The Real Reason NFL Owners Want to Punish Players for Protesting During the Anthem | The Nation

Players from the Miami Dolphins protest during the national anthem before an NFL game against the Carolina Panthers, November 13, 2017. (AP Photo / Bob Leverone) In what has to rank among the worst ideas in the history of the National Football League—alongside decisions to cover up concussion research and ignore the issue of violence…

Read More

This Is All Bullshit

Image credit: ESPN The NFL loves nothing more than a hollow branding opportunity. Just look at the self-satisfaction on the face of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones when he knelt, uselessly, with his team before the performance of last night’s national anthem. That’s the look of a man who knows he’s taken something that has nothing to…

Read More

Jackie Robinson in 1972: ‘I Cannot Stand and Sing the Anthem; I Cannot Salute the Flag’

Jackie Robinson, in his 1972 autobiography, I Never Had It Made, described the moment when he realized that he could not “stand and sing the anthem,” nor “salute the flag,” which calls to mind recent statements made by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Robinson strongly indicted this nation on charges of racism, classism and bigotry: There I was, the black grandson…

Read More