I pledge allegiance to the flag…..
I suppose it is my turn to weigh in on the controversy that is the NFL ‘sit out’ of the national anthem. It’s been in the news lately from the famous ‘take a knee’…
To the entire Pittsburg Steelers choosing not to come out of the locker room at all (save for one player who is a former veteran).
As a fan of football and a citizen of this country normally I would agree with many of the people I know and say that not standing and putting your hand over your heart during our nation’s anthem is a sign of disrespect. That flag nor that song did anything to you. But then I sit down and think. These people are not kneeling because they hate this country. Choosing to stay in the locker was not based on hatred toward the red, white, and blue. NO! This is because of the injustice that people are suffering. At first, it all started with ‘poor black men’ being discriminated against by police officers. But now it is so much more.
These tweets come from the president. DID YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? This is the President of the United States we are talking about. The man that is tasked with keeping our great nation together. Yet he is acting like a toddler on his twitter feed and demanding that players who are exercising their right to protest what they believe is an injustice (see U.S. Const. amend. I) be fired. Should we fire you for this tweet (see below)?
Did he just say what I think he did? Someone get me a margarita stat; I’m not sure I can finish this post without more alcohol.
But to get back to the topic at hand. I am assuming, everyone wants to know exactly where I stand on this issue. Well, if it wasn’t obvious from my rant so far, I would have to say I side with the players and average folks alike who are protesting, not just by taking a knee but by everyone expressing their discontent in respectful and legal ways. I for one will always continue to stand for the national anthem, but that it just who I am. I feel for every person march in a Black Lives Matter rally or those choosing to protest against the president. I may be a white woman from East Texas from a middle-class family, but I see the discrimination against minorities.
Every day when I say goodbye to my athletes, I tell them to have a good night and to be safe. Not because I think they will go out and drink and drive or do some illegal thing, but because 75% of my team is African-American and because I have a tendency to worry. I worry if I will wake up to the news that one of my athletes has been arrested or god forbid one of them is shot and killed. These athletes are like a sort of family to me and I care for each and every one of them. I see the fear in their eyes when we travel to a new city and we are near police. I can see the looks they get when we check into a fancy hotel and a manager rolls their eyes and guests try to avoid them. I have even been there first hand when several of my athletes were talked down like they were nothing more than another ‘hood rat’ when in reality some of them are the smartest and most talented people you will ever meet.
I never grew up seeing color. When I was little I thought the darker skinned people in my pre-school class were only different than me because they drank more chocolate milk. In grade school and high school, I knew about race but I thought racism was a think of the past. But now, as I have started working with a hundred athletes from all around the world, I know that our great nation has some work to do. One day I want catch up with my former athletes and find out that they are CEOs of Fortune 500 companies or Ambassors to The United Nations. But for now, that won’t happen until this country stops dividing itself because a few people who make millions of dollars have chosen to get a voice to those who have not been heard. If it means taking a knee to help right the wrongs of this nation, then, by all means, NFL, keep doing what you’re doing.
-Vic
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