Duke4life831 wrote:NFL has botched this from the start. There are two quick easy solutions to this. Stop playing the anthem before games (I actually like the anthem being played, but damn not when it has made this big of a deal), or just play the anthem when the players are in the locker room. I know the military pays the NFL so I doubt they will stop playing it, so just play it when both teams are in the locker room.
Im just honestly tired of hearing both sides talk about this thing.
Not playing the anthem would be a huuuuuuuuge thing to a lot of fans and would be very bad PR-wise for the NFL. Not to mention, the military may scale back or completely stop advertising with the NFL, which would cost them millions of dollars every year.
Let me see if I can try to explain the two sides, at least from my point of view, so we can determine who's right/wrong.
Some players want to bring attention to "injustice" in America by making a public protest every week during the national anthem. It's absolutely fine to have an opinion, and noble to want to improve what is perceived as a problem, but there is obviously a disconnect between them and many people who are having a hard time understanding exactly what their cause is and see the time they choose to protest as offensive.
The protesting players need to do a better job of explaining their position, and also to explain why protesting during the national anthem is essential, because as of yet they haven't done a good job in bridging the gap between them and those that disagree with their actions.
The owners are likely looking at this from two perspectives-- one as individuals who see the protest as disrespectful without proper reason, two as businessmen who see the negative reaction it's drawn from paying customers and people who support the team. I think both of these perspectives are totally reasonable, and I think they need to press the issue a bit more with the players and ask for specifics on why the players are protesting and make it an actual discussion about the issues and their goals.
If these protesting players want to discuss more investment in minority neighborhoods or sentencing laws for non-violent crimes, or funding for education of low-income people, then I don't think the owners would have any issue supporting these things, as long as the players do their part to lead the way. The owners have already agreed to give nearly $100M to social justice causes as chosen by the players as part of a goodwill gesture to bring the two sides together. The fact that for some players this isn't enough or doesn't mean anything is a gesture I'm sure the owners don't appreciate.
If the players don't have any plan and see this as an indefinite protest as long as their is any sort of perceived injustice in the world, then obviously the owners have no reason to engage with them nor support them, as it will just whittle away their fan base and it is likely something they don't agree with personally.
For me, the players protesting need to be clear. Being so vague up to this point has only led to disarray. If their only goal is to cause dissension, then I think like any employee that causes trouble at the workplace, they'll find themselves out of a job.
