The NFL and The Anthem: Love It or Leave It

Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, the National Football League's owners (without so much as a vote) decided to give its players a choice when it comes to Honoring America with "The Star Spangled Banner".  They can either stand for the anthem on the sidelines, or they can sit in the locker room until it is finished.  No more taking a knee unless it's to run out the clock.

This action meant that the league has caved to outside pressures.  They are afraid of President Donald Trump's attacks on players who take a knee.  They are afraid of plummeting TV ratings.  They are afraid of turning off fans when they should be worried about other things that threaten their sport, such as concussions, long games and hiring players with criminal records.  Most of all, they are afraid of losing money.  They'll gladly take payments from the Department of Defense in exchange for jamming "patriotic" messages down our throats to increase recruitment.

We seem to have forgotten that players such as Colin Kaepernick, whose football-playing career came to a screeching halt because of this, have resorted to taking a knee during the anthem to protest incidents of police brutality against African-Americans.  It was never intended to be an attack on America's manhood.  But that's the way it was interpreted by Trump, conservative activists and holier-than-thou veterans groups.  They'd rather see these players check their First Amendment rights at the door, or they can leave.

And what athlete wants to sit in the locker room while his teammates are saluting the flag, then risk getting booed and called a traitor by fans once he goes out onto the field?  This doesn't sound like much of a decision at all.

It's getting difficult, if not impossible, to separate sports from the rest of society.  Racial issues, sexual harassment, violence and other things have injected themselves onto the playing field, and athletes are making their voices heard.  We may not like what they have to say, but we should defend their right to say it.  Forcing them (and us) to salute a piece of cloth and a bygone way of life is not the way you Honor America.

UPDATE (6/5/18):  The Philadelphia Eagles will not get to celebrate their Super Bowl championship at the White House.  Trump disinvited them because not all the players agreed with his "my way or the highway" approach on standing for the anthem.  That's not how patriotism is supposed to work, but Trump seems to have a different set of values and we're all paying the price.