In case you missed it President Donald Trump spoke at a rally for Alabama Republican Senate candidate Luther Strange and spoke disdain towards NFL players kneeling during the national anthem. View the video here.
The appalling words President Trump used to describe the actions NFL owners should take to punish the freedom and rights of Americans who express their dislike, or protest against the unfair treatment of citizens in our country is unbelievable.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently gave a rebuttal statement: “The NFL and our players are at our best when we help create a sense of unity in our country and our culture. There is no better example than the amazing response from our clubs and players to the terrible natural disasters we’ve experienced over the last month. Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities.”
In our country programs have been developed to address a systemic problem of bullies overtaking our school systems. Laws are created to protect our precious commodity of children that are losing their self worth and lives to this horrible epidemic. The sad irony to all of this is that President Donald Trump appears to be bullying our country’s citizens and others. He is a bully that cries foul when someone addresses his disheartening behavior and hides his hand when he throws a rock at someone.
We as a country are focusing more on the behavior of our President and less on the policies that will affect our lives in a major way. Could this be a divisive method created to help us lose focus on the critical need of truly helping our country succeed? We can’t be great if our leader is running amuck calling citizens, “Son of a bitch!”
After the President’s comments I wouldn’t be surprised if all of the NFL players, including coaches, take a knee in solidarity to show you can’t bully or poke a bear and not expect harsh repercussions.
Another great response in solidarity an NFL Coach or team owner can take is adding Colin Kaepernick to their team roster. This major move will speak volumes. We all know Colin deserves the opportunity to play a sport he loves. If given the chance and he proves that his QB skills are not the best, it is then that we can attribute his job as a player to the reasoning of not being on the field.
I stand with Colin Kaepernick and support the efforts of all NFL players that desire to bring about change in this country.
You can order the official wearable art that is being seen around the world that supports the bold stand Colin took to make his voice heard. Get your “I’m With Kap, Just-Us” t-shirt from the Black Ivy Brand featuring artist Khalid Albaih here. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Color of Change organization that supports racial justice for all.
A group of NFL players are also working to develop a plan to have the month of November declared as Social Unity in the NFL. Unfortunately this initiative will not happen this season due to timing constraints.
Joe Lockhart, Executive Vice President of NFL Communications stated, “The broad, branded, cause-related months or weeks are things that take years of work. I don’t think there will be something along the lines of a ‘month’ on unity during this season. Commissioner Goodell, Troy Vincent, and some others have been involved in some very constructive conversations with those players and others. Last week the Commissioner spent the day in Philadelphia with Malcolm Jenkins, Torrey Smith, and Chris Long trying to get a better understanding of the work that they are doing in their communities. This is an important and constructive dialogue that is going on, but the practical results of it are too early to tell.”
