Many people in our community are no longer checking for the NFL due to fallout from the Colin Kaepernick situation. However, Saturday’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony featured athletes from yesteryear, before the NFL turned into the No Fun League Stand Up, Shut Up and Play League. Three of the athletes inducted into the 2018 class represent the good, bad and the sweaty of this year’s ceremony…er…ceremonies.
Let’s start with the good. Randy Moss made a bold statement about the issue of police brutality against black people in America without saying a word. Moss’ speech was typical. He reminisced about his career. Thanked his family, former teammates and coaches. It was the words of his necktie though that spoke the loudest.
Moss’ tie, dark blue with gold lettering, listed the names of 15 black people killed by the police. The names included: Greg Gunn, Tamir Rice, Akai Gurley, Paul O’Neal, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Sandra Bland, Akiel Denkins, Alton Sterling, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Brendon Glenn and Philando Castile and Terence Crutcher.
“You see the names on my tie,” Moss stated during an interview on the NFL Network. “There’s a lot of stuff going on in our country. And I just wanted to let these family members know that they’re not alone.”
The NFL keeps shooting itself in the foot trying to find a way to silence players who peacefully protest police brutality during the national anthem. Moss’ tie shows that no matter how hard the good ol’ boys try to silence black athletes, the Mosses and Kaepernicks of the world will find new and creative ways to ensure their voices are heard.
On the other hand, players like Ray Lewis represent another story. Lewis took his time to audition for a role on the reality show Preachers of L.A. Lewis paced, danced and sweated across the stage for more than 30 minutes. He discussed motivation, love, togetherness, the lack of prayer in schools, sex trafficking and kissing his nearly-grown kids on the mouth.
He did not address police brutality or why the NFL is trying to desperately to silence those who speak out against it. No big surprise there.
Saturday’s ceremony also represented the first time a living inductee has refused to attend the event. Terrell Owens decided not only to skip the HOF ceremony; he also held his own ceremony at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, at the same time. That may just be the most T.O. thing that T.O. has done.
Owens was upset that he failed to be voted into the Hall during his first year of eligibility in 2017. He took it as a personal shot from the sportswriters. It was. Though the voting sportswriters seem to hate almost all wide receivers, it seems like a little extra kick in the gut that the group voted Moss in on his first attempt the same year that Owens finally got the nod. If there was a Hall of Fame for crying out for attention, Owens would certainly make it in on the first ballot.
Trump takes shots at LeBron and Don
Speaking of people who love attention, the POTUS continued his pattern of attacking journalists and black athletes by taking shots at Don Lemon and LeBron James. Though James was universally praised for opening his I Promise School last week, Trump insulted the intelligence of the two black men on Twitter.
“Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do. I like Mike!” the POTUS tweeted.
The President was angry that James stated that he believes the ever-divisive POTUS is trying to use sports to divide the nation. Thus far, James has ignored the prod. Lemon struck back.
While Lemon made a formal response on CNN, it was his Twitter response that was the most biting and accurate reply.
“Who’s the real dummy? A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages? #BeBest,” Lemon tweeted.
Burn.
EA censors Kap in rap
EA Sports might have unwittingly helped Colin Kaepernick’s collusion case against the NFL. The video game publisher was called out by rappers YG and Big Sean for censoring Kaepernick’s name (as if it were a curse word) out of the song Big Bank on the Madden 19 soundtrack.
EA claimed that the omission of Kaepernick’s name was a “misunderstanding” due to the fact that the company does not have the rights to use Kaepernick’s image or name within the game. That obviously does not apply to soundtracks and anybody’s name can appear in a song. That also doesn’t explain why Kapernick’s name was also censored from Madden 18 on the song Bars of Soap by Mike WiLL Made-It. Even though Kaepernick was not signed to a NFL team in 2018, he was still featured as a player in the game.
Although the trial against the NFL colluding against Kaepernick is still ongoing, I have a feeling that the league will end up paying Kap as if he was still lining up under center.
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ishcreates.
