The Rage Against Tradition

The Rage Against Tradition

By Johnson and Wilson

America was built on protest, what the NFL players are doing is fulfilling a part of our traditional heritage! So why is the president so against this right to protest?

It is difficult to summarize the current controversy between the President, the NFL’s players and owners, and football fans over the predominately black players who are kneeling when the flag is presented, and the anthem is played.  In reality, it is a rage against traditions. It is an attack on the order of things that remain near and dear to most Americans. Our love of a great American institution, NFL Football is being challenged. Watching football is now a test of patriotism, and the joy of rooting for one’s team is slowly evaporating. 

For numerous reasons, this hullabaloo is interesting and disturbing.  The President’s use of this issue as political distraction has created a controversy that the re-signing of Colin Kaepernick would have slowly killed. The situation has created a legal mess that has hurt and might permanently damage the NFL brand. 

It is hard to assign blame to anyone but the president.  However, others have helped to escalate the crisis. In reaction to presidential rants that bordered on threats, the NFL commissioner and team owners have had contentious meetings and telephone conferences.  They tried to bribe the players to discontinue their protests, and they’ve tried moments of solidarity with the players before games.  Sadly, the latter concessions backfired and so they went back to bribing the players. At the end of the 2017-2018 season, the union and the players finally had a breakthrough and they were able to direct NFL millions to community development.  Yet, because the president did not want the issue to die, he found a way to re-ignite the controversy during a recent campaign rally. And now, in response to the president’s latest salvo, the owners have instituted a policy which requires the players to stand if they are on the field when the anthem is played. Additionally, fines will be given to any player that takes a knee during the anthem. However, within weeks of creating this policy, the president’s latest actions have already jeopardized its implementation and success. 

There are several issues surrounding the knelling crisis.  They are: whether or not the players have the right to protest before the beginning of a game, the legality of forcing people (employees and guests) to stand for the national anthem, if the NFL is black-balling players that knelled, and the president’s dictates on inviting and disinviting champions to the White House. Overlooked in all of the confusion is the issue initiated by Colin Kaepernick, drawing attention to black victims of police violence.

One could even start the conversation with why people, but particularly African Americans, would stand for a song with racially offensive lyrics. It is important to note that in 1916, President Wilson reflected on the lyrics that spoke of the British (not the Canadians) attacking Baltimore during the War of 1812. Wilson, through executive order, decided that the song become the national anthem.  Currently, people only sing part of the song, but the controversial lyrics are not omitted because of their content but solely for time. Those lyrics are captured in this stanza:

And where is that band who so vaultingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

That perspective of Francis Scott Key on wishing death to the slaves seizing the moment to seek their freedom is not taught in many schools.  However, Wilson, a university-based historian, well understood the context of Key’s narrative. African American history easily documents President Wilson’s racist past and his history is well known in black communities.  So, for President Trump, who seemingly does not know the words to any of the national identity songs, maybe learning the history of the War of 1812 and the Star- Spangled Banner should be a priority before challenging the players and owners.

Second, is that the NFL owners continues to fail in analyzing, understanding and resolving the racial problems of the league. The majority of the ownership is white, the majority of the players are African American, and there are few black coaches, and fewer black head coaches. The NFL’s audience is diverse but the attendance in the stands is largely white. Corporate dollars fuel the NFL and make it the nation’s most profitable team sport. Tragically, the NFL does not share its vast wealth with the players. Salaries are managed by caps and contracts are not guaranteed.  In contrast to the president’s view that NFL players are overpaid millionaires, most are not well compensated for the damage that they do to their bodies for a career that averages less than 4 years. Player health care has emerged as a major issue due to the negative publicity that emerged following the player concussion crisis.

Unlike the NBA which engages in revenue sharing and owner-player forums, the NFL is trying to present a product based on 19^thcentury white values, not contemporary ones.  The NFL owners are frequently compared to slave owners, due to their strong control of their brand and its marketing. As a result, the NFL has met fierce player resistance in its implementation of several racially tinged polices, starting with the Durag policy (2000-2002), the hair policy (2003 & 2008), the off-field dress policy (2011), the on-field dress policy (2011), the personal conduct policy (2013-2017), and now the flag knelling policy (2018). So, after some rough times, due to publicized domestic violence incidents, the NFL was enjoying a calm moment of owner-player-commissioner interaction when the knelling protests began in 2016.

In terms of the actual protests, what the owners fail to disclose is that they may not have the legal authority to compel people (fans and players) to stand. Most NFL stadiums are not private property but are either built in whole or in part by public funds and land provided by a state and/or a municipality. The teams receive all sorts of public benefits from the state and local governments such as tax relief and they are facilities open to the paying public. Therefore, the NFL and its owners, by these agreements, are agents or quasi-agents of the state/municipality.  Thus, one can argue that the actions of team owners to suppress a non-violent silent protest are under the color of state law. Therefore, there are powerful arguments that kneeling at the playing of the anthem is speech protected under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.  This means that any action taken by the NFL to curtail this political speech that does not physically disrupt the conduct of a game, such as a silent protest, is prohibited by the US Constitution.

            The NFL’s change to rules regarding players’ conduct prior to a game appears to be a unilateral change of terms and conditions of the players’ employment. If it is, then it is a violation of the federal labor law as an unfair labor practice.  Federal labor laws require employers, like the NFL, to give a union notice of a change in condition of employment and an opportunity to bargain this change.  NFL management is only relieved of this obligation if the issue was negotiated and covered in the present collective bargaining agreement (CBA). If these protests are not covered by the CBA, then the NFL must negotiate with the players’ union on this issue.

            At the same time, it is critical to point out that the flag and the anthem are attached to multi-million dollar contracts signed by the owners and the US Armed Forces. Since 2009 financial deals between the military (the National Guard, the Army and the Department of Defense) and the NFL have encouraged fans to rise and pay homage to the troops. Before 2009, the players were not on the field during the anthem. 

The NFLPA Union and its members are also not without blame in this matter. This protest began with a player protesting the police shooting of unarmed black males and has evolved into a protest about the treatment of Red, Black, and Brown people. Philosophically this suggests that, depending on one’s perspective, that many players could feel that they should never stand for the anthem. Did the union fail to centrally focus the protests in a manner that fans can understand?

            So, let’s not forget the fans. Perhaps corporate entities are concerned with advertising dollars, but hardworking fans are comprised of all races. They should be aware or made aware of the number of all Americans, just not minorities, that are victims of police brutality. The United States is first of all developed nations in incidents of police violence and deaths. This should be alarming to everyone. Yet, many of the fans have been riled up by the president’s comments and feel that the players are disrespecting our troops and the flag.  In spite of the advice given to Kaepernick by a colleague and veteran suggesting that he knell, the fans lack empathy and choose to overlook this fact ignoring Kaepernick’s and now a larger number of players’ protest. These fans easily forget that many of the black players equally fear that because of the color of their skin that they, some relative, or friend may be a victim of police brutality. And, that such events have already happened to black athletes and celebrities as well as ordinary folk in the current state of white people calling the police on innocent black men and women who happen to be living while black!

            In a trend that began last year, the president has started disinviting groups to the White House for the traditional celebration of their sports championships. Although there were no complaints when some of the NFL Patriots, especially Tom Brady, did not come to the White House, Trump acted offended when some of the NBA Warriors declined an invitation to attend a ceremony. Suddenly, the president has decided who to invite, not invite and disinvite. He did not invite the WNBA champions, disinvited the NBA champions, and most recently disinvited the NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles. In turn, he has praised athletes in predominately white sports like NASCAR and the NHL.

To the NFL players and their many fans, the president’s actions are like a slap in the face. It is clear that he is not listening to the cause for the protest or the needs of the black community. And the president’s labeling of players through curses and threatening to exile them from the country, further alienates fans, player families, countless players, and the greater black community from the White House and white America.  

The Fox Network, who broadcasts NFL games on its sports network, is equally guilty of exploiting President Trump’s misguided points and narrative by spreading false news. An embarrassed President Trump disinvited the Eagles because only a handful of players agreed to attend the ceremony. Several players mentioned that they had no interest in meeting the president and several suggested it would be hypocritical to attend such a gathering. Yet, rather than acknowledge the apparent shortage of players, the president uninvited the team and then blended the truth with the issues of knelling. Eager to support Mr. Trump, Fox News highlighted him denouncing knelling players NFL as “SOBs”.  It also equated the Eagles’ story with knelling.  Fox’s coverage of the Eagles-White House controversy, intentionally showed pictures of Eagles players on the field kneeling. What the coverage did not mention is that none of the Eagles players knelled at any point during the season, but that players held prayers before and after games on the field. It was the images of Eagles knelling in prayer that was used in Fox television coverage. The media’s ire was focused on the wrong players and team. Once again, without broad apologies, the Trump message reached audiences who were led to believe the Eagles did not attend the ceremony because they wanted to knell or had knelt.

At the end of the day, the solution is about listening, problem solving and negotiation. The president needs to stop harassing the players.[1] They are not the problem, and most, if not all, contribute to their communities and adopted hometowns. President Trump needs to create a forum that allows him to honestly hear player voices. If the president cannot come to an agreement with players, then the owners need to reach out to him. And, if that does not work, due to past or present tensions, then the owners have the obligation to make a lasting peace with their players.[2]The owners and the NFL should acknowledge that the players have clear right to protest in a respectful manner.  Both should agree to rehire Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid, and any other player who knelled and is not resigned. The Union should affirm the players’ right to protest but urge players to suspend kneeling at flag ceremony. Maybe, the players should consider new forms or places of protest such as the outside the stadiums before or after games, the Department of Justice or The White House?   As for the fans, they should respect the fact that the players are humans.  They have fears, feelings, rights and emotions just as they do. Just as we desire their respect for us and the symbols of our country, we should have respect for them.

            Hopefully, these actions will resolve this issue and allow Americans to respect our traditions of free speech and our country’s symbols.  To stand for the flag and anthem, should mean we stand for all Americans. When we respect the rights, hopes, and needs of all Americans, then we can respect what the flag and anthem symbolize.  However, until then, the players are entitled to their thoughts and a right to protest.

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[1]After his meeting with Kim Kardashian West, in which he decided to pardon Alice Johnson, in what he thought was a concession to the NFL players, the president proposed that they could give him names of people who they felt were worthy of pardons.  None were offered! On June 15, 2018, retired player and activist Anquan Boldin suggested that the players were doing the right thing by not giving the president of list for pardons. Later, that day, perhaps in response to Boldin, when asked by Fox Sports about the NFL players, President Trump again minimized the players protest by stating: No I haven’t heard {from them}…They’re all saying, Oh, it has nothing to do with the flag, it’s the way we’ve been treated. In the meantime, they’re making $15 million a year. Maybe they’ve called the staff but I’ve not personally heard from one…because I don’t know if it’s a real issue. I don’t think it’s a real issue.”

[2]Many are unaware that Donald Trump was the owner of the New Jersey Generals of the USFL. It was Trump who led USFL owners to sue the NFL hoping for a merger. The USFL won the suit, but only received a dollar in damages and the USFL collapsed. More recently, twice Mr. Trump attempted to purchase the Buffalo Bills and the NFL owners rejected his bids. Pundits have often suggested that the Trump fight over the flag is an extension of his personal feud with NFL owners.