NFL Policy on Anthem - What Do You Say? (1 Viewer)

[Grahamburn]

If the NFL actually showed the Anthem on TV instead of commercials I might agree with them. 

 

[parasaurolophus]

That's fantastic. I stand when I'm in my seat at a stadium, too.

But that's not what's wrong with this decision.

As mentioned above, it wasn't collectively bargained. I'm not pro-union (in general, I think they suck), but the NFL players ARE and are in a contract with the owners. The NFL completely disregarded that with this "compromise".

Also as mentioned above, I've never NOT seen a long line at - or the destination closed at - a concession stand during the anthem. 

Not everything needs to be collectively bargained. Most union contracts have a management rights clause or something similar. Businesses change. When you bargain a contract you dont plan for every little thing that could ever happen. Typically as long as it doesnt violate something that is prohibited mgmt can force workers to do things that havent been bargained. 

Can you imagine if every time a union shop got a new customer if they had to go back to the bargaining table because the drivers said they never had to deliver there before. It wouldhave to be an unsafe location. Or what if grocery clerks were like nope, not scanning that papaya, we have never carried papaya before. I am not saying these are identical i am simply pointing out that the NFL may very well be working 100% within the contract.

 

[HellToupee]

I was taught to stand and take off my hat. In the military I was taught to stand at attention.

Just respectful. We're all Americans, once in awhile it's good to show that respect. 

Using the national anthem to start a political protest to me is disrespectful. Just my opinion as a veteran and someone that feels patriotic.

I agree with this but I dont think Goodell made a smart decision. You can’t legislate class, someone wants to be classless, let them show who they are

 

[RokNRole]

Update the anthem with trap beat

 

[Arodin]

I don't have strong views one way or the other on the anthem protests.  But it isn't every day one gets to see raw polling data from three forums at once on the same issue.  The results tend to support the alleged "liberal lean" of our politcial subforum, as those voters skew much more toward hating the new policy while the shark pool skews more strongly toward liking it.

I won't post the full breakdown, but here's a snapshot:

% of Hate votes/Forum

26% Shark Pool

32% FFA

48% Political SF

Make of it what you will.  

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Update the anthem with trap beat

Even if you love America, you have to admit that the National Anthem does not slap.

 

[TripItUp]

I agree with Kerr to some extent, but what Kerr is missing is that the NFL is a business and as such is merely protecting its financial interests.  

It's common knowledge that NFL viewership is on the decline, the anthem situation last year certainly did not help that.

 

[sublimeone]

Seems like a pretty good compromise to me. I think everyone is aware of the protest at this point and a 3rd year of this was not going to be good for the league. This is a business after all and the players are employees. The league could have taken much more drastic measures. Allowing those who don't wish to participate to stay off the field is seems like reasonable middle ground. 

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Update the anthem with trap beat

Finally someone bringing a good idea to the table.

Even if you love America, you have to admit that the National Anthem does not slap.

I thought after that time Marvin Gaye brought the house down at the NBA All-Star Game we might get more Anthem remixes.  No such luck.

 

[TripItUp]

I thought after that time Marvin Gaye brought the house down at the NBA All-Star Game we might get more Anthem remixes.  No such luck.

GOAT

 

[tommyboy]

I agree with this but I dont think Goodell made a smart decision. You can’t legislate class, someone wants to be classless, let them show who they are

Im not above realizing the NFL owners and goodell are reactionary morons. They've lost views and seats and taken a hit, probably been criticized behind the scenes from the armed forces who pay for marketing. 

 

[Good Posting Judge]

I was taught to stand and take off my hat. In the military I was taught to stand at attention.

Just respectful. We're all Americans, once in awhile it's good to show that respect. 

Using the national anthem to start a political protest to me is disrespectful. Just my opinion as a veteran and someone that feels patriotic.

Do you think that the black people that the cops are murdering in disproportionate numbers are Americans as well?

 

[Cowboysfan8]

Man, I'm tired of hearing about this.  The regular season is going to be brutal.

Meh, I'll do my usual big breakfast then grocery run then tune into RZ at 1 pm.

Won't impact me at all

 

[Cowboysfan8]

Do you think that the black people that the cops are murdering in disproportionate numbers are Americans as well?

Do you think football players kneeling during the national anthem saved any lives? 

 

[facook]

Meh, I'll do my usual big breakfast then grocery run then tune into RZ at 1 pm 11:30 which is the minute I walk back in the door from church.

Won't impact me at all

Fixed, in agreement with you.  

 

[Cowboysfan8]

Fixed, in agreement with you.  

Hoping against hope that I can somehow place a legal bet or two by the time the season starts too so I can handicap the games during breakfast  

 

[brun]

...it wouldn't bother me if the NFL required everyone on the field who represents the brand to stand respectfully and DQ anyone that doesn't.

Why only "everyone on the field" and not the other 75,000 people in the stadium (including the owner and every team employee)?

The other 75k people don't represent the league and team. I would include the other employees if they're meant to be on display. 

 

[pollardsvision]

What does the NBA do to allow its players to protest?  Why don't the NBA players protest during the anthem like NFL players.  I've read in several places that the NBA has this issue handled the correct way, but I don't know what the NBA does.

I believe this NFL/NBA comparison on this matter comes down to money and power. NBA rules on the anthem are far more restrictive and they don't catch any flack. While I agree with Kerr's sentiments, he misses the point. The NBA may be more progressive, but it's rule aren't. But it doesn't matter. NBA players make a lot more money and have some power. So, what do they care that that they have to stand for the anthem. Small price to pay for a pretty sweet gig. Heck, make them wear suits to keep the rich, white fans happy after the Malace in the Palace, so be it. It's a good job, and not worth rocking the boat. 

 For the NFL, OTOH, the players have short careers, relatively low salaries, and no power. This is the price NFL owners have to pay to keep these players under their collective thumbs.

Otherwise, I have no opinion on the NFL/Anthem issue. I understand what Kaepernick is protesting and what Kerr is saying. But it's a league that benefits from powerless minority players and a right-leaning fan base that loves Trump. Rock and a hard place here. Goodell sucks, but they are gonna get egg on their face no matter what they do. They'll just have to let billions in the bank console them at night.

 

[brun]

to that point specifically: aside from playoff games or the SB, do the networks actually show the National Anthem in their coverage? on Sundays it's RZ for me, and their coverage goes straight from the studio to the Octo-Box and kickoff.

i'm trying to recall if it is shown on TNF, MNF, SNF....i somehow don't think it ts. could be wrong though. 

Now that you mention it. I watch RZ and tune in for the KO. I don't actually know if they show the anthem either. I just made an assumption. 

I do watch the anthem for the Bruins playoff games. Rene Rancourt is so bad, he's awesome. 

 

[IMAX 3D]

Why play the anthem before a sporting event anyway?  It is a football, basketball or baseball game..that's all.   Just a game..

Yeah they should just scrap it

whats next, I gotta watch the anthem before I can watch Netflix?

 

[trident]

I believe this NFL/NBA comparison on this matter comes down to money and power. NBA rules on the anthem are far more restrictive and they don't catch any flack. While I agree with Kerr's sentiments, he misses the point. The NBA may be more progressive, but it's rule aren't. But it doesn't matter. NBA players make a lot more money and have some power. So, what do they care that that they have to stand for the anthem. Small price to pay for a pretty sweet gig. Heck, make them wear suits to keep the rich, white fans happy after the Malace in the Palace, so be it. It's a good job, and not worth rocking the boat. 

 For the NFL, OTOH, the players have short careers, relatively low salaries, and no power. This is the price NFL owners have to pay to keep these players under their collective thumbs.

Otherwise, I have no opinion on the NFL/Anthem issue. I understand what Kaepernick is protesting and what Kerr is saying. But it's a league that benefits from powerless minority players and a right-leaning fan base that loves Trump. Rock and a hard place here. Goodell sucks, but they are gonna get egg on their face no matter what they do. They'll just have to let billions in the bank console them at night.

This thread now needs to be moved to the political forum.

 

[Ghost Rider]

On the one hand, I think an employer should have the right to tell their employees not to do something on the clock that is bad for business, but on the other hand, instituting this rule is only going to resurrect the story, which seemed to be dying down quite a bit. Granted, it is the offseason, but the chatter of it had really died off, and this is basically giving an adrenaline shot to it. Awful timing and pretty needless. 

Personally, stand for the anthem, don't stand for it. I don't care either way. I don't think it's disrespectful to not, which somehow became the story, even long before the president shot his mouth off about it.  

All of that said, if teams do not want to sign a player who became part of the story, or who started it, that is their right and I am okay with that.  

 

[Mister CIA]

Imagine NFL players remaining in the tunnels munching on hot dogs during the anthem, while NFL owners simultaneously sell munchies to NFL fans; imagine NFL players signing endorsement deals with said hot dog vendors.

 

[BustedKnuckles]

nobody is stopping anyone from doing what they want ...on their OWN time ...its football ...just play the game ...protest before and after the game when you're off the clock ...why is this so hard to understand?

 

[facook]

Hoping against hope that I can somehow place a legal bet or two by the time the season starts too so I can handicap the games during breakfast  

You haven't lived until you place a last second bet at 1:00 EST/10:00 PST while the pastor is preaching, based on a tweet you happened to catch about a guy being hurt in pregame warmups, while you were supposed to be following along on your phone Bible.  :adrenaline: 

 

[Cowboysfan8]

nobody is stopping anyone from doing what they want ...on their OWN time ...its football ...just play the game ...protest before and after the game when you're off the clock ...why is this so hard to understand?

I agree .

And I really don't know why anyone would not agree

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Meh, I'll do my usual big breakfast then grocery run then tune into RZ at 1 pm.

Won't impact me at all

I used to think like this as well, but then I realized, even though I’m not there at Lambeau, or home watching television, the anthem is still being played. It’s disrespectful to just go about your business, hat on, hand nowhere near your heart, when you know full well that anthem is playing loud and proud in that stadium. That’s why I always pause for 3.5 minutes at about 5 minutes before kickoff, wherever I am, to honor my country. I even do it on Packer bye weeks, because I know it’s being played somewhere and I love my country. 

 

[Tom Hagen]

nobody is stopping anyone from doing what they want ...on their OWN time ...its football ...just play the game ...protest before and after the game when you're off the clock ...why is this so hard to understand?

Isn't the anthem normally played before the game starts not during the game?

 

[Juxtatarot]

nobody is stopping anyone from doing what they want ...on their OWN time ...its football ...just play the game ...protest before and after the game when you're off the clock ...why is this so hard to understand?

Everyone should be able to understand both sides.

 

[Franknbeans]

Considering the NFL has been taking money from the DOD to essentially profit off of our military, they made this bed and now they'll have to lie in it.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Do you think football players kneeling during the national anthem saved any lives? 

Indirectly? Sure.

Our country's racism and mistreatment of black people goes back to the beginning. Slavery was legal, and under-pinned a large part of this nation's economy, for its first century of its existence. What doesn't get talked about much, is that after 1865, things weren't exactly hunky dory if you were black in America, and even if you don't can't arrive at the same ultimate conclusion, Coates' "The Case for Reparations" in The Atlantic describes, in harrowing detail, the systemic mistreatment of black people in America post-slavery. Those 100 years between the Civil War and MLK don't get talked about much, and I only mention said mistreatment to make this point: the struggle for equality has been an unbroken through-line throughout our country's history. And the heart of what Kaepernick et. al. are protesting is the same thing that MLK worked for: treat us  the same. No more, no less. A white kid's life is worth just as much as a black kid's life, or your favorite team's white left tackle's life is worth just as much as their black right tackle, and our institutions should treat them as such. 

So, in that i consider nfl player protests to be part of the same civil rights movement that has struggled to get black people to equal footing as white people, and because I  think the civil rights has made some strides, and things are better than they were 20, 30, 50, 100 years ago (with some ways to go, obviously), yes, i think the protests do save lives. Obviously that's not easy to quantify, but  I think it matters.

On an entirely different topic, I'm a big adherent of betting early, not late. It's a lot easier to get value before the smart guys weigh in. So I wouldn't necessarily cap during Sunday breakfast, do it Sunday evening, the week before. Feel free to bump my "Ask a guy who gambles on stuff about gambling stuff" thread if you wish.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Yeah they should just scrap it

whats next, I gotta watch the anthem before I can watch Netflix?

I listen to God Bless America before I talk to with Frosty's mom.

 

[Mr.Pack]

People are pursuing a beer in the concession line - not an agenda.

That comparison holds zero water.

Exactly, not to mention fans are paying to see the players at work, fans aren't paying to see other fans do whatever it is they are doing.

 

[Mr.Pack]

I like Steve and don't disagree with his sentiments on the basis of the protests, but what business DOESN'T pander to it's customer (or "fan") base?? His league surely does too. 

Indeed it does.....

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sent a memo to all 30 teams reminding players of the league’s rule about standing respectfully for the anthem, and saying “the league office will determine how to deal with any possible instance in which a player, coach or trainer does not stand.”

 

[Capella]

The only thing I think about it is how angry it makes white people that powerful black people have a voice. 

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Indirectly? Sure.

Our country's racism and mistreatment of black people goes back to the beginning. Slavery was legal, and under-pinned a large part of this nation's economy, for its first century of its existence. What doesn't get talked about much, is that after 1865, things weren't exactly hunky dory if you were black in America, and even if you don't can't arrive at the same ultimate conclusion, Coates' "The Case for Reparations" in The Atlantic describes, in harrowing detail, the systemic mistreatment of black people in America post-slavery. Those 100 years between the Civil War and MLK don't get talked about much, and I only mention said mistreatment to make this point: the struggle for equality has been an unbroken through-line throughout our country's history. And the heart of what Kaepernick et. al. are protesting is the same thing that MLK worked for: treat us  the same. No more, no less. A white kid's life is worth just as much as a black kid's life, or your favorite team's white left tackle's life is worth just as much as their black right tackle, and our institutions should treat them as such. 

So, in that i consider nfl player protests to be part of the same civil rights movement that has struggled to get black people to equal footing as white people, and because I  think the civil rights has made some strides, and things are better than they were 20, 30, 50, 100 years ago (with some ways to go, obviously), yes, i think the protests do save lives. Obviously that's not easy to quantify, but  I think it matters.

On an entirely different topic, I'm a big adherent of betting early, not late. It's a lot easier to get value before the smart guys weigh in. So I wouldn't necessarily cap during Sunday breakfast, do it Sunday evening, the week before. Feel free to bump my "Ask a guy who gambles on stuff about gambling stuff" thread if you wish.

 

 

[Capella]

Even if you love America, you have to admit that the National Anthem does not slap.

Almost every European anthem slaps way harder. 

 

[Bruce Dickinson]

Considering the NFL has been taking money from the DOD to essentially profit off of our military, they made this bed and now they'll have to lie in it.

The teams weren't even on the field for the anthem until the DOD started paying the NFL to put more jingoism into gameday.

 

[James Daulton]

It's such blatant pandering to a certain segment of society that it's sad.  The issues behind why the players are kneeling have gotten completely lost in the fake-patriotism thrust on us by the commander in chief who deliberately avoided serving his country.

The hypocrisy is off the chart and if I have to live in a country where one very flawed man's need to deflect from his own shortcomings by engaging his base in some fake hysteria over patriotism, well, I'll be happy when that sad period of the country is over.

Freedom of speech is the very first of the ideas expressed by our forefathers.  What did the kneeling players hurt?  Nothing.

SAD

 

[bleachercreacher]

It's such blatant pandering to a certain segment of society that it's sad.  The issues behind why the players are kneeling have gotten completely lost in the fake-patriotism thrust on us by the commander in chief who deliberately avoided serving his country.

The hypocrisy is off the chart and if I have to live in a country where one very flawed man's need to deflect from his own shortcomings by engaging his base in some fake hysteria over patriotism, well, I'll be happy when that sad period of the country is over.

Freedom of speech is the very first of the ideas expressed by our forefathers.  What did the kneeling players hurt?  Nothing.

SAD

They hurt the NFLs bottom line, which is all NFL owners care about.

 

[BustedKnuckles]

The only thing I think about it is how angry it makes white people that powerful black people have a voice. 

oh you mean the same black players that those white people cheer on every week in admiration ?

 

[parasaurolophus]

It's such blatant pandering to a certain segment of society that it's sad.  The issues behind why the players are kneeling have gotten completely lost in the fake-patriotism thrust on us by the commander in chief who deliberately avoided serving his country.

The hypocrisy is off the chart and if I have to live in a country where one very flawed man's need to deflect from his own shortcomings by engaging his base in some fake hysteria over patriotism, well, I'll be happy when that sad period of the country is over.

Freedom of speech is the very first of the ideas expressed by our forefathers.  What did the kneeling players hurt?  Nothing.

SAD

Seems perhaps they picked a bad way to highlight them or at least a really bad job explaining themselves. 

 

[-OZ-]

I'll post the same thing here as I did in the shark pool.

Voted don't like it, because I think it's a stupid policy to appease the masses of ignorant fans who think protesting makes one unpatriotic. Really, protesting is very much a part of patriotism. Our country was founded on certain principles which include the right to protest, and imo the duty to do what is right. 

I don't think kneeling accomplished much, other than possibly opening dialogue, but it got blown out of proportion. 

At the same time, businesses also have the right to set their policies, which the NFL did, unanimously apparently. So while I'd prefer each team to set their own policy, I guess that wouldn't have mattered?

 

[-OZ-]

The only thing I think about it is how angry it makes white people that powerful black people have a voice. 

Some, sure. Most? I like to think not. 

 

[cheese]

Why play the anthem before a sporting event anyway?  It is a football, basketball or baseball game..that's all.   Just a game..

Totally with you. It has always felt random and out of place to me. If it’s the olympics or the World Cup, it’s cool. What it has to do with Colts vs Raiders on a Sunday afternoon, I’m not sure. 

 

[-OZ-]

File among "great ideas which will never happen": stop playing the national anthem before all sporting events.

It's even played before local races. 

Too many people confuse patriotism with nationalism.

Not a horrible read

 

[Johnny Rock]

They hurt the NFLs bottom line, which is all NFL owners and players should care about.

Added

 

[Johnny Rock]

nobody is stopping anyone from doing what they want ...on their OWN time ...its football ...just play the game ...protest before and after the game when you're off the clock ...why is this so hard to understand?

Exactly. How many players are out protesting in front of police stations on their day off or over the summer? None. Because who wants to waste a day off doing that?

 

[Galileo]

Exactly. How many players are out protesting in front of police stations on their day off or over the summer? None. Because who wants to waste a day off doing that?

They also do not have an audience at this time.  A protest where no one sees it or knows about it isn't a very effective protest strategy.

 

[Johnny Rock]

Exactly. How many players are out protesting in front of police stations on their day off or over the summer? None. Because who wants to waste a day off doing that?

They also do not have an audience at this time.  A protest where no one sees it or knows about it isn't a very effective protest strategy.

There’s no job I know of where you can protest while you’re working. You don’t get to wave your protest sign on the Capitol steps while you’re clocked in at Jimmy John’s.

If 5, 10 or 100 players all organized protests together or in their cities on the same day with an organized agenda, the media would trip over each other to cover it. And America would strongly support their right to do so.

But again, that’s hard work and requires effort, on your days off.