Sports, unlike anything else on the planet, has proven to be humankind’s greatest unifier.
No matter your race, heritage or ethnicity, sports brings us together to focus on a common goal. Unity, teamwork, family, togetherness.
The president of the United States, however, provided all of us with yet another example of how he doesn’t understand what it means to be American or even human. The man bleeds divisiveness and hate.
At a rally in Huntsville, Alabama on Friday night, Donald Trump said, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired. He’s fired!’ You know some owner is going to do that. He’s going to say, ‘That guy disrespects our flag; he’s fired.’ And that owner, they don’t know it. They’re friends of mine, many of them. They’ll be the most popular person, for a week. They’ll be the most popular person in this country.”
Trump was referencing National Football League (NFL) players, including former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who choose to sit or take a knee during the playing/singing of the Star-Spangled Banner.
And he doubled down on Saturday and Sunday with a series of tweets to back his sad stance.
Trump also criticized how the game is being played these days, mocking referees who throw penalty flags for tackles and hits that are deemed against the rules. The NFL has made great strides to protect its players over the last decade with new rules, the concussion protocol, etc. Denouncing the league for doing so is short-sighted.
The response from the NFL, its owners and the players, past and present, has been deafening.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued a statement Saturday morning, saying “Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL.”
DeMaurice Smith, president of the NFL Players’ Association, also responded to the president’s comments, saying “The line that marks the balance between the rights of every citizen in our great country gets crossed when someone is told to just ‘shut up and play.'”
Sitting or kneeling during the anthem may be viewed as an act of disrespect but it has created a dialogue about inequality and freedom of expression.
As the U.S. national anthem played before NFL games from coast to coast, and in London, England for the Baltimore-Jacksonville game, players, coaches, owners and fans were unified in their response to the president.
It would have been amazing to see everyone in every stadium on Sunday take a seat during the anthem. Nevertheless, some stood, some sat, some took a knee, and many linked arms in a show of togetherness. Unity.
Comments