Trump’s Attack On Black Athletes May Bring a League to Its Feet

[SaltyTiger 7,864]

49 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Expound.  Come between you and God in what way?  To what extent?

Titan it is pretty to simple me. Idolizing anything chains a person and hurts others around the individual. Could be anything, spouse, child, alcohol, drugs, sex, sports heroes.... expound on where you are headed with idolatry comment 

[japantiger 4,051]

I am absolutely loving all this...America at it's best.  Overpaid children with the greatest gig on the planet feel oppressed and try to kill the goose that laid the golden egg in the name of free speech.  Naturally, their fan base reacts and said children's product starts taking a hit and athletes start losing endorsements....this is how the system is supposed to work...Free speech at it's best...complete with the consequences of adult actions....why is it that liberals only understand the speech part of that equation and not the consequences part?

It got pretty heavy on here pretty quick...idolatry; really?  this seems a lot simpler than that....football is entertainment... an escape for the fanbase...don't **** up their escape with your childish political horse***t....do that on your own time...not on the time that they pay for...simple....hard to understand where idolatry fits in... 

But, just in case, why is it only idolatry for those that "idolize" the flag and what it symbolizes; but it's not idolatry for the left that "idolize" the gods of racism or pick-a-phobia in every action of those that disagree with them...this is all pretty tiresome...

I love free speech....I love that we are a free society where you get to live with the consequences of your free exercise of those freedoms....another good reason to spend Sunday at church, family dinner, running the dogs and ......well, anything but pro football....

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

8 hours ago, aujeff11 said:

The black man made his point. How much longer is he going to have to make his point? What’s the end game? 

I await the lefts answer.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

1 hour ago, japantiger said:

I am absolutely loving all this...America at it's best.  Overpaid children with the greatest gig on the planet feel oppressed and try to kill the goose that laid the golden egg in the name of free speech.  Naturally, their fan base reacts and said children's product starts taking a hit and athletes start losing endorsements....this is how the system is supposed to work...Free speech at it's best...complete with the consequences of adult actions....why is it that liberals only understand the speech part of that equation and not the consequences part?

It got pretty heavy on here pretty quick...idolatry; really?  this seems a lot simpler than that....football is entertainment... an escape for the fanbase...don't **** up their escape with your childish political horse***t....do that on your own time...not on the time that they pay for...simple....hard to understand where idolatry fits in... 

But, just in case, why is it only idolatry for those that "idolize" the flag and what it symbolizes; but it's not idolatry for the left that "idolize" the gods of racism or pick-a-phobia in every action of those that disagree with them...this is all pretty tiresome...

I love free speech....I love that we are a free society where you get to live with the consequences of your free exercise of those freedoms....another good reason to spend Sunday at church, family dinner, running the dogs and ......well, anything but pro football....

great post.

[homersapien 11,453]

On 9/25/2017 at 9:53 PM, japantiger said:

I am absolutely loving all this...America at it's best.  Overpaid children with the greatest gig on the planet feel oppressed and try to kill the goose that laid the golden egg in the name of free speech.  Naturally, their fan base reacts and said children's product starts taking a hit and athletes start losing endorsements....this is how the system is supposed to work...Free speech at it's best...complete with the consequences of adult actions....why is it that liberals only understand the speech part of that equation and not the consequences part?

It got pretty heavy on here pretty quick...idolatry; really?  this seems a lot simpler than that....football is entertainment... an escape for the fanbase...don't **** up their escape with your childish political horse***t....do that on your own time...not on the time that they pay for...simple....hard to understand where idolatry fits in... 

But, just in case, why is it only idolatry for those that "idolize" the flag and what it symbolizes; but it's not idolatry for the left that "idolize" the gods of racism or pick-a-phobia in every action of those that disagree with them...this is all pretty tiresome...

I love free speech....I love that we are a free society where you get to live with the consequences of your free exercise of those freedoms....another good reason to spend Sunday at church, family dinner, running the dogs and ......well, anything but pro football....

That's pretty good.  I'd give it a 7.9 on the outrage scale - only a little south of foaming-at-the-mouth.

As far as content, players are engaged in a dangerous and highly competitive profession.  They earn their money. They aren't just fortunate, they are talented and committed. It's a highly competitive profession  Ain't capitalism great!   

More importantly, it might be just remotely possible there are some reasoned, well-intentioned, players who are concerned about racism in this country and feel like they should do something to bring attention to it, given the means and opportunity, which they have.  Apparently the NFL recognizes their American right to do so and at least respects their message.

But carry on......  

 

P.S.: 

The idolatry discussion related to the discussion of the flag.  It had to do with equating a symbol of our country with a sanctified object (in itself).  Obviously, there is a mixed opinion. 

 

[homersapien 11,453]

14 minutes ago, Proud Tiger said:

I await the lefts answer.

[homersapien 11,453]

1 hour ago, Proud Tiger said:

great post.

Please.  Just give him a "like" - or even a little trophy.  Or at least take it to PM.      

You're wasting what might otherwise be useful space.

 

[homersapien 11,453]

Trump the uniter!

 

Trump's NFL attacks set record on Breitbart

After breaking with him on other issues, Trump's alt-right media supporters rally around his criticism of football protests.

By JASON SCHWARTZ 09/25/2017 01:53 PM EDT

President Donald Trump’s repeated broadsides against professional athletes dominated the news over the weekend, with pundits from ESPN to CNN to Fox News questioning the wisdom of his statements. But the story was sharply different on leading right-wing news sites, where Trump’s attacks on players like Stephen Curry and Colin Kaepernick received not just huge attention but acclaim.

Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alexander Marlow said metrics indicated that a Sunday morning post on the topic by the site’s Facebook account had greater reach than any post in Breitbart history.

“There is an unbelievable amount of interest,” Marlow said on Sunday night. “I’m looking at my 10 or 11 top stories now, and maybe 7 of them are NFL related.”

“This is the radicalization of the NFL right now,” he said. “It's being encouraged by the media, it's being encouraged by Hollywood and I don’t think that people, at least if the comments and the phone calls to Breitbart are any reflection, I don’t think they like it. They just want neutrality, they don’t want politics in football games.”

With the president facing potential setbacks on a number of fronts, his seemingly out of the blue call for protesting athletes to lose their jobs represents the type of cultural issue capable of rallying his conservative base. Breitbart has opposed the president with greater frequency of late—particularly in Alabama’s senate special election—so the NFL issue provided an opportunity for Trump to remind supporters of why they like him.

The Alabama election may have received the top headline spot on Breitbart for much of Sunday, but as games rolled on throughout the day, from the Ravens and Jaguars’ morning kickoff in London through the Washington-Oakland tilt in primetime, Breitbart’s homepage was loaded with NFL stories. One typical headline read: “NFL snowflakes melt: coaches and owners join massive anti-Trump protest—in U.K.”

The story had nearly 33,000 comments as of early Monday afternoon, tens of thousands more than any other non-sports related story currently on the site’s homepage.

“A lot of people know Andrew Breitbart for his quote, politics is downstream from culture, so the cultural issues that fold in the politics tend to be utterly explosive in terms of the interest level from our readers,” Marlow said.

That level of interest appeared to be consistent across other right-leaning sites. The issue received top billing on Drudge Report, Infowars and The Daily Caller, where the lead story most of the day focused on Alejandro Villanueva, a former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan and was the only Pittsburgh Steeler to emerge from the locker room for the national anthem.

Five of The Daily Caller’s top 10 stories were NFL related, according to Geoffrey Ingersoll, the site’s editor-in-chief. He believed the NFL story attracted readers simply because of its news value, but also because, “I think we've seen a steady encroachment of politics into once pristine places. This creep has been occurring in sports for a long time, and it seems to be hitting a crescendo of sorts.”

Villanueva’s story—with its military connections—was featured prominently on other sites, like The Gateway Pundit, as well. The site also ran headlines, including: “UNREAL. NFL Players stand for “God save the Queen” and kneel for US National Anthem in London” and “President Trump continues to slam anti-cop NFL for allowing players to disrespect flag and country.”

“Our readers are very upset about these continued anthem protests,” emailed Jim Hoft, the founder of The Gateway Pundit. “It is all people talked about.”

Marlow said that whenever Breitbart covers the protests by NFL players on its website or Sirius radio shows, no topic elicits more comments or call-ins. Social media engagement over the weekend was also through the roof.

The text of the Breitbart Facebook post that went viral reads: “Dear NFL: We will not support millionaire ingrates who hate America and disrespect our Armed Forces and Veterans. Who wins a football game has ZERO impact on our lives. Who fights for and defends our nation has EVERY impact on our lives. We stand with the Heroes, not a bunch of rich, entitled, arrogant, ungrateful, anti-American degenerates. Signed, We the People.”

As of Monday afternoon, the post had racked up more than half a million shares, more than 260,000 reactions, and 21,000 comments.

Marlow believes that his audience’s strong reaction is driven by a desire to see sports and politics clearly separated from each other. “So much of America is politicized,” he said, “why sports too? And that's the question that the audience is asking most right now.”

Much of the NFL world, however, saw Trump as furthering political divisiveness in sports, as his attacks on Kaepernick and a few other noteworthy protesters provoked hundreds more players to join in kneeling for the National Anthem.

Jeffrey Sammons, a New York University history professor who has studied sports and race, said that he thinks there are many other factors at work here. “It’s not about removing politics from football,” he said, pointing out that Trump has focused his criticism largely on black athletes. Sammons called the Breitbart post “a euphemistic presentation of racist sentiment.”

“What they’re talking about is the uppity black or uppity Negro who doesn’t know their place,” Sammons said. “I just think that there is resentment about black athletes -- successful black athletes, wealthy black athletes, or at least high earning black athletes and that somehow they need to know how lucky they are.”

“Race and politics have played a role in sports throughout,” he said. “We can’t separate them.”

Marlow denied that there was racial motivation behind the post. “Sports is supposed to be about athletic excellence and is essentially color-blind,” he emailed Monday. “The race-obsessed left has declared the normative belief that the most privileged group of people in our society (professional athletes) should stand for our national anthem racist. It's absurd and there is no way they are going to convince the public.”

Regardless of who is convinced of what, Trump’s comments only served to further divide the nation, according to former White House advisor and current Fox News contributor Karl Rove. He said on the program Fox News Sunday that Trump is “walking away from this a loser.” He elaborated to POLITICO that, if the president was going to address the issue at all, he should have focused on the positive aspects of why Americans salute the flag and anthem, not condemned athletes.

“The base is happy because this is one where the president is on their side,” Rove said. But that, he said, has limitations. “You can’t win an election and you can’t govern a country, more importantly, by appealing to the base only.”

“There’s a reason why the president has lower approval ratings than any president at this time following their inauguration. Because he has missed the opportunities to unite the country,” Rove said.

With 14 more weeks of NFL regular season games slated, and NBA training camps currently opening up for the new season, this is an issue unlikely to go away soon. Marlow said that, as long as athletes protesting continues to be news, Breitbart will stay focused on it.

“I see the intensity maintaining on this thing,” Marlow said. “I always gravitate to news stories that provide clarity for where we are in society right now, and I think this story provided a lot of clarity.”

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/25/trump-nfl-feud-breitbart-243107

 

(Well, at least he's uniting the deplorables.)

[TitanTiger 20,511]

6 hours ago, homersapien said:

Trump the uniter!

 

Trump's NFL attacks set record on Breitbart

 

At first glance I read this as "Trump's NFL attacks set record on Butthurt," which oddly seems more accurate.

[ArgoEagle 1,800]

16 hours ago, homersapien said:

Got a draft of that major league law making disrespecting the flag a crime yet?

Yes, Argo Law, Section 1, Article 1, Rule 1: Anyone caught showing sedition (conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a State or Monarch) shall be found treasonous towards the United States of America.

[SaltyTiger 7,864]

9 hours ago, Proud Tiger said:

I await the lefts answer.

PT, I think Homer tried to answer that earlier... something like nobody knows plus cats and dogs living in perfect harmony.

BTW, anyone actually play football in the NFL this past weekend? Have not heard a thing about an actual game.

[aujeff11 6,243]

56 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

PT, I think Homer tried to answer that earlier... something like nobody knows plus cats and dogs living in perfect harmony.

BTW, anyone actually play football in the NFL this past weekend? Have not heard a thing about an actual game.

I got you covered in my All things NFL thread. Bring your football knowledge and trash talk with you.

[SaltyTiger 7,864]

23 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

I got you covered in my All things NFL thread. Bring your football knowledge and trash talk with you.

Quit doing the NFL years ago. Can not remember when I have watched a game. Will watch Cam for a few minutes if he happens to be on.  

[homersapien 11,453]

2 hours ago, ArgoEagle said:

Yes, Argo Law, Section 1, Article 1, Rule 1: Anyone caught showing sedition (conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a State or Monarch) shall be found treasonous towards the United States of America.

If fascism ever takes over America,  it will come carrying a bible and wrapped in the American flag.

[SaltyTiger 7,864]

21 minutes ago, homersapien said:

If fascism ever takes over America,  it will come carrying a bible and wrapped in the American flag.

Here is an opinion article for your enjoyment Homer

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-is-how-fascism-comes-to-america/2016/05/17/c4e32c58-1c47-11e6-8c7b-6931e66333e7_story.htm

[ArgoEagle 1,800]

15 minutes ago, homersapien said:

If fascism ever takes over America,  it will come carrying a bible and wrapped in the American flag.

It's not about who our elected leader is. I absolutely despised Obama's leadership for 8 years, but I tolerated it without destroying property, making a public spectacle of myself, or disrespecting the USA in any form or fashion. The NFL protestors can label taking a knee during the anthem whatever they want to, but the fact is that the vast majority of Americans (including the people who pay for the tickets, spend their money on concessions during the games, and buy their respective team's merchandise) consider this to be disrespecting our country's symbol of unity and nationality by kneeling. Did you hear the Arizona fans boo every single Dallas team member for all kneeling together last night? When you piss off the people who spend the $$ who pay the players' salaries to the point that they don't come to the games and spend those $$ anymore, you better rethink your actions or you don't have a league anymore and you also don't have a paycheck for playing football. They have made their statements plenty of times up to now; it's time to move their grievances to a different platform than during the playing of our anthem and saluting of our flag.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

33 minutes ago, ArgoEagle said:

It's not about who our elected leader is. I absolutely despised Obama's leadership for 8 years, but I tolerated it without destroying property, making a public spectacle of myself, or disrespecting the USA in any form or fashion. The NFL protestors can label taking a knee during the anthem whatever they want to, but the fact is that the vast majority of Americans (including the people who pay for the tickets, spend their money on concessions during the games, and buy their respective team's merchandise) consider this to be disrespecting our country's symbol of unity and nationality by kneeling. Did you hear the Arizona fans boo every single Dallas team member for all kneeling together last night? When you piss off the people who spend the $$ who pay the players' salaries to the point that they don't come to the games and spend those $$ anymore, you better rethink your actions or you don't have a league anymore and you also don't have a paycheck for playing football. They have made their statements plenty of times up to now; it's time to move their grievances to a different platform than during the playing of our anthem and saluting of our flag.

^^^^^like

[SaltyTiger 7,864]

37 minutes ago, ArgoEagle said:

It's not about who our elected leader is. I absolutely despised Obama's leadership for 8 years, but I tolerated it without destroying property, making a public spectacle of myself, or disrespecting the USA in any form or fashion. The NFL protestors can label taking a knee during the anthem whatever they want to, but the fact is that the vast majority of Americans (including the people who pay for the tickets, spend their money on concessions during the games, and buy their respective team's merchandise) consider this to be disrespecting our country's symbol of unity and nationality by kneeling. Did you hear the Arizona fans boo every single Dallas team member for all kneeling together last night? When you piss off the people who spend the $$ who pay the players' salaries to the point that they don't come to the games and spend those $$ anymore, you better rethink your actions or you don't have a league anymore and you also don't have a paycheck for playing football. They have made their statements plenty of times up to now; it's time to move their grievances to a different platform than during the playing of our anthem and saluting of our flag.

Good stuff Argo....sure Homer is scrambling for poll showing that most people approve of the kneeling. 

[SaturdayGT 719]

  The kneeling obviously upsets a large number of people. To me, it doesn't help their protest and it only adds to the divide. I will not watch the NFL until its ends this divisive crap.    Ill also call out Trump in this. He is adding to the divide as well with the comments this past weekend.   Nobody seems to be  right when fighting  over this debacle matter. 

[homersapien 11,453]

49 minutes ago, ArgoEagle said:

It's not about who our elected leader is. I absolutely despised Obama's leadership for 8 years, but I tolerated it without destroying property, making a public spectacle of myself, or disrespecting the USA in any form or fashion. The NFL protestors can label taking a knee during the anthem whatever they want to, but the fact is that the vast majority of Americans (including the people who pay for the tickets, spend their money on concessions during the games, and buy their respective team's merchandise) consider this to be disrespecting our country's symbol of unity and nationality by kneeling. Did you hear the Arizona fans boo every single Dallas team member for all kneeling together last night? When you piss off the people who spend the $$ who pay the players' salaries to the point that they don't come to the games and spend those $$ anymore, you better rethink your actions or you don't have a league anymore and you also don't have a paycheck for playing football. They have made their statements plenty of times up to now; it's time to move their grievances to a different platform than during the playing of our anthem and saluting of our flag.

If you seriously think this is going to bring down the NFL you are delusional.  And lots of people simply don't share your view that such protests are disrespecting the flag or the country. 

Unlike you, they "get' it.

Including this guy:

“What people don’t understand is ... we’re not talking about the same thing,” the 29-year-old athlete told reporters. “People who are taking the knee, they’re not saying anything negative about the military … [or] about the flag. They’re just trying to protest the fact that there are some injustices in America.” 

- Alejandro Villanueva

[homersapien 11,453]

14 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Good stuff Argo....sure Homer is scrambling for poll showing that most people approve of the kneeling. 

Stop sniping and address me directly.  You look like a weasel.

[SaltyTiger 7,864]

1 minute ago, homersapien said:

Stop sniping and address me directly.  You look like a weasel.

I was talking to Brother Argo. Having a good morning and don't want to talk to you Homer. Maybe this afternoon.

[ArgoEagle 1,800]

1 minute ago, homersapien said:

If you seriously think this is going to bring down the NFL you are delusional.  And lots of people simply don't share your view that such protests are disrespecting the flag or the country. 

Unlike you, they "get' it.

Including this guy:

“What people don’t understand is ... we’re not talking about the same thing,” the 29-year-old athlete told reporters. “People who are taking the knee, they’re not saying anything negative about the military … [or] about the flag. They’re just trying to protest the fact that there are some injustices in America.” 

- Alejandro Villanueva

Everybody and their momma knows there are injustices in America! The point has been made by these players several times over. It's like if you had a red car and you pointed out to me every time I saw you that your car was red, I would soon get very tired of you telling me this and say o.k. Homer, I accept the fact that your car is red; there is no need to point it out to me anymore. That's what the fans are telling these players about their protesting every time the anthem is played. We have noted your protest, you have made your point, and now you are annoying me b/c I just want to salute my country and watch football without the protests.

[homersapien 11,453]

6 minutes ago, ArgoEagle said:

Everybody and their momma knows there are injustices in America! The point has been made by these players several times over. It's like if you had a red car and you pointed out to me every time I saw you that your car was red, I would soon get very tired of you telling me this and say o.k. Homer, I accept the fact that your car is red; there is no need to point it out to me anymore. That's what the fans are telling these players about their protesting every time the anthem is played. We have noted your protest, you have made your point, and now you are annoying me b/c I just want to salute my country and watch football without the protests.

So, I've made my point, but you get to keep making yours.  

If you are annoyed, please leave. 

We won't miss you.  Neither will the NFL.

 

[ArgoEagle 1,800]

5 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

I was talking to Brother Argo. Having a good morning and don't want to talk to you Homer. Maybe this afternoon.

Brother Salty, keep your morning going good. You, me and about 200 others don't feel like talking to Homer. I'm pretty sure that Homer and Kaepernick are riding down the road  as we speak and looking for CK a new job and also looking for Homer something just to do period.