Posted on by Californiacontrarian

The Main Reason

The Main Reason

When a child throws a tantrum, almost everyone shrugs their shoulders as tantrums are not unexpected in young children. When an adolescent throws a tantrum, the mature adult in the room asserts him/herself and takes control of the situation, as tantrums are not considered acceptable behavior in adolescents. When an adult throws a tantrum, his/her behavior is deemed unacceptable, bordering on antisocial behavior. When an entire group of adults simultaneously throw a tantrum, it is called the “first amendment rights of NFL players.” The problem here is that there does not appear to be a mature adult in the “NFL room.”

By his own words the main reason for Colin Kaepernick’s protest was clearly to protest against the flag (“I am not going to stand up and show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color”). Unfortunately for Colin Kaepernick and the Colin Kaepernick wannabes, the statistics concerning blacks being shot by police have shown an impressive decrease over the last 40-50 years! . . . but then who cares about the actual facts! Now, when the players are asked what was the main reason that they were kneeling during the National Anthem, there is no unanimity of answers.
Unfortunately for the NFL and eventually for its players, many of the NFL fans have now become ex-NFL-fans. TV viewership was down 11% at the 3-week mark, and ticket sales were down 18% this past week compared to the week before. 62% of NFL fans plan to watch less NFL football with the main reason being the anthem protests.
Face it. The NFL has a problem – a big problem, and I project that a number of now new ex-NFL-fans will not quickly return to the fold unless the NFL finds an adult in the room to figure out some way to demonstrate that the protests were actually more than just a bunch of selfish millionaire players throwing a tantrum. Granted the number of players protesting was less this past week, but there are plenty of now ex-NFL fans, including myself, who will not quickly forget the behavior not only of the players but also of the league and the owners.
If the main reason that the players were protesting was not to show disrespect for the flag, then they should clearly state what the main reason was, and what responsible things the millionaire players, the multi-millionaire owners, and the uber rich NFL are going to do to remedy this issue.
If the NFL sincerely wants to stop its apparent suicidal circling of the drain, this is what needs to be said:
“The NFL and its players are concerned about the interactions between the police and black men. One of the main reasons that black youth come to the attention of the police is that they are unemployed. The main reason that they are unemployed is that they do not have the necessary job skills. The main reason that they do not have these skills is that they have received a poor education. Therefore to help solve this basic underlying problem the NFL and the owners of the NFL teams will establish a Trust Fund to help further the education of these unfortunate youths. From this fund in each NFL franchise city a new charter school will be started, and the NFL will cover all of the expenses for these new schools for the initial 10 years. In addition the NFL Players Union will start additional similar schools in other cities that do not have NFL franchises. It is hoped that all of the NFL’s disgruntled players will see this as a way to actually step up in order to remedy one of the underlying problems that led to these protests. It is hoped that each NFL player will donate 5% of his salary instead of protesting on the field of play, and it is hoped that the players will responsibly speak to all Americans and encourage them to contribute to this worthwhile cause.
The NFL and its players apologize to the football fans that we may have offended. Our motives were good, but our actions on the football field were inappropriate. Please join with us now to try to put this unfortunate instance behind us and help us to actually try to solve this problem..”

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