Politics and Football don't mix

realitybytes said:
"Steelers LT and Army veteran Alejandro Villanueva stands near the tunnel during the national anthem. The rest of the team remained in the locker room."

so much for "100% unification".

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This is a man who fought for his country and probably feels it's a insult not to be standing with his hand over his heart for the anthem. I just wonder how much backlash he will get for not joining his teammates for their protest.
 
GBP4EVER said:
This is a man who fought for his country and probably feels it's a insult not to be standing with his hand over his heart for the anthem. I just wonder how much backlash he will get for not joining his teammates for their protest.
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Dont know that Steelers were protesting, sounds like Tomlin held them back so they didn't have to choose.
 
Mark87 said:
I would rather they not come out at all then make a spectacle of the anthem and ceremony. That's why I like the Steelers approach. It's a Football game not a platform for anyone's political grandstanding.
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i understand what you are saying, mark. but if you announce that you're not going to take the field until after the national anthem out of team solidarity, to me it's just a different kind of grandstanding. which begs the question - was alejandro villanueva also grandstanding when he stood quietly in the tunnel and put his hand over his heart while the national anthem was played? seriously, i don't know. no matter what anyone does, it is going to get blasted in the media by someone.
 
Ok see in Detroit the guy singing the anthem took a knee during signing it. That we all can agree on is VERY disrespectful s
 
I don't pay money to go to concerts and listen to Springsteen or Nugent comment on politics, but it happens. I don't really care what any of these football players are protesting. I go to the game to watch football. Our country's strength is also our country's weakness. Freedom of speech is very important to our American culture. I don't think it is any more offensive for someone to kneel or sit than it is to start cheering before the song is over. Our POTUS is, right now, the biggest internet TROLL in the world. Instead of dealing with real problems he takes a shot at some of the most fragile egos in entertainment. SO WHAT?!?! If this is actually something important to you then vote with your pocketbook, vote with your actions. Quit involving yourself with the NFL if you're that sensitive. In this day and age of instant judgement- STOP. You don't have to judge this. I stand for the anthem. Because I live in America I don't care what other folks do as long as they are not distracting me with noise. Sit quietly, kneel quietly I don't care because it is your right to do so. Are you an American or a closet Authoritarian who wants to tell people how to act and what to think? People who make snap judgements are usually wrong.

As long as I'm on the soapbox- we should change the anthem to 'America the beautiful'. Better song. More about love of country than the war song we now use. Just my 2 cents.
 
If you are going to boycott the NFL or stop watching the NFL because of the actions of the players during the National Anthem, aren't you just exercising your same rights that these players are exercising. The protests are silent and peaceful. I didn't like them at first but I'm of the mindset that I'm not watching for the anthem, I'm watching for the game. I have no problem with the protests anymore. I don't know what it's like to be pulled over for driving while black. I do know it happens far more than most want to admit. The data doesn't lie. Grand Rapids Michigan was studied by an independent group and the results were staggering, even to the force itself. Blacks were 2x more likely to be pulled over than whites.

http://woodtv.com/2017/04/18/study-black-drivers-most-likely-to-be-stopped-by-gr-police/

I don't like how divided this country has become in the last 10 years on racial issues but I also never realized how bad black people felt that they were being treated and evidently how bad they have been treated. We are all Americans and deserve the same freedoms and right now that doesn't seem to be the practice. If the protests cause people to look into the issues then I'm all for it.
 
realitybytes said:
was alejandro villanueva also grandstanding when he stood quietly in the tunnel and put his hand over his heart while the national anthem was played? seriously, i don't know. no matter what anyone does, it is going to get blasted in the media by someone.
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Not grandstanding, but convicted. By convicted, I mean Villanueva has a firmly held belief about respecting the flag. This you can glean from past remarks he made concerning Kaepernick (which was not demeaning and very respectful) and his three years service in Afghanistan as a bronze star-decorated Army Ranger.

For Tomlin, being respectful of his Steelers team trumped the right to show respect for the national anthem and flag. After the game they lost (haha!) Tomlin said, "Like I said, I was looking for 100 percent participation, we were gonna be respectful of our football team". Villanueva felt differently.

Question of the Day: What NFL jersey is currently the #1 seller?

Quote of the Day:
Dennis Miller said:
Many took a knee and then there's Pittsburgh Steeler Alejandro Villanueva who chose to take a spine. Bravo, sir!
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