Donald Trump drove this bus, tweeting away at 100 mph. It blew
straight past Crazy Town. His speech on Friday and subsequent posts
about firing “SOBs” who kneel during the national anthem threw plutonium
on a fire that has been smoldering for a year. That fire blew up on an
increasingly beleaguered — and increasingly holier-than-thou — NFL.
The national media narrative heading into yesterday’s NFL play was simple: “You either support players who take a knee during the national anthem, or you are a racist.”
Condemnation of Trump was necessary, if not compulsory. Players tweeted it. Media types broke their ankles tripping over each other to reach the sanctimony summit. NFL team owners, following Roger Goodell’s lead, joined the echo chamber out of expediency and fear of social media backlash.
Left out of this equation — the metaphorical Joe and Jane Sixpack and their two kids, Brady and Tammy Lynn. They dropped $700 or so on four tickets, plus more on concessions, parking and swag at Gillette. Their reward: Tom Brady being Tom Brady. That was unfortunately preceded by a visual lecture on how they do not understand “the struggle” — delivered by athletes whose salaries average $1.9 million per year, supported by a group of owners whose balance sheet is in the billions.
The “1 Percent” on steroids. And that 1 percent just called Joe and Jane Sixpack racists. Not a winning play for a league that is already having a bad couple of years.
Brandin Cooks was among 16 or so Patriots booed for taking a knee. Fans cheered wildly when Cooks made the game-winning grab to ice Brady’s 50th career fourth-quarter comeback. The brutal math is simple: fans pay to see Cooks make catches, not political statements.
Every so-called Neanderthal fan who booed yesterday, along with the evil, greedy corporations who buy luxury suites, and the unwashed millions watching on TV, directly and indirectly pay the salaries of players. Fans are the reason why the Patriots are worth $3.7 billion. Many of these same fans are derided for wanting to simply watch a game. That disdain comes from self-righteous State Run Media hacks whose employment depends on having an audience of said fans. These cowards faithfully “stick to sports” — until it suits their personal views.
The marketplace will be the ultimate determinant of whether or not these anthem protests dent the NFL shield. The short-term benefits for owners is glowing press and a solid they can use on the players once talks begin on a new CBA.
The long-term prognosis, however, isn’t good.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/bill_speros/2017/09/speros_nfl_fumbles_in_its_response_to_trump
The national media narrative heading into yesterday’s NFL play was simple: “You either support players who take a knee during the national anthem, or you are a racist.”
Condemnation of Trump was necessary, if not compulsory. Players tweeted it. Media types broke their ankles tripping over each other to reach the sanctimony summit. NFL team owners, following Roger Goodell’s lead, joined the echo chamber out of expediency and fear of social media backlash.
Left out of this equation — the metaphorical Joe and Jane Sixpack and their two kids, Brady and Tammy Lynn. They dropped $700 or so on four tickets, plus more on concessions, parking and swag at Gillette. Their reward: Tom Brady being Tom Brady. That was unfortunately preceded by a visual lecture on how they do not understand “the struggle” — delivered by athletes whose salaries average $1.9 million per year, supported by a group of owners whose balance sheet is in the billions.
The “1 Percent” on steroids. And that 1 percent just called Joe and Jane Sixpack racists. Not a winning play for a league that is already having a bad couple of years.
Brandin Cooks was among 16 or so Patriots booed for taking a knee. Fans cheered wildly when Cooks made the game-winning grab to ice Brady’s 50th career fourth-quarter comeback. The brutal math is simple: fans pay to see Cooks make catches, not political statements.
Every so-called Neanderthal fan who booed yesterday, along with the evil, greedy corporations who buy luxury suites, and the unwashed millions watching on TV, directly and indirectly pay the salaries of players. Fans are the reason why the Patriots are worth $3.7 billion. Many of these same fans are derided for wanting to simply watch a game. That disdain comes from self-righteous State Run Media hacks whose employment depends on having an audience of said fans. These cowards faithfully “stick to sports” — until it suits their personal views.
The marketplace will be the ultimate determinant of whether or not these anthem protests dent the NFL shield. The short-term benefits for owners is glowing press and a solid they can use on the players once talks begin on a new CBA.
The long-term prognosis, however, isn’t good.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/bill_speros/2017/09/speros_nfl_fumbles_in_its_response_to_trump
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