As I watched the heroic efforts of Las Vegas law enforcement rushing to stop the carnage from the gunman who turned Las Vegas into a killing field, I could not help but think of the relative smallness and irrelevance of NFL players who continue to disrespect our flag and national anthem.
They raise their fists and kneel in support of a man who equated those and all cops to pigs.
As one witness to the mass-shooting told NBC News, " . . . God bless the police officers . . . in a world where everyone’s kneeling, these guys stood up . . . "
Someone praising the police.That’s the last thing the major media want their viewers to hear. That eyewitness hit the nail on the head.
Regardless of how these athletes and their defenders try to clean up the truth surrounding Colin Kaepernick’s intent and attitude about police and country, they are either disingenuous or ignorant of the words of the man who originated the fad, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." His protest is definitely about not showing pride in the flag.
As to the U.S. being a country that "oppresses black people and people of color," if that were the case, this biracial athlete would not have been adopted and raised by a white family and siblings. An oppressive America, like the former apartheid South Africa, would not have allowed it.
For Kaepernick’s benefit and that of many copycat protesting athletes, South Africa is at the southernmost tip of South Africa on the continent of Africa. From 1948-1991, it had a system of real oppression known as "apartheid" — institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and state sanctioned violence against those categorized as "black," "colored," or "Asian."
As to those who say the anti-anthem protest is a matter of freedom of speech, would they say the same if white players carried a confederate flag as they ran onto the field to protest the removal of monuments to confederate generals?
Would black and white members of Congress kneel in support of those players’ rights to express their views? I doubt it!
Sadly, politically correct, left wing, progressive group-think philosophies have infiltrated the NFL allowing a few disgruntled athletes to give the finger to the vast majority of Americans from whom they derive their wealth.
If failing to respect the flag and the anthem at home weren’t enough, some NFL owners and teams have allowed a few disgruntled players to export America’s political correctness and divisiveness to the international stage.
Two weeks ago, several members of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars took a knee during the national anthem before a football game in London. All of the kneeling players rose for the British national anthem.
This past Sunday, in the same London stadium, three members of the Miami Dolphins kneeled during the American national anthem but stood for the British anthem.
Miami Herald sports writer Armando Silguero had it right when he said that "having the right to protest doesn’t mean it’s always the wise thing to do. And doing it on foreign soil raises questions about the moral clarity of the protesters."
Prior to Sunday’s game, he had a message for players who might kneel for the American anthem but have no problem rising for the British anthem. He asked them to "consider a few truths" including, "The country whose anthem you are thinking of disrespecting has had a black president. The country whose anthem you intend to honor has never had a black king or queen or prime minister."
He went on to say that disrespecting "your national anthem abroad and in the next moment honoring another country’s national anthem is an outright betrayal you may never be able to overcome." Well said. So true.
Those black players who claimed to protest racial injustice in this country by kneeling for our anthem and standing for the British flag anthem, apparently don’t know much about history.
First, it is estimated that between 1640 and 1807, Britain transported 3.1 million Africans to the British colonies in the Caribbean, North and South America, and to other countries during the British slave trade.
Second, they probably don’t know that it was the oppressive rule of the British under King George III that prompted the founders of this country to break away from England in search of the liberty, freedom, and justice the flag they dishonor represents.
They also don't realize that the real goal of many of those on the left encouraging them is to have the flag and national anthem removed from public events like prayer has been removed from schools.
Clarence V. McKee is president of McKee Communications, Inc., a government, political, and media relations consulting firm in Florida. He held several positions in the Reagan administration as well as in the Reagan presidential campaigns. He is a former co-owner of WTVT-TV in Tampa and former president of the Florida Association of Broadcasters. Read more of his reports — Go Here Now.
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