jonnyrotten

Step up WHO DAT NATION! I would help if I could be at the game.... loving this from our fan base!

exiled

Somebody has to do this - I don’t really want to...

Sky Mike I respect you - and really come here for a love of the game, and a life long love affair with the Saints. One of the many great things about this great game played in this great country is that it brings together many demographics... divers and often in-congruent points of view gathered for our national pass-time.

so, that said... Line by line...

“Im over the Anti-Americanism going on now. There is nobody playing in the NFL who is "oppressed."

It is not Anti- American, in fact it is very pro American... it is exercising rights and privileges afforded to us by the founding of the country. sometimes protected for us by a military, sometimes we have them in-spite of our military might. No offense to the troops but sometime the leaders they have to follow are well simply wrong.

To not exercise those rights would be anti-American.

“And if you don’t love this country, please get on a boat and get the **** OUT.”

This statement is far more Anti-American than any demonstration on the field or elsewhere. I would have more respect for you if you retracted that statement and apologized. ‘nuff said.

“If the Saints sit down during the Anthem, then I quit football.” Your right. I will be sorry to see you go, in-spite of our difference of opinion.

“I am PAYING CUSTOMER. you are a PAYING CUSTOMER. We pay these whiny ass ******* millions of dollars to play a game.”

True, and is any one NOT playing the game? and frankly, it takes a great deal of guts to “stand up” against an overwhelming public opinion. So, I can hardly call that “whiny.” I would call “whiny” saying, “If I don’t get my way I’m just gonna take my tickets and go home.” That (at least from my perspective) is “whiny.”

“ENOUGH! The NFL is not the government. It is a BUSINESS. It has the right to tell its employees how to act. WE pay them. They work for US, if we will just exercise that right.”

No, it does not.

The players have contracts.

It is not in their contract to stand for the national anthem.

You could argue that it should be in there, but it is not, and if you made such an argument you would: one) loose and two) make matters worse. To demand they stand so would be far more UN-American than allowing them to kneel.

I think the classier thing to do would be to not play the Anthem at all (and loose the damn war planes while you’re at it.) Instead, play the state song of the opposing team, so when the Raiders come to town - play “I Love You, California.” Salute the visitor, your guest.

That is what I think, but I don’t feel a need to impose by use of threat or intimidation (ie firing the player who does not stand) to get my way. Those kind of bullying tactics are the very ideas that are being protested.

It is important to remember that when the league started there was no National Anthem and Colin Kaepernick couldn't just not stand for the Anthem - he wouldn’t have been allowed to play because of the color of his skin. But I digress...

“Bring a little AMERICAN FLAG to the game Sunday, and lets all show them who we support. Im tight on time, because i have a business, but please pass this along to all the other boards... I don’t know if this has a chance, but Lets wave our flags in the Stands Sunday, just to show them a little glimpse of who we are....

I cant do anymore than this... The rest is you.”

A terrific idea. Sincerely, if that is your desired expression do so with gusto - wave your Made in China flags all you want..but please don’t tell me to leave the country... the country I live in, was born in and whose flag you are waving. It is my flag too.

"it is from the lost, your culture has always been found." - chandler (9th ward new orleans #2)

spkb25

I'll do it too, they are not exercising their right as an American, let me be the first to explain that to you, Exile. People have been fired from jobs for "so called" freedom of speech. So I guess let me change my original statement, you're absolutely right that he is exercising his right as an American, and you know what the NFL should be exercising their right as an employer and providing consequences for his BS actions. Guess what, it is also our right as fans and the people who,in part, fund the NFL to ask for such actions to be taken. What a little dirtball he is with his 19 million. BTW- where was he when Amy Inita Joyner-Frances was murdered? BTW- make sure you go look up who she is because you have no idea. Where was his protest then? Hypocritical little punk that he is. F-him and every other hypocrite protesting who do nothing about the inner city violence that is destroying black men and women, families, every single day.

The NFL should immediately suspend anyone disrespecting the Flag of this country, and if they won't then it is well within our purview to ask for such actions.

Your team stinks

Rugby Saint II

The owners should hand out flags at the game free of charge. Show America that at least they care about our flag.

Also, if you don't like our flag you shouldn't enjoy our civil liberties.

exiled

“People have been fired from jobs for "so called" freedom of speech.”

True, if you do not have a contract you can be fired for just about anything. You have very few Federally protected rights any more as a non contracted employee. ie Race, Sexual Orientation, gender and disabilities. After that, you can be fired because the Boss does not like the fact your car is blue. You have no recourse.

That is a shame, but true. You are right.
HOWEVER, if you have a contract, and the contract does not state that such an action is part of your job description you are not in-breach of contract. Players do not have to stand but they do have to wear pink on Breast Cancer awareness Week(s.)

The real crime is that the strongest unions are for people that make the most money... Athletes and Pilots.

So, no you are neither the first, nor DID you explain anything.

“...the NFL should be exercising their right as an employer and providing consequences for his BS actions. Guess what, it is also our right as fans and the people who,in part, fund the NFL to ask for such actions to be taken.”

Sure, that is within your right to do... demand that the next round of rookies have in their contract that they MUST salute a flag... However, it is as un-American an idea as I can think of.

Use force and coercion to pledge your loyalty?... Isn’t that forced patriotism? Is that patriotism at all? It is not any form I recognize, nor indorse.

“...where was he when Amy Inita Joyner-Frances was murdered? BTW- make sure you go look up who she is because you have no idea. Where was his protest then? Hypocritical little punk that he is.”


First off, you loose credibility in your argument when you, one: demand forced patriotism; and two: tell me what ideas I have or don’t have. Those are not ideas that I wave a flag for... perhaps you do... it is what makes this country great...

Poor on poor violence is indeed tragic... I believe if he spoke out against poor on poor violence, or school bullies, or any of the other issues attached to the tragedy you site you would reprimand him for that too, and if so ...who is the hypocrite?

“F-him and every other hypocrite protesting who do nothing about the inner city violence that is destroying black men and women, families, every single day.”

He is calling attention to police discrimination... which is a problem in the inner city. It is. Period. I live in Oakland where only 30% of the population is black, however 80% of the deaths by police have been black. and he is calling attention to the issue. That is NOT nothing. So to say F-Him is well... hypocritical.

“The NFL should immediately suspend anyone disrespecting the Flag of this country, and if they won't then it is well within our purview to ask for such actions.”

It is certainly with in your rights to ask - but to live in a land where patriotism is demanded is not American at all.

"it is from the lost, your culture has always been found." - chandler (9th ward new orleans #2)

QBREES9

9/11 is this Sunday. You better stand up. For those who do not remember the the past you are condemed to repeat it.

burningmetal

It's obvious that some people will never get it and will use freedom of speech as an excuse to do just about whatever they want.

The only way to violate a person's right to free speech/protest is by throwing that person in jail. Just because you have an opinion, doesn't mean you are right and that everyone has to agree with it. I understand that goes both ways. These people who are kneeling during the Anthem are getting their chance. But along with that comes the reaction that everyone else has the right to.

We've got people who are making a really phony attempt at "making a statement". None of them have facts to support this social injustice they claim to be standing, or kneeling, against.

If they were out there preaching to communities about respect and perspective, and talking about all of the senseless violence that is going on amongst the people, not just cops on blacks, then that would be a good faith effort.

Instead they are promoting a prejudiced cause that says cops are pigs, blacks are oppressed and have no civil liberties compared to whites, when nothing could be further from the truth. We ALL have those liberties because of all of the blood that has been shed for us.

If you can't see that and don't respect that, then you are, in fact, a whiner. If people want to know what is truly threatening our liberties (and i mean the liberties of all people) then you can turn your attention to Washington. The constitution is being over-written, bit by bit, and will continue until we are under a total dictatorship, unless we can stand up and do something about it.

But instead people are distracted by trumped up media driven narratives, while our elected officials are sneaking behind the lines and using all of the made up outrage as a smoke screen. It's exactly what they want. If we're turning against each other, they can start writing new laws to disarm the public. There have already been anti-gun campaigns going on for a long time.

I'll say what I've been saying for a while. If you want to take action, make sure you have just cause behind it, and make sure that what you do is actually making a difference. Sitting for the Anthem is only a distraction, and it's disrespectful.

To skymike, if I could be at the game I would definitely partake in the flag waving, buddy.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, the NFL would fine and suspend me.

Saintsfan4ever

All these ungrateful doofus sh*tbags that want to bring attention to themselves by disrespecting our county's flag, they're idiots. And if you think this is exercising "free speech" or it's some kind of "protected protest"... well, it's not exactly.

Let me explain in case you were sleeping in your 8th grade Civics class. Freedom of Speech in the US Constitution means you can speak-out and address grievances against your GOVERNMENT in public or private and the GOVERNMENT is forbidden to abridge that right.

I am a business owner. If one of my employees shows up to work and says "Capitalism sucks! We need Socialism!" I can fire that person on the spot (if I wanted to), because their freedom of speech is not protected in the workplace. Their freedom of speech is only protected against the GOVERNMENT taking action against them for their comments. Capiche?

In other words, Freedom of Speech does not guarantee that you're exempt from the consequences of what you say. It only means that the Federal Government can not pass a law or enforce a law to shut-you-up if you speak out against the Government. That is why the Founders included Freedom of Speech in the 1st Amendment. It's not a pass to say whatever you wanta say, whenever you wanta say it, to whomever you wanta say it to.

SkyMike, you rock!

Saint4

Euphoria

I am still puzzled by this... as a Veteran I find it offensive.

Secondly, the sitting / kneeling thing is bring attention to him and not his cause... the whole thing is misguided and no media attention given to the cause and all on the idiots who think they are doing something good.

Part of me says ignore all of them and part of me says boo our asses off at them.

44Champs

American or Anti-American, this whole thing is doing nothing positive for the game. Goodell and the owners should grow a pair of balls and tell their players that if they want to make a protest, DO IT ON THEIR OWN TIME! These players are employees, and whether they're wrong or right, what they're really doing is distracting from what the NFL is all about - Football. This is an opportunity for Goodell to step up and for once do something that's good for the game - quit the distractions. But he's too stupid and too much of a
pu$$y to figure that out.

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