Black America can thank this nation’s somewhat psychotic president for creating unforeseen momentum in its quest for equality.
All he had to do was call about four or five black guys “sons of bitches” and suddenly the entire NFL put on a show in support of these players and their individual stands that will forever be remembered.
Owners, players, staff and some family members knelt, locked arms, sat or raised a fist before and/or after the national anthem before games on Sunday and Monday night. It was inspirational – but what was it about?
The real threat – On Saturday, NFL boss Roger Goodell and every NFL owner knew that there was going to be a reaction to the president’s comments on Friday night. I guarantee you it wasn’t the fear of mass kneeling or other demonstrations. The thought running through their respective minds was, “What if a lot of black players refuse to play tomorrow?” If most black players – especially many of the NFL’s stars – ever decide to forfeit a game check, take whatever punishment comes their way and sit out a game, the NFL and America would never be the same. This was, and is, the owner’s greatest fear.
Owners’ hypocrisy – The same gentlemen that refuse to hire Colin Kaepernick stood and locked arms with players from London, where the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens played, to Los Angeles, where the Chargers faced the Kansas City Chiefs. Most of them probably voted for the president, but they mustered up enough courage to use harsh words like “very disappointed,” and “divisive.” Yes, I’m being facetious. They ignored their own effort to blackball Kaepernick while spouting off about the great work NFL players do in the community. Give me a break. This was about keeping black players on the field, not chastising the president.
Black players unite – Black NFL players should protest during the national anthem the remainder of the season. Regardless of what owners or white players do in the future, this fight is about them and their people. I wrote here several weeks ago that every black player should kneel during the national anthem. That would end all debate about the subject. You can’t fire or suspend all of them. I guess the president doesn’t read the St. Louis American. He should. He might learn something. Black players learned last weekend that they do have power and their collective actions can have an impact on the NFL and the country.
America’s Team action – Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his family joined players and staff in kneeling before the national anthem was played before Monday night’s game in Phoenix. They all stood with locked arms as the song was performed. This lifelong Cowboys fan was worried the team would do nothing. The conservative Jones is more worried about his bottom line than the plight of blacks in America, but the kneeling was a nice touch.
Ray Lewis, really? – Retired Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis suddenly remembered he was black on Sunday and knelt with some Ravens players before the game in London. Lewis defended the Ravens’ not signing Kaepernick based on some ridiculous social media message Kaepernick’s girlfriend sent out that mocked Lewis and the Ravens’ owner. He said in July he would never protest during the national anthem. Shannon Sharpe was critical of him a few weeks ago and he was on Monday too.
“Ray Lewis sat in that chair right there and said he could never kneel, he could never not stand for the national anthem because so many people died and he had family members that fight for this country … and the flag means so much to him and he kneeled. Not on one knee — on both knees. So, what are you kneeling for? The very people that said they would never, ever kneel — I just want to know what are you unifying against? … Are you showing solidarity against racism or the [injustice] that’s in this country? Or are you showing solidary against President Trump and what he said? His attack on the very NFL?”
Where is Jim Brown? – Jim Brown went off on black parents and coaches who orchestrated a team of 8-year-old football players to kneel during the national anthem. He called it “exploitation.” I agree with him. I don’t agree with his silence, as of Tuesday, on the president’s comments on black NFL players who protest during the national anthem. Brown said he would not do it, which is fine, but he called Kaepernick’s protest “unintelligent.” More than 200 players were part of demonstrations last Sunday and we have not heard a word from tough-guy Brown. Brown is a renowned activist, but he seems a bit confused as to what to say when grown-ups do grown-up things that mirror the actions of great black athletes of the past including the late Muhammad Ali and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. By the way, the coach of the youth football team says the idea to kneel came from the players as a way to support protesters in St. Louis. Whatever.
The big payback – Any player that kneels should prepare for backlash. Denver Broncos All-Pro defensive end Von Miller lost his endorsement contract with Phil Long Ford in Denver, but the business was careful to say he wasn’t fired for his demonstration on Sunday in Buffalo.
“We are evaluating the events of the weekend. It is important to state that we haven’t fired Von. We are in the middle of contract renewal and this weekend’s events remind us that sometimes we feel that we best represent ourselves. We support Von and his first amendment rights, we know Von and he’s a good person. He donated a police car to his hometown police dept. All that notwithstanding when we bring in celebrities to represent us we run the risk of being misrepresented.”
The dealership’s statement went on to wrap itself in the American flag and boast of its financial support of veterans. I wonder how many black people buy cars there? My guess is very few or the dealership would not be so quick to take this action. Miller was fired. Period.
Nerves of steel – The Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans did not appear on the field during the national anthem last Sunday. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin let the players decide what action to take before their game in Chicago.
“We will not be divided by this,” Tomlin said. “We got a group of men in there that come from different socioeconomic backgrounds, races, creeds, ethnicities, religions and so forth. That’s football, that’s a lot of team sports. But because of opposition, we get drug into bulls–t, to be quite honest with you. Some have opinions, some don’t. We wanted to protect those that don’t, we wanted to protect those that do. We came here to play a football game today and that was our intentions.”
Defensive lineman, Alejandro Villanueva, exited the locker room and stood at attention just outside the players’ tunnel as the anthem was played in Chicago. Villanueva is a West Point graduate and veteran of three tours of duty in Afghanistan. His jersey sales have skyrocketed and he’s a national hero, according to FOX News. All his fellow Steelers supported the move, although some were surprised he took that action. Many Steelers felt like they were putting him in a tough situation, which is why the entire team stayed in the locker room. Also, the Steelers were close behind him, just not close enough to be on camera. Also, he could have stood next to Tomlin, who WAS on the sideline for the national anthem. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is now saying he wished the team had not stayed in the locker room. I guess he got some hate speech hurled his way.
Paying the Bills – Former Buffalo Bills quarterback and Hall of Famer Jim Kelly was critical of the national anthem protests in Buffalo – and brought religion into the equation in a social media post with a photo of him standing with his hand over his heart. “The only time I will ever take a knee is to pray and to thank the Good Lord for what he’s given me. We all have our issues. … But I do know that we need to UNITE not SEPARATE. I hope next week we can STAND, LOCK ARMS and become ONE FAMILY.”
Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes, who is black, countered saying “I was very disappointed in him. I was very disappointed in how he approached the whole situation.”
LeSean McCoy was stretching during the national anthem, which really set Kelly off.
“I like LeSean McCoy, don’t get me wrong, but I totally, 100 percent disagree with what he did,” said Kelly, who joined the Bills on the sideline Sunday and stood for the anthem. “You want to kneel? Fine. But when you go and do what he did yesterday, that sort of bummed me out. And I lost a lot of respect for him.”
Respect must be earned, Jim, and McCoy gained more among his people than he could possibly lose in the eyes of you and other white Americans.
Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, is a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and can also be heard on Frank Cusumano’s “The Press Box.” His Twitter handle is #aareid1.
