Cleveland Browns- 12 players kneeling for protest

Jake92 wrote:

What are they protesting for?!?!

Are you able to read? It is right in the article:

"There's a lot of racial and social injustices in the world that are going on right now," rookie safety Jabrill Peppers said after the Browns' second win in two preseason games. "We just decided to take a knee and pray for the people who have been affected and just pray for the world in general."

Support for the NFL will continue to crater if the players insist on injecting politics into a non-political game.

DeBron Lames wrote:

Support for the NFL will continue to crater if the players insist on injecting politics into a non-political game.

Maybe. I personally don't think that had anything to do with declining ratings last year (the election, see the ratings during and after the election).

I am in favor of stopping playing the anthem before sporting events. Its a stupid political tradition that the owners have injected into the game.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

DeBron Lames wrote:

Support for the NFL will continue to crater if the players insist on injecting politics into a non-political game.

Maybe. I personally don't think that had anything to do with declining ratings last year (the election, see the ratings during and after the election).

I am in favor of stopping playing the anthem before sporting events. Its a stupid political tradition that the owners have injected into the game.

I've been an NFL fan since about 1975. For me, personally, football is a bit of an escape from other things. So when players drag social or political issues into the game, particularly when it becomes more a focus than some of the plays, I start to tune out. I'm actually a bit more of a fan of college football over the past few years.

DeBron Lames wrote:

Support for the NFL will continue to crater if the players insist on injecting politics into a non-political game.

I think politics was injected into the game when they decided to play the national anthem before each game.

They should not have the anthem before NFL games. Just get on with the game.

Stand, kneel, sit, burn the flag... all protected actions. Nothing to see here.

Then the fans should take a knee during the game to protest the Browns players ineptitude over the decades. Now if they had drafted Vontae Mack and Ray Jennings this season it might have been a different story.

Owners should stop using politics to get taxpayers to subsidize their stadiums.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

Owners should stop using politics to get taxpayers to subsidize their stadiums.

This is definitely true.

I've always thought that military tie-ins at sporting events are a sham. I'll even allow that for the people it involves it may be real. For the owners it's just a marketing ploy to seem likable. It's taboo to be anti-military, because that would seem to be anti-troops, and every one wants to like the people who put their lives on the line. So we all have to go along with these pro-military charades and the NFL milks it for all they can. I appreciate the anthem at the Olympics when we are representing our nation to others, but doing so at a domestic sporting event among our peers is contrived nationalism.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

Owners should stop using politics to get taxpayers to subsidize their stadiums.

How could we accomplish this?

Trust them to not make business decisions that benefit them or enact federal laws saying they cannot be subsidized?

DeBron Lames wrote:

Support for the NFL will continue to crater if the players insist on injecting politics into a non-political game.

Yet, this is the sort of nonsense that will continue to occur for as long as the owners/teams/leagues insist upon playing the National Anthem under these entirely inappropriate circumstances. There is absolutely no reason -- none, nada, zilch, donuts, the big ol' fat goose egg -- NO reason to play the National Anthem at any sporting event unless it is an international competition in which the athletes are literally representing the USA.

No one goes to a game to put their patriotism on display. Doesn't matter whether it's MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, Little League, Pop Warner, college, high school, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. People attend games to enjoy the competition and social experience...period.

Keep the National Anthem and, thus, politics out of it!

I don't care what NFL players do. I don't believe I've watched a complete game in 25 years.

If these guys feel they should kneel for the National Anthem let them.

I'm more of a Dave Wottle kind of guy. I like to stand while anthem is playing even if I do forget to take off my hat now and then.

What's the big deal?

DeBron Lames wrote:

Mr. Obvious wrote:

Maybe. I personally don't think that had anything to do with declining ratings last year (the election, see the ratings during and after the election).

I am in favor of stopping playing the anthem before sporting events. Its a stupid political tradition that the owners have injected into the game.

I've been an NFL fan since about 1975. For me, personally, football is a bit of an escape from other things. So when players drag social or political issues into the game, particularly when it becomes more a focus than some of the plays, I start to tune out. I'm actually a bit more of a fan of college football over the past few years.

Do you also tune out when the NFL drags all the military hoopla into the game - even though they make the military - meaning the taxpayers - foot the bill?

LeJon Brames wrote:

Do you also tune out when the NFL drags all the military hoopla into the game - even though they make the military - meaning the taxpayers - foot the bill?

No one is making the military do anything. The military has a massive marketing budget, and they choose to spend a portion of it to advertise at NFL games. It's just a company buying ad time.

I like the national anthem. Canada's anthem is better, and the US flag is way too busy, but it's cool to see different people and groups do the national anthem.

I went to a Christian School and we started the day with a prayer. I went to a public school and we started with the pledge of allegiance. The PoA is lame, I know, but it was nice to have a single signal for the start of the day.

I really don't care who sits/ stands/ kneels/ prays/ holds hands/ fist pumps for the anthem. If you aren't being disruptive, then you are being respectful.

exthrower wrote:

Where else in the World can someone with an IQ of 85 become a millionaire?

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just marketing wrote:

LeJon Brames wrote:

Do you also tune out when the NFL drags all the military hoopla into the game - even though they make the military - meaning the taxpayers - foot the bill?

No one is making the military do anything. The military has a massive marketing budget, and they choose to spend a portion of it to advertise at NFL games. It's just a company buying ad time.

Yep. And I wish they wouldn't spend my tax dollars bringing politics and propaganda into a sporting event.

They're protesting because they're forced to play for the Cleveland Browns.