Four years ago he took a knee to protest unjust policing.
"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder." Colin Kaepernick, 2016
"We admit we were wrong."
Roger Goodell, 2020White America watches the NFL.
When Senators Jeff Flake and Bob Corker became critics of Trump, it made him stronger. People saw they became pariahs in the GOP, and it was a warning: cross Trump and you are out.
The Never Trump defections didn't hurt Trump, either. If Charlie Sykes, Bill Kristol, and Mike Murphy bitch from outside the tent, it just confirms their separation. It's not their Party, so they can cry if they want to.
But something new is happening this week: surprising defections. Former Defense Secretary Jim "Mad Dog" Maddis just denounced President Trump's use of the military. Former Chief of Staff John Kelly joined him. Fox News just posted an article saying that neither George Bush nor Mitt Romney plan to support Trump, nor is the widow of John McCain.
The slow death of George Floyd shocked Americans. It is changing minds. It gave Black America a new focal point of anger and it gave White America a fresh look in the mirror and a realization that something isn't right. George Floyd wasn't resisting; it wasn't dark; he wasn't running away; he wasn't holding what maybe looked like a gun; he didn't lurch suddenly; he wasn't provoking with obscenities or threats; it wasn't over in an instant. Instead we saw something sad and ugly from several angles on video.
The protests trigger something in the memory of the public and the NFL: Colin Kaepernick. Four years ago he said racially prejudiced policing was taking place and he protested by bowing his head and taking a knee. Big controversy. Trump, Fox, and MAGA nation defined this as unpatriotic, an insult to America. It was a handy point of division for Trump: look at those ungrateful Black millionaires, dishonoring our sacred flag!
Football matters, to Americans and to Trump. Trump understands that NFL fans are Trump fans. The NFL took a stand, with Trump, against the protest. Kaepernick became a quarterback without a home. No team dared hire him.
The slow death of George Floyd shocked Americans. It is changing minds. It gave Black America a new focal point of anger and it gave White America a fresh look in the mirror and a realization that something isn't right. George Floyd wasn't resisting; it wasn't dark; he wasn't running away; he wasn't holding what maybe looked like a gun; he didn't lurch suddenly; he wasn't provoking with obscenities or threats; it wasn't over in an instant. Instead we saw something sad and ugly from several angles on video.
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| Goodell: Black Lives Matter |
Football matters, to Americans and to Trump. Trump understands that NFL fans are Trump fans. The NFL took a stand, with Trump, against the protest. Kaepernick became a quarterback without a home. No team dared hire him.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Friday that he and the NFL have switched sides. "We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the National Football League, believe Black Lives Matter."
Drew Brees, quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, sharpened the lines of disagreement with Trump, saying that he had erred in saying that the anthem-take-a-knee protests were wrong.
"Through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates, and leaders in the black community, I realize this is not an issue about the American flag. It has never been. . . . We did this back in 2017, and regretfully I brought it back with my comments this week. We must stop talking about the flag and shift our attention to the real issues of systemic racial injustice, economic oppression, police brutality, and judicial and prison reform."
Trump doubled down, and said by tweet that Brees "should not have taken back his original stance on honoring our magnificent American Flag." He continued: "OLD GLORY is to be revered, cherished, and flown high. . . . There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag --NO KNEELING!"
As with the Bible photo op, Trump is associating himself with a revered symbol, but he is misreading the new significance of Kaepernick's gesture. The video showing the officer's knee on Floyd's neck redefined Kaepernick's knee. Now his knee is a symbol of courage and integrity and peaceful protest. Knees matter.
Kaepernick is no longer works as Trump's symbol of the uppity black insulting America. Kaepernick's gesture was a respectful, silent, early warning, a wake up call we should have paid attention to. It was so respectful that Americans either ignored it, or in the case of Trump, Pence, Fox, and MAGA world, derided it.
Now Kaepernick's protest looks wise and fair and peaceful, and indeed just the kind of protest people now say should be taking place. In continuing to attack Kaepernick Trump undermines his argument that he distinguishes between peaceful protest and riot. He is pointing at a kneeling Black and saying that, too, is wrong.
Trump is retreating to his most reliable base, conservative White traditional-values Americans. At bottom, it is not about the form of the protest, it is about the subject of it. America "Great Again" wants an undisturbed social order, built on a premise that race relations in America are pretty much OK, or would be if Blacks quit making a fuss over them.
Trump should beware: the ground is shifting. When you lose football, it shows you are losing part of your base. White Americans see that something isn't quite right; maybe Kaepernick had something to say and we should have listened.
Democrats should beware: there are a lot of White traditional values oriented Americans. This is still a majority White country.
Drew Brees, quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, sharpened the lines of disagreement with Trump, saying that he had erred in saying that the anthem-take-a-knee protests were wrong.
"Through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates, and leaders in the black community, I realize this is not an issue about the American flag. It has never been. . . . We did this back in 2017, and regretfully I brought it back with my comments this week. We must stop talking about the flag and shift our attention to the real issues of systemic racial injustice, economic oppression, police brutality, and judicial and prison reform."Trump doubled down, and said by tweet that Brees "should not have taken back his original stance on honoring our magnificent American Flag." He continued: "OLD GLORY is to be revered, cherished, and flown high. . . . There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag --NO KNEELING!"
As with the Bible photo op, Trump is associating himself with a revered symbol, but he is misreading the new significance of Kaepernick's gesture. The video showing the officer's knee on Floyd's neck redefined Kaepernick's knee. Now his knee is a symbol of courage and integrity and peaceful protest. Knees matter.
Kaepernick is no longer works as Trump's symbol of the uppity black insulting America. Kaepernick's gesture was a respectful, silent, early warning, a wake up call we should have paid attention to. It was so respectful that Americans either ignored it, or in the case of Trump, Pence, Fox, and MAGA world, derided it.
Now Kaepernick's protest looks wise and fair and peaceful, and indeed just the kind of protest people now say should be taking place. In continuing to attack Kaepernick Trump undermines his argument that he distinguishes between peaceful protest and riot. He is pointing at a kneeling Black and saying that, too, is wrong.
Trump is retreating to his most reliable base, conservative White traditional-values Americans. At bottom, it is not about the form of the protest, it is about the subject of it. America "Great Again" wants an undisturbed social order, built on a premise that race relations in America are pretty much OK, or would be if Blacks quit making a fuss over them.
Trump should beware: the ground is shifting. When you lose football, it shows you are losing part of your base. White Americans see that something isn't quite right; maybe Kaepernick had something to say and we should have listened.
Democrats should beware: there are a lot of White traditional values oriented Americans. This is still a majority White country.
6 comments:
You’re right. If the NFL believes that systematic racism exists, then all bets are off. Who is next, NASCAR?
Racism is the outward symptom of a deeper dysfunction in our society.
Here we see the dry rot of the Republican party, culminating in the election of Trump, who would not be anywhere near power if it were not for all the enablers, many of whom are far worse by any measure of character. The treatment of minorities is now extending to other Americans as we slither towards an oligarchical autocracy. The fragility of the economy, the inadequate healthcare system and the corrosion in our political system has been exposed by the epidemic which has effects that now reach into the comfortable suburbs.
The change that needs to happen is in the Democratic party, who took a nap during the Obama presidency and need to wake up and smell the tear gas.
The NFL statement is too little, way too late and not very credible. They just see the inevitable criticism and threat to their bottom line.
"We condemn racism" - Thanks for sharing-it only took four years of protests and a public execution.
"Only the Symbols Will Change"
When the NFL, Amazon and other corporations start branding with "Black Lives Matter", you know nothing is going to change other than the symbols. The message has been so diluted by the bloody 75 year old man in Buffalo because he is white. The police almost stepped in his pool of blood, and "all lives matter" is suddenly revived, along with the footage of whites being dragged and tear gassed in white cities. The message that "the police are out of control" carries very little political capital generally, and almost none under the banner of racial inequality.
Without the rioting and looting the protests are boring and cannot attract the cameras. The DC protest was billed as targeting a million protestors, and it was a bust, even though it was set for a nice Saturday afternoon. The protests now have a non-urgent casual almost auditioning feel to them, like the Women's March and pussy hats. Activists say that the rioters and looters hijacked the movement, but too many white faces with mostly an anti-Trump agenda have and will continue to undermine the Black Lives Matter cause. White Democrats whose primary animation comes from Trump hatred dilutes not invigorates that cause.
So the big win so far is that the NFL has brought a BLM logo into the franchises. All the players taking a knee will become meaningless, and viewers will have the illusion that they too are "taking a stand" by accepting the BLM endorsement. Some money will be cut from a few police departments, police reforms that have been in progress since Ferguson may get a little bump. But unless Democrats do something dramatic, there is not going to be any large cultural, legislative or governmental changes that do anything significant to address racial inequality.
Grand social change in racial equality requires an element that is missing so far-- leaders. We have no Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, not even Barack Obama. We have only an old white man in his basement, and for that, our party is not just ineffectual but complicit. If Democrats want to make a significant change, we should dump Biden at the convention and replace him with Stacy Abrams or Kamala Harris. We should act, not just talk.
Kaepernick made upwards of $100 million from the 49ers for being one of the worst QBs in the NFL. Please don't apologize for him, instead check his stats. The QB ratings alone are atrocious: <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/K/KaepCo00.htm>Kaepernick Stats Here</a>
Kaepernick Stats Here
Change in your relatives
The media will always co-opt the marches and riots, sell Sprite, Niki shoes (favorite of looters), a new rap about Covid and Black Lives Matter. Democrats have always missed the message. Since when did Democrats love Martin Luther King and Malcom X? They hated a Kings stance against American Imperialism and Malcom’s suggestion for the black man to pick up a gun. Democrats love the passive , non violent, light skin, “Negroes“ who are educated and can pontificate on Sunday shows. The young Black men with no shirt and dreads and face tats and a chrome tooth need not apply at the Democrat Headquarters. The loud in your face black women with lots of piercings who can run a strings of put downs need to stand outside the headquarters and chant, we love them but not so loud. Never to be seen on Face the Nation or This Week or Meet The Press except as B roll getting gassed.
No the real change is happening in those relations on your mother’s side: the youngest niece married a Mexican, then a son married a Korean, the then a daughter married a Puerto Rican and then someone married a black woman from Jamaica and so on. Your dinosaur name calling stereotypes start to fade at the Christmas gathering. “Grandpa? Do you love me?”
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