Angry About Kneeling Protests? Read This! (Warning -- Contains Big Words And Logic)

By Charles P. Pierce, 10/2/17, Sports Illustrated

There are several things to which you must stipulate if you're going to talk sensibly about the controversy that blew up last weekend, and the ongoing controversy regarding displaced quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose protest against police brutality is at the heart of what went on in stadiums all over the world.

1.  The inclusion of a national anthem -- any national anthem -- in a sporting event necessarily politicizes that event.  Historically, this is best demonstrated by protests at the Olympic Games.  Everyone knows about Tommie Smith and John Carlos in Mexico City in 1968.  Bur few remember Czechoslovakian gymnast Vera Caslavska, who bowed her head and looked away from the Soviet flag while sharing the top spot on the medal podium the USSR's Larisa Petrik at the same Games, only two months after Soviet tanks crushed the Prague Spring revolt of 1968.  When Caslavska got home, she was investigated by the new government and forbidden to travel or compete for several years.

2.  The protests of today are not about the anthem or the flag or the troops, or even about Donald Trump.  The protestors are high-profile African-American athletes raising awareness of how lower-profile African-Americans are often mistreated by police officers.

3.  All effective protest is inconvenient and, in its own way, uncivil.  The Boston Tea Party was an act of vandalism.  Critics appeal to "find a better a way to protest" is really a call for self-sabotage,and it's a dodge that dates back to the Olive Branch Petition of 1775.

In short, if you're going to perform national anthems, you're going to have politics.  And if you have politics, you're going to have political statements, and this being the United States of America, those statements are not always going to make everyone comfortable.  And once military-related promotions reached a level that made even John McCain uncomfortable, those statements had to get louder, if only to be heard over the fighter jets, and more garish, if only to be seen beyond the giant midfield flags.

The way to avoid this, of course, is to de-emphasize the anthem ritual and return to the days before 2009 when it was common practice for teams to remain in the locker room while the anthem was played.  Unfortunately, today it would take courage beyond that possessed by most owners and league commissioners to take this simple step.


Full article link:
https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/09/25/anthem-protest-donald-trump-colin-kaepernick
_______________________________________

P.S. -- In case you thought this was all going to just fade away, check this out.  NHL player J.T. Brown raised his fist in protest during the anthem at today's game.  The NHL!!