linebacker that the police are a valued constituency of our audience…” – mespo727272
“NYPD officers stand up for unsigned Colin Kaepernick amid new wave of NFL protests”
http://abcnews.go.com/US/nypd-officers-stand-unsigned-colin-kaepernick-amid-wave/story?id=49322390
“The unusual show of support from police comes as a second wave of protests, modeled after what Kaepernick did last season in the name of “black people and people of color,” is building in the NFL.
“Players from the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, and Tennessee Titans joined protests in week two of the NFL preseason, according to ESPN.”
There were a handful of cops in NYC the MSM jumped on. And many were former cops. Red herring. Black cops hate what Kap does to hurt them.
“According to ESPN.” Was that Robert Lee reporting for ESPN? LOL!!
Oh my gosh, I was thinking that Robert Lee story had to be a spoof. I still can’t get over that it’s real.
Well put, Mespo.
Kaepernick was / is free to exercise his First Amendment rights of free speech. Neither his former team nor the NFL prohibited him from doing so.
On the other side, any future NFL employers (Other NFL Team Owners) are free to exercise their discretion in hiring practices. In the end it doesn’t matter why they haven’t offered him a job. They are under no obligation to do so. It may be because they don’t want the distraction or blow back from their fan base who are paying for tickets. It may be because he can’t play well enough to justify a new contract. It could very well be a combination of both.
The First Amendment details that “Congress shall make no laws that…” However, nowhere does it guarantee freedom from consequences!
Warhol said you only get 15 minutes of fame. When is downtrodden millionaire, backup quarterback, cop hater, Kaepernick’s over?
Jason Whitlock has spoken w/ several black NFL players w/ family members who are cops. They HATE the Kap horsesh!t but their ability to speak out is intimidated by the liberal MSM. THOSE are the people who’s speech is being controlled, not this ham n’ egger QB.
When has Kap said anything that implies hatred of police. Free speech has consequences and he is feeling the effects. NFL has no obligation to hire him nor do you have an obligation to be truthful, mission accomplished.
Obviously, you’ve never googled “kappy, cops and socks.” But I suspect there are lots and lots of things you haven’t googled.