It appears that all of the concern over the free speech rights of players over the national anthem protests does not extend to owners. Last week, Dallas Cowboys coach Jerry Jones was reportedly told to stop talking about the national anthem controversy. Jones had said that his team would be standing at attention during the playing of the national anthem this season. Then he went silent. I previously wrote how the NFL is an organization curiously based on socialist principles and a heavy-hand of censorship. The NFL is already buckling on its compromise to allow players to stay in the locker room as protests during the anthem as the player association and some teams demand the right to continue the protests.
Jones expressly said that he was not speaking for other teams. What is strange is that the Chairman of the New York Jets was not speaking for other teams in saying that he would pay to protest but it was Jones who was silenced.
As I have previously discussed, owners have a right to demand that players refrain from protests during games as do any employers. The NFL however is the greatest remaining testament to Soviet-style central planning.
Jones should defy Goodell’s threat and speak openly. Let them take him to court on the right of an owner to speak publicly on a matter of great importance to his fans and the country at large. That would be one play that no one would want to miss.
Another mass of Leftist trying to tell people what to do (force their will onto others), yet again.
Goodell is a useless “leader” of the NFL, but now that Jones has taken a stand with his team good ole’ Roger finds it his duty to speak out to Jones. He’s such a JOKE…. and HE NEEDS TO GO….. I’M SPEAKING OF GOODELL… The players don’t respect him. And the viewing public won’t watch NFL games until he FIXES this MESS!!!
Jones can’t be bothered to take his hat off for the national anthem! Even Roger respects the anthem more than Jerry!
Is Jerry protesting by not taking off his hat???
He’s disrespecting our veterans if you ask me. When the anthem starts, you take off your hat (he didn’t); stand at attention (he didn’t); and refrain from talking (he didn’t). It seems to me that’s the least we can do to respect this country and those who fought for it. Not sure why you disagree!
If I was at a Boston Patriots’ game and some player got on his knees during the National Anthem then I would go down to the front box office and demand my money back and leave. Never come back, Jack. If they do not stand for the National Anthem then they are in collusion with the Russians.
As they said at the German American Bund meetngs in the 1930s: Sprech free and Heil Hitler.
Liberty2nd – didn’t FDR have those Bund people interred during WWII? In fact, the leader was later deported to Germany after the war.
you live in boston? i wonder if what Professor Dershowitz said about Meuller protecting whitey bulger is true.
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/alan-dershowitz-mueller-political-zealot/2018/04/08/id/853235/
“He’s the guy who kept four innocent people in prison for many years in order to protect the cover of Whitey Bulger as an FBI informer. Those of us in Boston don’t have such a high regard for Mueller because we remember this story. The government had to pay out tens of millions of dollars because Whitey Bulger, a notorious mass murderer, became a government informer against the mafia . . .
“And that’s regarded in Boston of one of the great scandals of modern judicial history. And Mueller was right at the center of it. So, he is not without criticism by people who know him in Boston.”
Dershowitz, a famed defender of civil liberties, frequently rails against “criminalization of political differences,”
“It appears that all of the concern over the free speech rights of players over the national anthem protests does not extend to owners. Last week, Dallas Cowboys coach Jerry Jones was reportedly told to stop talking about the national anthem controversy.”
***********************
Ouuuchh!! I wish I said that!! Bravo.
As a casual observer, this whole situation is likely to get much more entertaining before it’s over…
The NFL Office is walking a fine line in trying to protect it’s image, marketability, and relevance. This situation has to be a nightmare for them. Wouldn’t it be great to be a fly-on-the-wall inside NFL headquarters about now? Goodell, “OK, OK… We need a solution that will appease the billionaire owners, the millionaire players, and all the fans. Recommendations? Solutions? Anyone?” After an uncomfortable moment meekly, from an intern at the back of the room… “We could just stop performing the national anthem.” Goodell, “And lose the $150M the DoD gives us every season? No way! Next? Anyone else???”
The team owners, generally all Type-A overachievers, have a need to be in charge of their teams. Some, like Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys have one point of view… While others, like Christopher Johnson of the New York Jets have a different point of view. The truth is that each of them should be able to set the rules of conduct within their own businesses as long as there are 11 players on the field for each play and their policies are not harmful to the NFL as a whole. After all… THEY do own the business. Additionally, they are generally business people and understand who’s paying hard earned money to purchase seats in the stadium.
The players, generally gifted athletes, come from many different backgrounds. Many of them seem to understand the big picture… Some don’t. Big picture being they are employees and entertainers while employed by the team. Nothing more. Sure, they can run fast and do things athletically that most of us only dream of, but in the world of professional spectator sports their sole purpose is to entertain the people who pay massive dollars for tickets or who watch at home on television driving advertising income.
The fans… I can’t or won’t speak for anyone else, but as former NFL fan I can unequivocally state that once social justice and politics showed up I quit watching. Period. In my professional life, my boss doesn’t pay me to protest police brutality, healthcare for all, or anything else. Were I to take any action that could even remotely be perceived to reflect negatively on HIS company, I would rightfully find myself on the unemployment line. Immediately.
It will be interesting to see how it all plays out…
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/bell/2018/07/30/richard-sherman-jerry-jones-anthem-injury-recovery/867926002/
“Sherman was also passionate about the efforts to craft a national anthem policy. He spares no words in expressing his disgust for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who has declared that, regardless of policy, he will require Cowboys players to stand at attention without respect to any possible protests.
““The owner of the Dallas Cowboys, with the old plantation mentality,” Sherman said of Jones. “What did you expect?””
https://nypost.com/2018/07/31/richard-sherman-says-jerry-jones-has-plantation-mentality/
Excerpt:
The rule is currently on hold, with the league and the NFL Players’ Association working to find a solution. After his initial comments, the NFL allegedly told Jones not to speak on the subject. Sherman, who is part of the NFLPA’s executive committee, also weighed in on the discussions.
“They’re having the conversations; that’s awesome,” he said. “But there are unintended consequences. If they did this [original policy] to appease people, they didn’t appease anyone. It’s like putting a Band-Aid over a broken leg.”
Sherman isn’t the only pro sounding off on Jones. Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins previously praised team owner Jeffrey Lurie for his support, stating he wouldn’t want to play for Dallas.
“Jeffrey’s been very supportive of us from the beginning,” Jenkins said, according to NJ.com. “I don’t see Jeffrey as a bully like Jerry Jones is. Lucky for me, I don’t play for the Cowboys, nor would I want to.
“It’s unfortunate that you have owners like him that use his position to intimidate and intentionally thwart even the idea of his players thinking individually or having a voice about issues that affect their communities daily. It’s unfortunate,” he continued.
So protesting players take the baton from Colin Kaepernick after he said it was about the country and the flag then wonder why people think they’re being disrespected, Jones demands that players stand at attention but doesn’t take his own advice, and Richard Sherman finds a way to throw an overblown slavery reference into his response. No wonder this has become a slow-moving train wreck.
Jerry Jones has lost all credibility on this issue for me. He had the chance to show how much he respects the national anthem this week and couldn’t be bothered to take his hat off or stop talking to the person next to him. Shameful display of patriotism and disgusting insult to our veterans, all in the name of hiding his terrible hair plugs!
Free Speech. Taking a Knee. Reference to the PBS show last night about the shooting of Michael Brown and the riots in Ferguson and Dellwood.
If any of you bloggers watched the PBS show last night about the riots in Ferguson and areas nearby then you might come away with a new attitude about free speech. Also about the new notions of race discrimination.
The show did not have a narrator. They just displayed one dork after another calling for riots. The articulate spokespersons like Brown’s mom were not exactly the same persons who burned the stores or looted them. At least we could not see their faces as they came out with stolen goods.
But overall the PBS show has a negative effect for those who yell about black power and whatnot. I think more people would join the Klan after watching that. Even some black folks.
The NFL is a ruined sport. And we all know who ruined it. Call me racist…I don’t care.
Elise – I put the ruin down to Goodell and the owners not controlling their millionaire employees.
Get woke, go broke. There must be apolitical bean counters and marketing professionals in Goodell’s office who could have told him that injecting contentious political displays into sport’s bad for business (especially given the demographics of the NFL audience). You have to wonder what the kultursmong is like among senior business executives nowadays. Did he not listen to them, or are they not actually there, or are they using models which didn’t forecast what happened to their revenue stream?
what’s a kultursmong? the culture of hmong immigrants in germany?
or did you mean kultursmog?
https://spectator.org/fifty-years-battling-the-kultursmog/
Very clever, Kurtzy; whoever there is no letter ‘h’ in SOT/DSS/…’s use of the word in question, so your cleverness is the opposite of self-effacing.
In addition to being a self-appointed hall-monitor, are you now the blog’s spell checker too?
Maybe you should read some of your own posts for such egregious errors.
I will let you read my posts for me since you are obsessed.
No obsession, Kurtzy.
Hypocrites never see their defined distinctions.
Blaze on!
DSS – part of it is that Goodell is a god unto himself and the owners are now multiple owners, so you have to get a consensus. Plus, there is no business model except screw the patron.
a good solution to this is rejecting pro ball EN MASSE.
I played a lot of football and basketball and I hate all pro teams equally.
I would never give them one thin dime.
It’s fun to see the three self-proclaimed brainiacs battle it out on such an important topic.
Don’t hurt yourselves!
R. Lien – it is fun contemplating how the NFL is going to self-inflict injury this season. How much will it cost them? I will just follow it on Drudge.
Whatever. I personally don’t care nor follow any professional sports. The subject has no bearing on my life.
But if the team owners felt so strongly about ‘taking a knee’ they could fire all who did. Why don’t they do this?
Probably because the individual contracts would stipulate a large monetary payout, and then the owners would need to replace the firing.
Probably some serious money involved.
Makes not a difference to me, but this issue is long past its expiration date.
No difference, that’s why you are posting about it. But, thank you for your contribution.
I will give you a little homework now.
https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/9/25/16360580/nfl-donald-trump-national-anthem-protest
Homework?
What pretensions of grandeur.
A link to vox wlll shake my world?
Damn son, I spend 8-12 hours a day reading ‘news’. No video, takes too much time for so little information; transcript please.
News from all sources, both foreign and domestic — wherever the path leads.
Of course there are breaks, so that I can read this blog, laugh, write a comment here and there, and of course pursue other endeavors.
My daily reading list is about 325 sites, folded into about 20 hard-copy journals/month.
You think an article from vox will give me anything new? Did you ‘just’ discover them like consortiumnews and others you’ve referenced, assuming we are all babes in the woods and need your compass?
Gosh so all you do all day long is read news? I mean I read a lot too but yeah you got me beat. I have a job and social activities and exercise. But I envy you! Wow. Amazing. Give me your list, maybe there are some gems in that pile
If you pay attention, you will see little change in most sites day-to-day — even really big, important ones.
Some sites don’t change for weeks, and so are easily parsed.
It’s a routine, some days it takes all day, most days 4-5 hours.
The journals I read in the bathroom.
I’m a quick reader.
You, most apparently, read slower than you can write which is current cultural malise.
Mr Kurtz – I am amazed he does all that reading and that none of it shows up in his writing. All we get are ad hominems. You would think we could get a cite from time to time. 😉
PCS,
I don’t read to offer you non-sequitur opportunities; this is something you need no help with — as you consider your posts relevant and clever.
I see a fool. You stand out in stark contrast as offering nothing but quips, while placing demands on others.
Your denseness is exhibited every time you claim that Annie/Inga/Diane/L4D/anonymous/and myself are all the same person.
You refuse to accept the fact that you post on a well read blog, and are so sure all the comments belittling you are from one source — this is arrogance at best — delusional at worst.
But don’t worry — you’re still the major fool.
R. Lien – I have never said you are all the same person. That just shows how confused you are. I have backed away from L4D/Diane being Annie/Inga and I said so and gave my reasons. There are others who have not. You are like Marky Mark Mark, you always condemn, you never add to the conversation. Still, you bemuse me, because you are ineffective. You are, what we used to call a pseudo-intellectual, except you show so little of it. You probably proudly read the Economist while you are sitting on the john.
“My daily reading list is about 325 sites, folded into about 20 hard-copy journals/month.”
What are those 20 i wonder?
Mostly, I just read to confirm my existing prejudices.
“Mostly, I just read to confirm my existing prejudices.” — Mr Kurtz
Yeah, i can tell. Thanks for the confirmation.
Get a leg up, before you trip on it.
I definitely can type fast 90 wpm but that comes from sitting at a computer for decades writing for honest pay. I am so old I am nearsighted now and can’t read much anymore. And there is the fact that I just read to confirm my existing prejudices which are so prejudiced anyhow that doesn’t take much.
btw was it you read news 8-12 hours a day or 4-5. Which one was it?
I’m impressed!
As I stated — you write faster than your read.
Think about it.
Read the caveats; most sites don’t have new information day-to day.
Some days it’s 8-12, some days it’s 4-5; and actually some days it’s much less.
I don’t read opinion pieces, which is what keeps most journalistic sites afloat.
It depends on the day. You’re a really thick thinker, aren’t you?
As I stated earlier, you write faster than you read.
While this might seem like an endearing quality — it is not.
I know you are such an energy parasite it amuses you to see how real men think and speak
Don’t get too puffed up in blustery memories of high school sports, Kurtzy.
“Energy parasite” — you got a OED definition for that? Or is this a notion from your own life?
I know your type and you would like to troll me to reveal biographical details …
sorry no dice
you were quite possibly a backup water boy I am sure
Oh, “you know my type.”
“… you would like to troll me to reveal biographical details…”
Damn, busted again.
I don’t give a pimpled a** about you, Kurtzy. I don’t care where you live, work, etc.
You think too much of yourself, choyo; I’ve never carried water for anyone.
i bet you saw a lot of pimpled ones preparing tea bags
What a strange response.
I have no idea what you mean.
Unless, of course, it comes back to high school sports, machismo, and the fact that the Tea Party first referred to themselves as ‘tea baggers’ until it was made known the sexual act this refers to.
Most interesting.
Keep making a fool of yourself, Kurtzy.
Feel free to listen, and even chime in, little boy, while the men converse.
You have no concept, do you, of drawing one out?
You say you’re a troll? Ok, great. It’s been fun.
No troll, just exhausted with your assumption and claim that you have something to offer.
That you have found the source to wisdom, and if only everyone would read your links — and agree with you — the world would be a much better place.
You cite websites and articles that most people know about — yet offer the cite as if you are blazing a path — under the guise of sharing knowledge of hard found information.
You do not impress.
R. Lien – you bemuse me. You think it is our function to impress you and yet you have done nothing to show your bona fides to earn that right.
TSD:
“Get woke; go broke.” Somewhere Johnny Cochran is smiling. I know I am!
How dare you call this thing that is played in the states “football”. A game with 60 minutes of “play”, that takes 3 hours to actually play, and the ball is in motion about 3 minutes. What a joke. Do people still pay attention to this crap?
too many damn timeouts for sure
college ball too
Mr Kurtz – the timeouts are so they can get the commercials in.
I am so glad I only watch PAC-12 football. 😉
Paul C….I stopped watching when Roger Staubach retired.
College ball only for me.
” The NFL is already buckling on its compromise to allow players to stay in the locker room as protests during the anthem as the player association and some teams demand the right to continue the protests.”
The last I checked, “compromise” requires the participation of at least two parties. The NFL created their new policy completely on their own without consulting the players union.
The current attempt to silence Jones is less First Amendment than capitalism. I’m sure the franchise agreement includes clauses to prevent owners from taking actions harmful to the league. While opinions may vary as to whether Jones is harmful. That’s an NFL decision to make.
“I’m sure the franchise agreement includes clauses to prevent owners from taking actions harmful to the league.”
And how is this any different for the players?
Perhaps there is no difference? Players are making the determination whether their stand will affect their income, careers, and future. They also need to determine the cost of saying and doing nothing to protect the same.
you got that right enigma. they make their own choices and they have to live with them either way. that’s always the case. most of them understand that full well or they wouldn’t have made the cut that high in the first place.
It’s a protected monopoly more akin to “state capitalism” which some people now call fascism.
I deplore the NFL.
Perhaps, the owners and “players” aka workers–alike– should be taught some equality. Perhaps they should be given shovels and commanded to dig ditches in the countryside alongside some of these worthless university administrators. This will be an effort to train them in socially productive activities. They will be equals in their future honest work for the people, proud of growing their own food (if they can). Once reeducation is complete, their current privileges will make them ashamed of their constant complaining.
Perhaps different “training facilities” could be established and they could be provided with T shirts with their former team insignias, to build group cohesion. If a training facility was successful at producing its own needs and an adequate surplus, weighed against other camps, I mean, uh, facilities; then they could each be given an extra bowl of rice and rat-meat stew for New Year’s.
Or not. But it’s an idea!
“And players have a right to make their opinions known.”
True, on their own time.
“Rights supersedes private corporation rules.”
I would disagree. My personal rights end when they effect yours. If what you think is a right damages my well-being, then the corp. has the right to remove you.
It would be interesting to know just how many of these “protesters” are actually doing anything about the “problem” they feel so bad about.
Jim22. Yes that would be interesting to know .
If I were making millions $ a year, it would never occur to me to throw a hissy fit like a spoiled brat. I would be extremely grateful.
The instigators of taking a knee are using false statistics, of course…..but that never stopped the race-baiting industry.They need it for their survival.
‘owners have a right to demand that players refrain from protests during games as do any employers.’
And players have a right to make their opinions known. Rights supersedes private corporation rules. The demonstrations during the anthem have no effect on the game, still an hour of play, still the same guys bashing the sh*t out of each other. The owners can fire the players or not. If this goes to court, the NFL loses money and the owners lose the teat at which they suck. Some players lose a few million; if they haven’t salted away many millions by now then tough. Take it to court. The BS spewed by the lawyers will be far more entertaining than the game they play. There are far better sports to watch: Rugby, Soccer, Basketball, Hockey….
I personally am a huge tennis fan. The players are all independent contractors, not employees of the tours, so they have wide latitude to speak up about anything they want.
Really? So a tennis player in the middle of a match can do anything they want without repercussion? I did not know this.
I used to love NASCAR since it used to work on a very good free market concept. If a driver wanted more money, all he had to do was be the best and win races or finish better. Two things would happen, he would take home more of the race winnings and sponsors would want to advertise on his vehicle. A good recent example was Danica Patrick. As much as NASCAR wanted her to be “something” by giving her all the accolades and air time, after years of being terrible, she is gone.
Imagine how interesting baseball could be if salary was based on commission. It could go something like this:
Base salary = batting ave. x $1,000,000
Home Run = $20,000
Triple = $10,000
Double = $5,000
Base Hit = $1,000
Walk = $500
Strike Out = -$500
Error = -$1,000
Pitchers would have a similar scale. Now, if you think you are the greatest and should be paid the most, you would be.
So someone like Aaron Judge right now would be worth $454,500 with half a season left.
This source
https://www.therichest.com/celebnetworth/athletes/motor-racing/danica-patrick-net-worth/
contends she has a net worth of $18 mn. Not bad for ‘terrible’.
I didn’t write she didn’t have or make any money. I did write that NASCAR used to be based on a good free market model. Patrick is also a good example of crony capitalism. NASCAR promoted her like no other terrible driver.
Races – 191
Ave Finish – 24.11
Wins – 0
Top 5 – 0
Top 10 – 7
DNF (did not finish) – 30
These are stats of the terrible and only a female with a pretty face would get a chance like this. But, even the Solyndra of NASCAR eventually got exposed for the terrible driver she was.
Patrick is also a good example of crony capitalism.
Crony capitalists extract rents through political connections. Tell me what connections a 23-year old wage-earner’s daughter from Beloit, Wisconsin had.
Looks like she competed in about 9 different series, of which 7 are ranked. She was a spotty participant in four and a consistent participant in three.
1. Monster Energy NASCAR. Participated over seven seasons. Around 70 participants each season. Her median rank was 28th.
2. NASCAR X-finity: Consistent participant over three seasons, spotty participant over two. Not ranked the last two. Median rank 26th of about 140 drivers ranked.
3. Verizon IndyCar series: Consistent participant over seven seasons. Spotty over one season. Typically ranked 9th or 10th out of about 40 drivers ranked.
Looks like a rank-and-file motorsports participant not a ‘terrible’ driver.
You can try to polish the turd any way you want, but she was only a marketing gimmick and the stats I presented show her to be a terrible NASCAR driver. No one else with her amount of failure (or lack of success) has received as much press and adulation in that series.
Her connection was that she looked good so NASCAR used her and gave her a ride and press that others would never get.
the stats I presented show her to be a terrible NASCAR driver.
No, the stats you presented show that you define ‘terrible’ according to your feelz. Was somebody finishing ahead of her in these races and getting more prize money?
getting less prize money?
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/david-whitley/os-sp-danica-patrick-david-whitley-blog-0915-story.html
This has nothing to do with capitalism in any direction.
It does prove that men are better drivers; at least in extreme conditions of racing.
Sorry ladies face facts.
Given that motorsports professionals are > 95% male, I don’t think anyone would doubt that it’s an activity at which men have a large advantage. (Since Denise McCluggage was racing professionally 60 years ago, I don’t think you could argue women have been ‘excluded’ any time recently). The question at hand is whether a professional whose ranking was somewhere around the 75th percentile during the years she competed is a ‘terrible’ driver. It wouldn’t surprise me if she gets more attention and endorsement contracts due to the novelty (and due to better visuals); it’s an entertainment genre and in entertainment your compensation isn’t strictly related to your technical mastery. Did her gross earnings from racing ($22 million) best those of better-ranked drivers?
Yes, tennis players can carry banners onto the court at most tournaments. They do not have to salute the flag of any country.
They cannot protest or call out during matches, but before and after the matches, they can express themselves on court
The contracts they sign give them medical benefits even though they are contractors.
As long as they have a ranking high enough to qualify, they can join any tournament. They are not employees of the tours and do not need to participate.
Tennis Sandgren, an American player, endorsed alt-right activists on his Twitter account and he wasn’t penalized.
Marry – they can also sexually harass members of their own sex without compunction and still stay on the tour.
as much as I hate to admit it the only pro “games” i watch now is soccer
it makes me feel unamerican but less so than these strutting peacocks
i do watch pro fights but those are not strictly speaking, games