I have previously written on the NFL kneeling controversy and the feckless approach of Commission Roger Goodell. Conversely, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has taken a firm and clear position as evidenced this week with the probation given to two athletes for protests during the anthem at the Pan American games.
Hammer thrower Gwen Berry raised her fist i while fencer Race Imboden took a knee n protests while on the medal stand last week in Lima, Peru.
The penalty was only probation for a year (and both will still be eligible for Tokyo next year) but that is far departure from the NFL which has followed a policy that no one seems to be able to understand or even articulate.
Protests of this kind are more serious for Olympic athletes who agree to represent the United States. There are a myriad of difference ways that athletes can carry out protests, but, when they are competing for the United States, they are representing all of the citizens rather than themselves.
What do you think?
too bad for them, that like craperneck, these people screwed up their own victories
let the Olympic committee concern itself with something useful, i could care less about this
It’s the IOC and its assorted bureaucracies that doesn’t deserve to use the brand “Olympics” in my opinion which actually died out withe the cult of Zeus a couple thousand years ago
these bureaucrats shouldn’t be allowed to associate themselves with a sacred religious festival celebrating excellence. nothing excellent about bureaucrats!
but the athletes earn their moment though excellence. And, let them have it!
I personally don’t care if they want to act like fools and subversives, good! they expose themselves.
Race Impotent is a red haired punk. Let him protest all he wants
Gwen wears neon blue lipstick. Something wrong with her, obviously
America has been celebrating too much “diversity” and completely lacks UNITY
I applaud these fools for reminding us
Maybe one day we will have it but not before a long hard struggle
I will leave this topic with an ancient Greek slogan:
EIS ANER, OUDEIS ANER
The endless jabber of television announcers during events being dissuasive enough, these protests by some of the athletes certainly does not entice more people to watch.
My uncle was a Korean War Vet. Once a marine, always a marine. Football was one of his favorite pastimes. As he lay in hospice, he told me that he’d never watch another NFL game again after they disrespected the flag, and he never did. He only watched college football, because it was not political.
Politicizing sports was wrong.
Karen S – I only follow the Arizona State Sun Devils. I do follow the PAC-12 generally because of where ASU is ranked or has to play next, but that is about it. Sadly, we are predicted to be at the bottom of the PAC-12 South this year (new QB)
I submit that college football is at least as political as the NFL, except the schools and coaches have all the power while the athletes have none. The NCAA, a non-profit organization even richer than the NRA when they were rich. Is totally dependent on keeping that status and bend to political whims in a heartbeat. 82% of its revenue in 2017 came from Men’s Basketball. At best those athletes are indentured servants. At worst…
At best those athletes are indentured servants. At worst…
Name one student-athlete that was denied the opportunity to stop being an athlete and just be a student, or just leave the school altogether.
Thousands have been denied the opportunity to transfer to another school without losing eligibility for a season. A lifetime in a precariously short career. Thousands more were dumped from scholarhip after eithe injury or not performing as well as expected. These athletes were given nothing. The universities and the NCAA have racked up billions while refusing to pay athletes.
I confess during my four-year college career. A parent of one of my teammates handed out envelopes to everyone on the team containing $10 once. Another time, a University official helped arrange a $100 loan from a bank for me. Had either of those incidents become public, what do you imagine would have happened?
That didn’t answer the question. You claimed At best those athletes are indentured servants. At worst… Athletic scholarships provide the student an opportunity to attend college for an education and a degree, period. The student can quit the team, the student can transfer, as long as they meet the academic and financial obligations of the school. This is a voluntary agreement and not indentured servitude.
The letter of intent has binding provisions and they cannot simply transfer without penalty unless the school lets them go. Indentured servitude was often a voluntary agreement that was totally one-sided.
Do those binding provisions apply to the student that is no longer an athlete?
Yes in the respect that they can’t go be that athlete anywhere else without permission. I believe the exception is if they graduate and go to a graduate school elsewhere they can use up their eligibility.
http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/current/transfer-terms
So no. The student is not indentured. The athlete on the other hand is only as indentured as they are willing to accept.
Which in many cases was true of indentured servants, slaves not so much.
Enigma – if an athlete is injured playing for their school, it is not fair that they lose their scholarship.
However, it is not an apt comparison to compare college athletes with indentured servants. For that indenture, the servant was a slave. He or she was legally not allowed to quit for that period of years. At the end of it, historically, the men were given a pair of boots and an ax.
People became indentured often to pay for their expensive passage to America. Once there, they were trapped in servitude with their master for 4 to 7 years. If they did not suit, or the master abused them, there was nothing they could do about it. During that time they were legally considered property that could be sold, inherited, bequeathed, or abused. Those unlucky in whom they served were whipped or raped. They usually had no legal recourse against their abuser.
From your perspective as a black American, I am surprised that you would liken a student athlete given a free education at a school he can leave at any time with indentured servants, although I will grant that slave and servant are often used without seriousness, like “slave to the clock”.
The freedom to leave the school does not mean it must be free of consequences, such as losing eligibility to play for a season, or having trouble transferring credits to a different school system. Otherwise, schools would become athlete bingo, with little team stability.
The best argument I have seen against players sitting out is that coaches are not forced to sit out a season to discourage churning in coaches. The best argument for it is to prevent constant instability of teams. The reason why universities offer these athletic scholarships, giving away education for free to people who do not qualify for an academic scholarship is because sports makes the universities revenue. That goes into the calculus that also determines how much tuition is for everyone. Should athletes be free to transfer every year, or mid season, then the coaches cannot depend on their team matrix, barring injury. The closest thing to it is the non compete contract some businesses require.
https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2018/5/9/17311748/ncaa-transfer-rules-change-guide-list-sit-out
“The basic rule: If a player transfers, they have to sit out a season.
They aren’t allowed to play in games for a full academic year, though they can practice and train with their new team during that time.
It counts as a redshirt year but could still cost the player a year of eligibility. The NCAA requires players use their four eligible seasons within five calendar years of first enrolling somewhere. When they sit out a year, that clock keeps running, so they run the risk of losing an eligible season if they get hurt.
This “residence requirement” exists, according to the NCAA, to help players do better in school.
Requiring student-athletes to sit out of competition for a year after transferring encourages them to make decisions motivated by academics as well as athletics. Most student-athletes who are not eligible to compete immediately benefit from a year to adjust to their new school and focus on their classes.
Another explanation is the coaches and administrators who run the NCAA prefer to have as much control as possible over players. Coaches and admins leave schools all the time and don’t have to sit out in their first seasons elsewhere. Supporters of the current model excuse that by saying college sports are a job for coaches but a passion for players.
The simplest way to get around the rule is to graduate first.
If a player graduates with college eligibility remaining, they can play elsewhere right away. (That’s as long as they’ve still got time left on their five-year clock. The simplest way to extend your five years is to suffer a season-ending injury early in a season, then hope the NCAA gives you a year back because of it.)
The grad-transfer exception almost always applies to players who have just finished their junior seasons, have graduated early, and want to finish elsewhere. A few players graduate after two years of playing, and they can play immediately, too.”
My experience as a college athlete is what is most applicable. When I was a freshman, basketball was a joy, I loved the game, the travel, and winning a ot cured a lot of ills.
The passion was long gone by the time I was a senior. I played during a time where there wasn’t readily available medical attention, you played thru injuries you had no business. We had a good program where we won a lot. The pressure is even greater now with multiple cable sports shows disecting your performance and sometimes assailing the character of teenagers.
I confess I did have fun on the track team. They didn’t have a discus thrower and I’d made it to the state meet in high school. I barely had to practice, showed up for the meets, usually did well in the dual and triangular meets. I went to the Georgia Tech Relays (a big regional meet) and did well enough to make the finals, only to get embarrassed by future Olympians from Univ. of Tennessee and LSU but it was all good. We had some world class sprinters that got all the focus. I was just a basketball player, hanging out on the track team. Now that I think about it, I didn’t get one extra benefit for also participating in track except having to make up homework for missed classes. Track was a passion, basketball was a job.
Enigma – pressuring players to play through injuries does need to end. It’s gone on in youth sports to pros. Short term benefit, long term cost is too great to the player.
There has been debate for some time over whether college athletes should be paid, over and above their education and admission. They do make significant money for the school. Where do you fall on the divide?
https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/history-behind-debate-paying-ncaa-athletes/
As to whether students should be paid I have no question, how is a different matter. Students shouldn’t have to allow schools to profit off their likeness and name (like on jerseys) while they get nothing. Some sports and some star athletes generate more money. Sports often conflict with the classroom in terms of missing class and reduced study time because they spend 20+ hours a week working on their sports job. I took calculus second semester during the heart of basketball season and ended up withdrawing because that class, unlike some others, you kinda had to be there to get it. I took in next year first semester and completed my math requirement. I don’t doubt I could come up with a plan that would pay the volleyball players as well as the football team. I would know I had it right because nobody would be happy.
Do you know why the professionals that have come up through the college system haven’t been successful at getting changes made?
I despise the university administrations that allow their “made men” the tenured profs to preach Marxism in their classes even as the institutions systematically exploit their underpaid staff workers and certain athletes. I say let them unionize. They tried it before and the government quashed the beef.
I am not up to the details but i suspect this is one thing you cant blame on trump
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/18/sports/ncaafootball/nlrb-says-northwestern-football-players-cannot-unionize.html
Olly, the NCAA enforces monopolistic control over young athletes who possess skills and abilities which make many coaches, schools, and NCAA and college administrators rich. That makes college sports more corrupt than professional leagues. I agree with not paying college athletes on a free market basis – reasonable stipends should be allowed – but the same rules should be applied to coaches, ADs, and the schools themselves, I.e., coaches must be forced to honor contracts with only a small window in the year for changing schools, and their salaries limited to some formula like a multiple of average faculty salaries, and the school income, including from marketing fees, being dedicated to maintenance, including all sport programs, and if a surplus, grants to the schools general funds. Athletes should be able to transfer once a year. Chemistry students can.
No one should be getting rich over the abilities of those working for free – graduation rates prove the lie – with no other options to perfect and display those talents, nor should they get rich over the misplaced loyalty – sometimes life long – of alumnae and other regional fans. They would still come to the games whether Urban Meyer was making $300k or $8 million a year, and it’s unlikely he would have chosen another career with whatever the f..k his degree is in.
I say this as a life long college sports fan and oft times season ticket holder. Right is right and college sports and the NCAA reek of corruption.
No one should be getting rich over the abilities of those working for free – graduation rates prove the lie – with no other options to perfect and display those talents,
Anon1,
The only disagreement I have is with Enigma’s characterization of student-athletes as indentured servants and your bolded statement here. These athletes are recruited and offered something of value to play under the existing rules. Maybe 2% realize their dream of being drafted. I believe the number is north of 75% complete their degree. These athletes have options.
Is there any movement within the professional ranks to make significant changes at the college level?
Anon1,
What responsibility does professional sports have to the development of athletes? It seems as though the NFL and NBA have a sweetheart deal with the NCAA. They use the NCAA as their minor league development arm and then reap the benefits when they draft.
Finally I can agree with you and not qualify it. The NCAA is a racket. Break them. Let them unionize i say.
enigma – it was my understanding that the football programs supported the other sports at their schools. I agree the athletes are indentured servants.
The NCAA make the bulk of their money from the Men’s Basketball Tournament, mostly from the television rights. At big schools, football does carry the freight except for the ACC and select other programs.
Olympic athletes are chosen among the best to represent our country with honor. When they use their position to protest that country, they fail in their goal. It is dishonorable to protest our national anthem.
If an athlete believes they cannot in good conscience respect our country or our anthem, then they should not compete in order to represent us.
The politicization of our education system has produced a generation of young people who do not love their country. They have a poor understanding of history or government, and they believe that one of the statistically least racist countries in the world is racist. They do not understand the statistics of police shootings, nor of gang violence. They certainly do not understand that kneeling during the anthem does exactly zero to help anyone in their community or anywhere else. It does nothing to address homelessness, the drop out rate, gang recruitment, or girls giving up their futures to become poor single mothers, or fathers skipping out on their children. Zero. All it accomplishes is self aggrandizement.
Such protests are a proclamation of ignorance.
People who REALLY love this country and its values are repulsed at the mere sight of Trump and Pence, a malignant narcissist and religious hypocrite, respectively. Young people don’t need to be indoctrinated to know that it is racist to call African countries “sh*thole”, or to call White Supremacists “fine people” or to call brown people “vermin, criminals, rapists, murderers, breeders and invaders”. They see images of migrants held in cages like animals and cannot align such images with what are supposed to be American values. While they may not know the word “misogynist”, they understand that it is wrong to not only grab women by their genitals because you find them attractive, but to brag about it besides. They know they would be expelled from school and prosecuted if they did this. In fact, schools teach them boundaries, so they wonder why Trump would brag about such conduct. They see news stories about Trump’s dalliances with Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal and the payoffs, and in view of all of this and Mikey Pence’s supposed religious values, wonder how he can stand next to such a person as an alleged representative of Evangelical Christian faith. They look at the dippy wives of both of these people and wonder what’s wrong with them. Melania is NO Eleanor Roosevelt or Jackie Kennedy. She is a former nudie model who has lied about her lack of education. They are puzzled when they hear the pitch for ROTC and for signing up for the military in view of the fact that the POTUS faked bone spurs to get out of military service. They can find no reason to respect either of these people or their wives because they do NOT stand for American values. They have learned to think for themselves. They are becoming educated.
They also paid attention during civics class, especially the part where they learned about the First Amendment and the guarantee of freedom of speech. They might even have been told about the SCOTUS case wherein saying “fu_k the draft” was upheld as free speech, as was flag burning as a means of protected expression. Young people, at least the intelligent ones in my experience, are very idealistic. They want to make a difference. They are also more-experienced in terms of being exposed to people of different races, religious backgrounds and nationalities, and likely are friends with people who are different. They are mostly not racist, even in the deep South.
Anyone who REALLY loves this country will do everything possible to rid the White House of the vermin occupying it at this time and to publicly oppose Trump and what he stands for. Statements like yours, Karen, constitute real ignorance. It’s not either–or. Trump is the one who doesn’t belong. He cheated his way into the White House, but he is no patriot and does not deserve respect.
Then, there are the athletes. Why should anyone compromise their First Amendment right to express opposition to the current Administration in exchange for competing internationally? Athletes are not ambassadors, and shouldn’t be forced to serve as such. Why are politics intertwined with sports in the first place? Why do athletic contests, whether at the grade school, high school, college or professional level begin with the National Anthem? Trump has done everything possible to divide this country–first, along racial lines, and now he’s trying to appeal to Jewish voters by lying about 2 Muslim women members of Congress for purely political reasons. He spews venomous hatred and lies. Why shouldn’t someone who has earned the spotlight by virtue of athletic achievement be allowed to show that he or she is a REAL American–one who is opposed to Trump and all of the racist, misogynist and deceitful things he stands for? On the other hand, why intermingle sports with politics in the first place?
So, Natacha, you’re now sorry that you voted for him?
Natch dictates to us whether we love America or not based on whether we agree with her own personal opinion.
She’s kind of like a Red Guard, out there calling regular people reactionaries, trying to make people feel like crud.
Hey Natch. When Mao died, his last crazy wife and her Red Guards got locked up. People were sick of them!
And people are sick of loudmouths like you.
Trump does not represent American values. Part of being an American is to stand up and fight for the principles that this country was founded on, which include the notion that all people are created equal, due process under the law and freedom of speech. Trump had the chance to defend this country, but lied to avoid service. The same is true for religion–Christians are supposed to speak out publicly and fight against racism, abuse of homeless people, misogyny and lying. Pence stands there like the brainless bobble-head that he is.
Natch, if I were you I’d vote against them next year.
I’m just skimming here, but although I noticed “Trump” and “racist”, I did not see Fox, Faux, or Hannity. How do we know this is really Natacha?
Well, the right-wing sheep on this blog are taking their usual positions, I see. Such as:
“Respect for our Flag.
Respect for Law and Order.
Respect this great nation.
If you don’t like it just leave.”
Respect is actually a two-way street. For the country to deserve respect, it must treat its people with respect. For the “Flag” to be more than just a piece of cloth, it has to actually stand for worthwhile ideals that the country actively works with true deliberate speed to achieve, not just empty platitudes. “Law and order” must operate in support of real justice, not as enforcers of an unjust status-quo. The “greatness” of a nation is measured by how it treats the least of its citizens, not by how much it yells “We’re number one!”. And as far as us dissenters leaving if we don’t like it — don’t count on it, it’s our country as much as it is yours; maybe more so, because we consider ourselves citizens, not sheep bleating “our country, right or wrong; our country, love it or leave it”, or words to that effect.
Biologist – such are the hallmarks of the decay that brings down great societies throughout history.
Perhaps you shall ride the wave of outrage that crashes our economy, until we’re all fighting over garbage scraps and toilet paper like they do in Venezuela, where they were promised equality of outcome.
Biologist, I thank ewe for your comment, left wing lamb.
Politics don’t belong in the Olympics. If you don’t believe you can represent your nation on its Olympic team without partisan protest, you don’t belong on that team.
It’s not a difficult proposition at all.
Since the athletes are subsidized by the American Taxpayer I think respect for that would be to honor our flag. If your negative feelings are so strong you can’t set them aside for a short period of time, perhaps you shouldn’t participate at all. feel sorry for anyone born and raised here who can’t appreciate their good fortune. Perhaps anything they sign should include their agreement to be a part of the team and do as everyone does.
Well they do take an oath. Do these protests honor that oath?
We promise to take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules and in the spirit of fair play.
We all commit ourselves to sport without doping and cheating.
We do this, for the glory of sport, for the honour of our teams and in respect for the Fundamental Principles of Olympism.
Fundamental Principles of Olympism
1. Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for
universal fundamental ethical principles.
2. The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious
development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society
concerned with the preservation of human dignity.
3. The Olympic Movement is the concerted, organised, universal and permanent action, carried out under the supreme authority of the IOC, of all individuals and entities who are inspired by the values of Olympism. It covers the five continents. It reaches its peak with the bringing together of the world’s athletes at the great sports festival, the Olympic Games. Its symbol is five interlaced rings.
4. The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the
possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the
Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.
5. Recognising that sport occurs within the framework of society, sports
organisations within the Olympic Movement shall have the rights and
obligations of autonomy, which include freely establishing and controlling the
rules of sport, determining the structure and governance of their organisations, enjoying the right of elections free from any outside influence and the responsibility for ensuring that principles of good governance be applied.
6. Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.
7. Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC.
http://program.dh.ucla.edu/dh101/2014/olympics/dh101group1.com/files/original/e6f144bf965511d677020300672c4b3e.pdf
Respect for our Flag.
Respect for Law and Order.
Respect this great nation.
If you don’t like it just leave.
Protests can make this nation a better one. When Tommie Smith and John Carlos raises their fist it highlighted the human rights injustices in this country at the time. They were banned by a nazi sympathizer. Speaking of which Jesse Owens represented the US amid hatred and protests from within. Afterwards he returned and noted how hitler waved and shook his hand despite no call or telegram from the US president. The Olympics can also be a platform to call out human rights injustices to push us to be the nation we claim & a shining example…
I agree with you 100%, Prof. Turley. If they want to be on the team, no kneeling, and no fists in the air. If they want the latter, they can do it as spectators.
That’s a start, at least. Finally….some adults in the room!
P.S. just what exactly are these toddlers protesting? Not enough free stuff?
testing
Grades are in, you are still stupid.
I think Olympic athletes, and similarly those in competitions like World Cups, are representing their country. If they are not comfortable doing that, they shouldn’t be there. I can maybe understand it for smaller or dictatorial countries where this may be their only opportunity to use their unique abilities to draw attention to outrages at home. In that kind of situation, the odds are they will also and the athletes are representing pay for it at home. Those of us living in free democracies don’t have this excuse and should understand that as bad as whatever condition they think needs attention at home, they are competing against others who live in true tyranny and are trivializing more serious violations of human rights.
I have no problem with NFL protests. It’s a private business on our shores and there is no pretense that the athletes represent anyone but the paying customers. If ticket sales go down or the best players go elsewhere, oh well. There is a 1st amendment question on whether your employer buys your political expression with your salary. How would we each react to a requirement that we say the pledge or sing the national anthem each morning at work?
Good post Anon1.
I have not watched a single NFL football game since the kneeling incidents started. I devoted 29 years of my life in the Army defending our flag and country and I receive such antics as a personal affront. The NFL players are “paid performers” and, as such, the Commissioner should discipline much like the Olympic athletes were sanctioned.
Anon, I agree with much of your post, except for the NFL protests.
The workplace is not the venue for personal political protests, nor should they be encouraged, unless the employer wants his or her business associated with the protest.
Can you imagine walking into a restaurant, in the middle of the workers protesting? Then some customers might agree, others not. You would begin to associate getting lunch with having to do political battle.
Some businesses are by their nature political, but not many.
It is not that an employer buys away your rights with your salary. You won’t be arrested for protesting at work, but you might be fired.
Political protests at the NFL caught up sponsors in political turmoil. Those businesses had to declare to their customers where they stood on the flag, and they inevitably lost customers, no matter where they stood. They just wanted to advertise their business in sports which were supposed to be one of the great unifiers. The protests lost some NFL viewers, and may have gained others. It forced the NFL to get political.
An individual bringing political activism at work forces their employer to get involved against their will, and has fallout to other employees, customers, and the company’s profit margin.
Some examples off the top of my head of jobs that requires the national anthem or pledge of allegiance is a teacher, the military, sports, Boy Scout and Girl Scout leaders, horse show announcers, horse show staff. In most of those jobs, you don’t have to actually say the words, but you do have to be respectful. If you do not, then you are disrupting the employer, or in the case of the military, showing an unfitness for duty to defend the country.
There are some jobs that your personal convictions prevent you from taking. If anyone requires political activism to be part of their work, then they need to find a suitable job.
Karen, unlike almost any other employees in America, players are required to take part in a public display of someone’s political statement which is not necessarily their own. If someone took this to court I would hope their right to not take part in that, or express their own political statement would be upheld.
Anon – if participation was part of the job, and they could not do so in good conscience, then they clearly are not qualified to accept the position. They are not required to actually sing the anthem, only to stand there in respect. If they do not respect their country, or wish to publicly dishonor the anthem, then they are not qualified to represent the team in sports. Of course they have the right not to participate. They won’t be arrested. But the team owner has the right to require respect for the flag and anthem to be part of the position. They would have the right to fire them. A job has certain requirements and applicants must decide if that is something they can accept or not.
American players accept lucrative positions on foreign teams. I do not believe their contract would continue if they walked out and took a knee during their host country’s anthem.
Now, sports is a commercial enterprise in America. If there was an anti-American football owner or league, perhaps they could find their own niche market. The NFL might be entering into such an experiment.
Honestly, we are so blessed to be American citizens. We get so many things handed to us. Aside from the drugged out homeless, our poor live like the middle class in many countries around the world. Globally, it is unusual for obesity to be a problem for the poor. So little is required of us. In order to become a naturalized citizen, people are required to swear allegiance. Should we go to war, we are required to defend our country. Treason is a punishable offense in times of peacetime or war.
Any country is a collection of individuals united by laws, a common language, culture, and similar values, in general. Otherwise, it’s balkanized. Immigrants bring their own traditions, but they ideally absorb into the American culture, and become Americans, over and above whatever country they or their ancestors originated from.
Should the cohesion bonds break, the country will become a region of individuals without common laws, values, language, or allegiance. Say, for example, if every ethnic group got its own court system and laws, then it would become ripe for the picking of a strong opponent, as say, Russia.
So, people representing the US give up their first amendment freedoms?
blogfen. Yes, I think so on a sporting activity which is:
1. Not officially government work.
2. A privilege which they are not forced to do.
There is plenty of precedent: millions of Americans representing the US as members of the armed services; former employees of the US government who are forbidden to discuss/disclose their former jobs; and on and on. The First Amendment has many, many exceptions. Blogfen, if you’re going to post a comment, please do some research first.
When someone goes down on bent knees during the national anthem they need to be kneed in the head.
Those who suggest such actions are proposing a very anti-freedom, unamerican act.
liberty, you’ve obviously already been kneed in the head.
Nope, YOU’VE been kneed all over your body.
Protest of these kind are more serious. Thanks for sharing.
Should have been barred from olympics for life
I agree completely. There are so many other athletes that would love to represent our country. Throw the bums out!
I think the narcissists jocks should be sent home on the next plane and banned for the next two olympics. After that they can reply by sending in a tape of them singing the national anthem. You don’t spit on the country that supports you and spare me the “they do it for love of country” crapola. They do it to get attention and some radical street cred. You wanna change things roll up you sleeves; don’t kneel like a subservient pet.
Re-apply not reply.
I agree with Mespo and I like the word “crapola”.
and spare me the “they do it for love of country” crapola.
+10
As always, Jonathan Turley is spot-on with his analysis
It is correct that athletes are representing all the citizens of the US and just as much, “The Squad” are US representatives of the citizens and nation of the United States and should, likewise, be sanctioned for conflating their personal animus with their oath to represent the US, its constitution, and its citizens. Why the distinct difference Mr. Turley? is there a partisan slant somewhere?
I agree and the reference to The Squad is appropriate here. The Squad needs to be sent back on bent knees to Minnesota or where ever they come from.
Probation for a year means…?
Not much. Meaningless gesture like double secret probation.
mespo – but, but, but Double Secret Probation was effective, 🙂 Look what it led to!!!!
Yeesh, I remember:
John Belushi was quite a character. Wish he hadn’t burned himself out.
He disappeared during filming one of the night scenes at the mall in Illinois. They had to finish the shoot that night. Dan Aykroyd said that everyone turned out looking for him. They found him at a complete stranger’s house. He’d knocked on the door, asked for some snacks, and then took a nap on their couch. That’s how he got one of his nicknames, “America’s Guest.”