September 26, 2017
Peter Solari, Contributing Editor Follow @4PeteSakeNY
It’s amazing how these things work out, isn’t it? But it really goes to show you how hypocritical NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, as well as Colin Kaepernick supporters in the media and elsewhere, are.
It’s amazing how these things work out, isn’t it? But it really goes to show you how hypocritical NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, as well as Colin Kaepernick supporters in the media and elsewhere, are.
With all the rhetoric (albeit flawed) floating around about “freedom of speech,” which Goodell and many in the media are on-board with, you would think they would take the time to look in the mirror. Goodell and the sports media have a history of stifling free expression.
So much of the sports media in America has become downright despicable! As the meme above demonstrates, the press couldn’t care less about free expression. They’re more interested in providing a soapbox for speech they agree with, much of which is radical, while drowning out any dissenters.
Just compare how Tim Tebow was treated for praying, to how Colin Kaepernick gets glorified for spitting on America. When Tebow took a knee in prayer, they scoffed. They ridiculed and made fun of him. They said that it was inappropriate and had no place on the football field. And they gleefully and openly celebrated when he failed.
Now to be fair, the press celebrates Kaepernick’s failures too, but not like they do Tebow’s. With Tebow, they celebrated the fact that he failed. With Kaepernick, they celebrate the man, regardless of him being a failure.
The media praises Kaepernick as “brave” and a “hero.” They ignorantly compare him to civil rights icons like Muhammed Ali and Rosa Parks. They don’t sneer at him, even when he’s spewing a narrative that has been debunked by actual statistics. They never laugh at him, not even when he opted out of his deal with the 49ers, under the delusion that he’ll make more money as a starter elsewhere. If that weren’t enough, the press is busy doing Kaepernick’s bidding, as well.
For months, talking heads at ESPN, FOX Sports, etc. etc. etc., have been bellyaching because Kaepernick is yet to find a new home in the NFL. They accuse team owners of “blackballing” the embattled QB, and punishing him for expressing a point of view. The media gets off on portraying themselves as “the guardians of free speech,” but would they be so quick to protect speech they disagree with? Tebow probably doubts it, and he’s not alone.
Back in 2009, conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh was part of a group seeking to but the then-St. Louis Rams. Limbaugh is no stranger to controversy either, so the idea of him owning a franchise wasn’t popular with everybody. At the end of the day, Limbaugh was “blackballed” by the same owners now accused of blackalling Kaepernick. And for the same reason, too; controversial political stances he took in the past. So did the media go to bat for Limbaugh? Did Stephen A. Smith or Shannon Sharpe use months worth of air-time to remind fans that Limbaugh was already a successful businessman, whose political views held no bearing on the position he sought? Not quite. Instead, they remained silent, which, according to 2017 media standards, is cause for condemnation.
Although it appears that a lot has changed in eight years, don’t be deceived. It hasn’t. Like their counterparts in 2009, today’s press doesn’t give a hoot about speech they don’t agree. They’ve got political agendas, which they’ll advance at any cost, including the destruction of any and all detractors.
A lack of objectivity in journalism is nothing new, so it probably isn’t surprising that it bleeds into sports, too. But surely we can expect the man in charge of the whole NFL to show some consistency, right? Not so much.
Commissioner Goodell is despised by most of the players in the league, and the reporters who cover it. So his lack of a backbone regarding the national anthem protests should have been expected. He’s a coward.
When Kaepernick first started his protest more than a year ago, Goodell gave him his blessing. That may have been a wise move. Had he stepped in and put an end to the demonstrations, the likely backlash from the players and media who already hated him, had the potential to be enormous, so I can’t kill the commissioner on that one. However, when Goodell retreats to the moral high ground to protect his image, it’s disgraceful.
Goodell told reporters he wanted his players to use their platforms to express themselves and effect positive change. Is that a fact, Mr. Commissioner?
One of the reasons Goodell is so disliked in and around NFL circles, is his anxiousness to fine players for meaningless infractions, such as excessive celebrating (because it’s his job to protect the league’s image from everyone not named Kaepernick). Does that sound like a champion of free expression to you?
In 2015, Goodell fined the Steelers’ William Gay for wearing purple cleats during a game, to bring awareness to domestic abuse. It was a bizarre move to say the least, considering the NFL has no shortage of domestic abusers among their ranks. But Goodell hid behind the league’s dress code, and disciplined Gay anyway. Does that sound like somebody who wants his players to create positive change?
Writing for the Los Angeles Times in 2014, Chuck Schilkin explained the NFL’s dress code, saying:
The NFL has pretty strict rules about what players can and can't wear at the stadium on game days at any time they might be visible to the public. Players' outfit can't feature "personal messages either in writing or illustration" and cannot "honor or commemorate individuals," at least not without league approval.I guess none of that applies to quarterbacks in San Francisco wearing socks that depict police officers as pigs, does it?
Furthermore, the league won't grant permission for any items "which relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns." Anything that is approved is supposed to be, among other things, "non-controversial."
Last season, after five Dallas police officers were gunned down by a crazed sniper, inspired by the rhetoric of notorious Kaepernick defenders, Black Lives Matter, the Cowboys requested permission from the league, to wear decals on their helmets, honoring the fallen. Again, hiding behind the dress code, Goodell nixed the idea. Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw defended the league, saying:
“It’s an unpopular opinion (not my first) but I think the NFL made the right call. There’s a way to honor these men without a decal on the helmet. If you allow that, do you allow decals saying Black Lives Matter? Pro Life? Pro Choice? Repeal Obamacare? John 3:16? Where does it end?Gee, I don’t know, Mr. Cowlishaw. Why don’t you ask Commissioner Goodell. He wasn’t concerned about slippery slopes when the St. Louis Rams put on an embarrassing “hands up don’t shoot” display upon entering the field, in the aftermath of the justified shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. He wasn’t concerned about the impact of Beyonce’s anti-police Super Bowl 50 halftime show, either. I guess it’s just pro-police messages that make Goodell and his media cohorts nervous.
Cowlishaw continued:
“I think there’s a place for protest and there’s a place to honor victims in different ways. I understand the NFL’s reluctance to open this door.”That’s a solid, logical argument. So I can’t help but wonder why Cowlishaw’s media colleagues scoffed at Kaepernick detractors, making the same case.
A few days after Cowlishaw wrote this, Kaepernick took a knee for the first time, opening a door that still hasn’t closed to this day. Apparently the league wasn’t as “reluctant” as Cowlishaw thought, and Ironically, the answer to his question of where it all ends, didn’t seem to matter anymore.
If you can’t see what’s happening here, let me spell it out for you: These people are full of it!
Goodell doesn’t care about free speech or positive change. He’s concerned with his subordinates liking him, and not ruffling their feathers.
The media, on the other hand, are in a position to effect change, though not the positive kind. Today, a majority of journalists and reporters are just propagandists with a left-wing agenda. And they’ll advance that agenda by any means necessary, including destroying any credibility they may have left.
One thing is pretty certain. The media and Goodell will lose this fight, whenever the dust finally settles.
The NFL’s television ratings have been slipping since Kaepernick started his protest last August. The league, through their media mouthpieces, assured us Kaepernick had nothing to do with the decline, instead blaming the presidential election. Well, we’re almost a year removed from the election, and the NFL is still trending down. And this past weekend’s events surely won’t help.
What say you now, Mr. Commissioner? Media mouthpieces?
