Colin Kaepernick anthem knee
disambig belated see nfl
see wedge culture war
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Texas House votes to remove state funding from sports teams that don't play national anthem at games
The Texas Tribune May 25, 2021
"Texas House votes to yank state funding from sports teams that don't play national anthem at games" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
The Texas House gave preliminary approval on Monday to the so-called“Star Spangled Banner Protection Act," a conservative-backed bill that would require any professional sports teams with contracts with the Texas state government to play the national anthem before the start of a game.
Senate Bill 4 was passed on a voice vote, with no changes by the House. It is expected to receive a record vote and final passage on Tuesday and head to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk.
House Republicans defeated several proposed amendments along partisan lines, signaling more division on the issue in the lower chamber than was seen in the Senate, which passed the bill last month with overwhelming bipartisan support and only two votes against it.
Athletes protesting the national anthem has become a divisive and partisan issue since NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling in 2016 to protest police brutality against Black Americans.
In February, Patrick named the bill one of his legislative priorities after Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, stopped playing the anthem before home games, which went largely unnoticed during the pandemic with no fans in the stands.
That decision quickly drew the ire of conservative lawmakers in the state.
“Sell the franchise & some Texas Patriots will buy it," Patrick said in a tweet at the time. “We ARE the land of free & the home of the brave."
In a public response to the outcry condemning his decision, Cuban expressed support for the anthem, but he said team executives “also loudly hear the voices of those who feel that the anthem does not represent them." The NBA later said all teams would play the anthem before games.
During Monday's debate on the House floor, opponents questioned the constitutionality of a law that they said ties funding to free speech by threatening negative action against sports teams that choose to express their opinions by declining to play the anthem.
“Once again, we're carrying legislation that is openly and aggressively unconstitutional," said state Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat who unsuccessfully tried to turn the bill into a resolution, allowing the House to take a stand in favor of the anthem without the force of law.
The bill's House sponsor, state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said the bill does not violate free speech because teams can still choose not to play the anthem and forgo the funding and business relationship with the state.
“It's very simple. If they do not want to play the national anthem, they don't take the tax dollars," Burrows said. “If we're going to go ahead and subsidize with hard-earned American dollars the sporting facilities and the teams in the different ways that I think is articulated in this bill, then this would apply."
Attempts by Democrats to require teams to play both the “Star-Spangled Banner" and “Lift Every Voice and Sing," or to choose between them, were shut down along partisan lines.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing" is commonly known as “the Black national anthem," said Rep. Jasmine Felicia Crockett, D-Dallas, who authored one of the amendments.
“I don't even understand why we would feel the need to force someone into singing any song," Crockett said. “But if we are going to force people to sing a song, we should at least be mindful of the people playing on these teams, the people that are actually in the stands supporting these teams."
Burrows opposed the amendments “with the deepest amount of respect to my friend and colleague" because he wanted to avoid any changes to the bill, which would slow its progress to the governor's desk during the final week of the legislative session.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/24/texas-house-national-anthem/.
The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
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gop donor
new colin k ads beleive in yourself and you can do anything [sellout?]
podcast of other dz show on colin c
https://kpfa.org/episode/the-collision-sports-and-politics-etan-thomas-dave-zirin-december-27-2019/
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The cult of faux outrage
written by Mark E. Andersen / Daily Kos July 15, 2019
We live in a world where we are outraged over everything. A black man kneels in silent protest during the national anthem at a football game, and conservatives across America become unhinged in a patriotic fervor, demanding that he stand, hand on heart, during “The Star Spangled Banner”—anything else being an insult to the troops, veterans, and military members who never came home.
Utter and absolute hogwash!
The same people whining about these silent protests have no concept of the rights granted to us in the First Amendment, the amendment that gives us freedom of speech, the right to assemble, and the right to seek redress of grievances from our government. Colin Kaepernick was simply, and respectfully, exercising those rights. Most of the people complaining—well, one, it is a good bet that hardly any of them ever served in the military or even know anyone who has served, seeing as only 10% of the population has served. I would also be willing to wager that those folks who are so outraged over this act are the same ones sitting in the stands during the national anthem, eating popcorn, drinking beer, standing in line at the concession stands with their hats on, mouthing the words to a song they do not even know has more than one verse.
Those folks who are so outraged have fumed that they will boycott the NFL, and that the NFL needs them or it will go down the tubes. By all accounts, the so-called boycott has failed. NFL TV ratings went up 5% in 2018, and had 46 of the top 50 broadcasts last year—so, what boycott?
Fast forward to 2019. Nike comes out with a shoe with the colonial flag on it, and then pulls it off the market.
Kaepernick reached out to Nike after learning they planned to release the sneaker to explain that the flag recalls an era when black people were enslaved and that it has been appropriated by white nationalist groups, a person familiar with the conversation told The Associated Press.
Of course, the right-wing outrage machine went into action. Calls to boycott Nike were heard across the land. Calls for a Nike boycott went about as well as one would expect:
Nike’s annual sales have jumped 7% to more than $39 billion, according to the company’s last quarterly report. Its stock is up 12% since the start of the year.
I don’t purchase Nike, because it does not make shoes that fit my wide-ass feet. But even if I did, I would have no plans to join a boycott against it. I will just purchase shoes that fit. As for the designs, they are shoes: If you collect them, you are probably excited about new designs. If you don’t, you only care if they fit and wear well.
Faux outrage has a history in this country.Remember New Coke? I do. It wasn’t that bad, as sodas go. It was different, it was change, and because of that, a small group of people garnered enough popular support to force Coca-Cola to revert back to the original formula. Why?
“The Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War occurred because of taxation without representation; there was no freedom of choice,” [a protester] explained. “We went to war [in Europe] to help England, because another country was impinging on their freedom of choice. I feel that this is a battle of that magnitude.”
It was fucking Coke. You might notice a recurring theme here: fear of anything different, fear of anything that challenges our perceptions of the world around us.
Of course, I would be remiss if I did not point out the same hypocrisy on the left. Headlines have been blaring the last couple days, along the lines of this one: “Furious Home Depot shoppers say they’re boycotting the store and cutting up their cards after one of the home-improvement retailer’s founders said he’d donate some of his fortune to Trump’s reelection campaign.”
Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus has not been affiliated with Home Depot since 2002, when he retired.
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kos 719 gop direct mail
...In what is surely not a coincidence, not only is Kaepernick’s skin tone altered, but his jersey has been altered, and the placement of the banner across the image hides the fact that his tattoos are mainly Bible verses reflecting his faith....
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If you had told me last week that the conservative movement would soon be outraged about a shoe that never went on the market, I might have thought you were joking. But it’s not a joke, and the dustup reveals a depressing truth about the conservative movement.
Many prominent conservative thinkers, writers, and politicians have expressed their outrage this week about Nike’s decision not to sell a shoe it had originally designed with an image of the so-called “Betsy Ross flag,” an older version of the American flag with 13 stars arranged in a circle, representing the original 13 colonies. What made this decision particularly explosive, it seems, is that Nike made this decision after hearing from NFL star and activist Colin Kaepernick. He partnered with the company after sparking controversy for refusing to kneel during the national anthem at football games in protest of racism, and the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that he told Nike “it shouldn’t sell a shoe with a symbol that he and others consider offensive.”
Cue the overwrought fulmination from the right wing.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey started early by injecting his absurdly excessive reactions, saying, “Words cannot express my disappointment at this terrible decision. I am embarrassed for Nike.” And Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), chimed in as well, saying the “decision to cancel Betsy Ross shoe is ridiculous.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) made a comment that I still haven’t entirely deciphered yet:
It’s a good thing @Nike only wants to sell sneakers to people who hate the American flag.... @NFL #HappyFourth https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/1145838971731226624 …
The Wall Street Journal
Nike is yanking a sneaker featuring the "Betsy Ross flag" after Colin Kaepernick said he and others consider the symbol to be offensive https://on.wsj.com/2Nr3xJB
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Naturally, a boycott was triggered by conservatives now calling on people not to buy Nike shoes because Nike decided not to sell a particular kind of shoe. No word yet on whether boycotts are coming for every other company not selling items with the Betsy Ross flag on them.
And it wasn’t just politicians looking to pander to right-wing outrage. Fox News, Breitbart, Twitchy, and other conservative outlets got in on the controversy.When presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke made a mild comment about having “respect” for Nike’s decision, Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapirosaid, “I hope every Democrat candidate jumps on this idiotic bandwagon,” suggesting that this controversy might have an impact on the 2020 election. (It won’t.)
My intention isn’t to defend Nike’s decision. I don’t really have much to say about a shoemakers’ decision not to sell a shoe. While symbols are important and matter in society, the more interesting fact about the whole affair is that the right wing ate the story up.
Conservative writer Bret Stephens at the New York Times placed the incident in a list of other bizarre controversies that soaked up far more oxygen than they ever deserved, saying that it showed a capitulation to “Woke culture.” He argued that such incidents somehow show a troubling trend in American society. “The story has resonated widely not because it’s outrageous, but because it’s predictable,” he said.
In other words, it played into the pre-existing narrative that conservatives have cooked up to inflame the masses.
Meanwhile, if you look at the issue that has outraged Democratic leaders and voters in recent weeks, you’d find that they’re focused on the abuse and treatment of immigrants held in abusive conditions by the Trump administration. Of course, the right wing thinks these complaints are overblown or misplaced, but they are about actual human being suffering at the hands of the administration. The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has even found that Custom and Border Patrol’s treatment of migrants actually violates its own standards and policies.
But the right wing is concerned with shoes that were never even sold in the first place.
It’s not that every issue that grips the public and the commentariat’s attention has to be the most pressing issue of the day. But it should be at least about something. And yet the Betsy Ross flag isn’t being banned, and nobody is being punished for wearing it or displaying it. No one is even burning it(!). A company simply made a decision that, on reflection, it wanted to avoid sending a message that it worried might be misinterpreted. Cautious companies make these decisions all the time.
Seeing this as a threat to American patriotism, or perhaps more accurately, to conservative identity, is just absurd. It’s reminiscent of the entirely incomprehensible debates about Starbucks holiday cups, which some see as part of the imaginary “War on Christmas.”
But prominent figures on the right love to stir up these controversies over non-events because they know their base and viewers are so easily riled. They display the traits they say they most despise among liberals and Democrats: oversensitivity, excessive attention to trivia, overblown outrage. They were the “snowflakes” all along.
And yet while the controversy itself doesn’t matter, it’s grip over the conservative mind does. It reveals how the movement’s ideology distracts from issues that matter — inequality, poverty, racism, environmental degradation, corruption — and encourages its followers to waste their energies on irrelevancies. It convinces right-wing voters that their identity is under attack by liberals, the elite, the media (but not conservative media), so that they don’t care when these groups expose and draw attention to the actual dangers of unregulated industry or the abuses of immigrants at the border. The migrants, after all, aren’t the real victims; the real victims are the people who don’t get to wear Betsy Ross flag shoes.
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AN
the
NFL's Ongoing Kaepernick Controversy Shows Much of White America Is Still in 'Slave Patrol' Mode
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Ahead of the 2018 NFL regular season, Nike released an ad featuring numerous athletes overcoming incredible obstacles. The ad, starring and narrated by Colin Kaepernick, implores athletes to dream big and accomplish their goals, culminating with a dramatic shot of Kaepernick saying “believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.”
In the following days, the ad racked up tens of millions of views, hundreds of thousands of engagements, and much attention in the national political conversation. Many applauded Nike for supporting Kaepernick. However, right-wing politicians and right-wing media figures exploited the ad by comparing Kaepernick to Pat Tillman, an NFL player who quit the league to enlist in the Army after 9/11 and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004. Tillman, however, was actually a critic of the Iraq War, reportedly describing it as “fucking illegal.” His biographer saidthat Tillman "would be the first to kneel." (There is a long history of the military and conservatives trying to hijack Tillman's story.)
All of this didn’t matter to right-wing media and their audiences. Memes superimposing the Nike logo and “believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything” slogan on images of Tillman went viral, and Fox News even promoted the Kaepernick / Tillman comparison on air.
The right-wing reactions to the Nike ad also included Republican representatives voicing their outrage at Nike for choosing Kaepernick to be a face of the brand, Fox News promoting a Nike boycott, and Lou Dobbs stating that Kaepernick is an “anti-American activist.”
NFL protests continue to be a polarizing issue in the national conversation leading up to the midterms. Members of Congress and national media figures continue to misrepresent the purpose of the NFL protests, even as countless athletes have spoken at length about their motivations to fight racial injustice and end police brutality.
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By wilbur , Daily Kos
This is the sign of a true sea change in our society
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bit neglected, gets rivied periodically when trump needs red meat distraction/ dog whiste?
https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2018/08/10/fox-business-ed-rollins-claims-nfl-protests-are-political-strategy-congressional-black-caucus-play/220969
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crony cap scammed $ to buy dallas cowboys?
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Trump tweets that NFL is ‘weak and out of control’ because of players’ national anthem demonstrations
By Cindy Boren November 28
Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod continue to raise a fist during the national anthem, with Chris Long (at left) showing support. (Chris Szagola / Associated Press)
Nearly two dozen NFL players continued to kneel, sit or raise a fist to the sky to bring attention to social injustice and police brutality during the national anthem Sunday, a demonstration that once again drew the attention of President Trump.
On Tuesday morning, he tweeted: “At least 24 players kneeling this weekend at NFL stadiums that are now having a very hard time filling up. The American public is fed up with the disrespect the NFL is paying to our country, our flag and our national anthem. Weak and out of control!”
Donald J. Trump
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@realDonaldTrump
At least 24 players kneeling this weekend at NFL stadiums that are now having a very hard time filling up. The American public is fed up with the disrespect the NFL is paying to our Country, our Flag and our National Anthem. Weak and out of control!
4:45 AM - Nov 28, 2017
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According to numbers compiled by the Associated Press from its reporters at stadiums around the country on Sunday, 23 players continued to demonstrate, a number that has held fairly steady over the last few weeks as players and NFL owners have met to convert their demonstrations into action. In Oakland, for instance, Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch continued to sit while nine Seattle Seahawks players, including defensive end Michael Bennett, either sat or took a knee. Three of their opponents on the San Francisco 49ers’ sideline — linebacker Eli Harold, safety Eric Reid and wide receiver Marquise Goodwin — also took a knee. Rams linebacker Robert Quinn raised a fist during the anthem, as did the Eagles’ Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod. As usual, they were joined by teammate Chris Long, who placed a hand of support on Jenkins’s back as he stood with his other hand over his heart. Two players, Kansas City’s Marcus Peters and Tennessee’s Rishard Matthews, remained in their locker rooms during the anthem.
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As for the president’s comment about attendance, through Week 12 it was listed at nearly 12 million fans for the league’s 32 teams by Pro Football Reference, with Week 12 drawing just over 1 million.
Business Insider reported last week that average attendance at NFL games was actually up slightly, from 68,914 per game in 2016 to 69,264 per game, through the first 10 weeks of the season. (Sunday marked Week 12.) It’s important to note, though, that NFL ticket sales are driven by season-ticket purchases and individual games purchased before the season starts and the league wants teams to report “tickets distributed” rather than the number of fans who actually attend. In the San Francisco 49ers’ Santa Clara stadium, attendance can be listed as topping 70,000 on Sunday while the stadium (especially the sunny side on hot days) looks empty.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told The Post in an email that 98 percent of all available tickets have been sold and that sales are down one percent, a figure that doesn’t include the Los Angeles Chargers or Rams, which have significantly reduced seating capacity at their stadiums.
Trump’s Tuesday tweet continues a theme he has sounded since September, when, in a speech in Alabama, he called for NFL owners to suspend or fire any “son of a b—-” who doesn’t stand for the anthem, a demonstration begun by Colin Kaepernick in the summer of 2016. On Friday, he tweeted that Commissioner Roger Goodell “has lost control of the hemorrhaging league. Players are the boss!”
Donald J. Trump
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@realDonaldTrump
Can you believe that the disrespect for our Country, our Flag, our Anthem continues without penalty to the players. The Commissioner has lost control of the hemorrhaging league. Players are the boss! https://twitter.com/danscavino/status/933959401580490753 …
3:48 AM - Nov 24, 2017
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The NFL’s over 1,600 players are not required by rules to stand for the anthem and owners, who met last month with players to discuss an issue on which they are divided, have declined to compel them to do so.
Last month, the New York Times’ Upshot blog found that the NFL has become one of the most divisive brands in the United States as it seeks common ground between a player population that is predominantly black and a fan base that is mostly white. In addition to the league’s other negative headlines, TV ratings have dropped and were not helped by lackluster games on Thanksgiving Day.
“There is no question the league is suffering negative effects from these protests,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who has since gone on to wage his own war against Goodell and fellow owners, said in October. “I care about a lot of things, but our ability to be substantive is based on having a strong NFL, a league that people are really interested in and want to watch games. At all times, if I am anything, I am first and foremost a proponent of making the NFL strong. Making us have as many people watching the game as we can and watching in light of what we are doing and that’s playing football.
“If all this makes you stronger to represent messages, let’s don’t do it in a way that tears down the strength of the NFL.”
Read more from The Post:
Trump blasts NFL for not requiring players to stand
NFL owners emerge from day of meetings with no requirement for players to stand
‘No leadership in NFL!’: Trump tweets about players who kneel during anthem
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32 millionaires/billionaires own nfl teams, plan to end knee?
https://kpfa.org/episode/the-collision-sports-and-politics-etan-thomas-dave-zirin-december-1-2017/
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/opinion/nfl-football-kaepernick-take-knee.html
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http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/20678/NFL-union-donald-trump-Colin-Kaepernick
At a September 22 political rally, President Donald Trump kicked off a kerfuffle by calling on the National Football League (NFL) to fire players taking a knee during the National Anthem. “Wouldn’t you love,” said the president, “to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired. He’s fired!’”
The NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) responded immediately in support of the players. As protests continued, Trump kept blasting away. Debate raged on for weeks about free speech, race, social justice, patriotism and more. Altogether overlooked, however, were the players' union rights that effectively render Trump's demand worthless.
Ground rules
The NFL and the NFLPA are co-equal parties to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that sets wages, rules and working conditions. The union is the workers' accredited representative, while the employer manages the workplace with policies that don't violate the CBA or the law.
In general, union workers are not "at will" employees like nonunion workers. If disciplined (warned, suspended or terminated), they may resort to the CBA's grievance procedures, including neutral and binding arbitration. The employer must show just cause for discipline by proving that the worker breached a policy that was reasonable, known and consistently applied—and that discipline was reasonable and proportional.
There is no way Club owners could do that. Neither the CBA nor employer policiesprohibit protest, and there is no egregious conduct at issue—such as theft or attacking another worker—that would warrant discipline on its face. Consequently, amid swirling controversy, the NFL and NFLPA met and agreed to uphold existing policy in the NFL’s game operations manual that players "should" stand during the Anthem. In other words, it's optional.
The deal stopped any question of discipline in its tracks and promised mutual efforts toward addressing the sociopolitical issues that gave rise to the protests. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who had threatened players after consulting with Trump, had no "just cause" for discipline based on rules, policies or conduct.
Make no mistake. This is all about collective bargaining. The parties affirmed a "past practice," which, in a union workplace, can be just as binding as a CBA rule. If the NFL had unilaterally changed the policy—and especially if a protesting player got fired, as Trump insisted—the door would swing wide open to a union grievance and potential arbitration, dragging out more controversy the parties wanted to avoid.
Union defense
Contract language limits discipline even more. A review of the current CBA, found online and confirmed with an NFLPA spokesperson, signals game over for the Trump-Jones threat.
Article 42, Section 2(a):
All Clubs must publish and make available to all players at the commencement of preseason training camp a complete list of the discipline that can be imposed for both designated offenses ...and for other violations of reasonable Club rules.
The Cowboys' training began July 24, weeks before Trump's demand and Jones' subsequent capitulation. The Cowboys provided no confirmation that a Club rule about protest had been duly listed.
Article 46, Section 4:
The Commissioner’s disciplinary action will preclude or supersede disciplinary action by any Club for the same act or conduct.
The CBA and past practice indicate that the NFL Commissioner has the final say on what discipline a Club may pursue. Commissioner Roger Goodell was not disposed—before or after the joint meeting—to discipline protesting players. All but one Club owner, Jerry Jones, agreed.
Article 49, Section 1:
There will be no discrimination in any form against any player by the NFL, the Management Council, any Club or by the NFLPA because of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or activity or lack of activity on behalf of the NFLPA.
Given rules, policy and practice, it could be argued that curbing protests initiated by players of color over government mistreatment of people of color violates this section. Furthermore, the reference to NFLPA "activity" reflects longstanding labor lawprotecting workers' rights to participate (or not) in "concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection."
Trump repeatedly pressured owners to fire protesters in violation of the CBA. "Concerted activities" have blossomed with displays of solidarity among players—and even some management. They take a knee, lock arms, or raise a fist. And some, as they always have, choose to stand, which is their right.
Holding the line
On October 29, protest reached the "boiling point," Deadline reported.
Houston Texans owner Bob McNair's comment comparing players to “inmates running the prison” instantly “caused an uproar in a league where 70 percent of players are black and already protesting perceived injustice," Deadline observed. In response, players planned the biggest protest yet.
Word circulated that joint meetings to address social justice concerns had been cancelled.
Jones—still agitated and agitating—had reportedly organized a Club owners' conference call to discuss ousting Goodell. He also cut lineman Damontre Moore, who had raised his fist during the Anthem. The Cowboys said it was merely a roster move.
Moore joins Colin Kaepernick, the San Francisco 49er who started the protests and then got zero job offers after becoming a free agent. Kaepernick's lawyer filed a grievance alleging collusion between the Clubs and the NFL in violation of CBA Article 17, appropriately titled, "Anti-Collusion."
As it stands now, no player has been officially disciplined for protesting, and the policy, practice and CBA are intact.
KATHY WILKES
Kathy Wilkes is an award-winning labor writer and editor, and a former union organizer, co-founder, officer, negotiator, and communications director.
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