(By Michael Snyder) Does the NFL actually think that it can go to war with the national anthem and the American flag and win? Many are trying to frame this controversy as a “protest against Trump”, but the truth is that owners, coaches and players can speak out against President Trump any time that they want. They have huge platforms and the mainstream media would soak up every word. So there is absolutely no need to “take a knee” when our national anthem is being played and the American flag is being honored. As I explained a couple days ago, the national anthem and the American flag are symbols that represent the entire country. When someone disrespects those symbols, they are disrespecting our great land, everyone that lives here, and everyone that ever fought, bled and died for America.
Everyone involved with the NFL that participated in that absolutely shameful display on Sunday needs to apologize to all of the rest of us immediately. In 2017, many Americans no longer understand the importance of the national anthem and the flag, but there are still millions of us that do. And the outrage that has been unleashed as a result of this controversy is off the charts. If you go on to YouTube, you will find dozens of videos of fans burning their NFL jerseys. There is even a new hashtag (#NFLburnnotice) that has gone viral over the past couple of days because so many people are doing this, and many mainstream news outlets are publishing reports on this phenomenon… Outraged fans around the country are taking a stand as protests during the national anthem spread across NFL games.
Hundreds of players have taken the knee, locked arms or just stayed in the locker room to call attention to racial inequality in the nation. That’s offended many football fans, who see the act as unpatriotic. Some threatened to burn their team merchandise if protests continued, and now some are making good on that promise. Yes, owners, coaches and players may have a First Amendment right to do what they did, but we also have a right to let them know what we think about what they just did. As the weeks and months roll along, millions of former fans are going to be turning the games off and finding other ways to spend their Sunday afternoons. And once these fans are gone, do you think that they will come back? CONTINUE
