Opinion | The N.F.L. Kneels to Trump – The New York Times:
Rather than show a little backbone themselves and support the right of athletes to protest peacefully, the league capitulated to a president who relishes demonizing black athletes. The owners voted Wednesday to fine teams whose players do not stand for the national anthem while they are on the field.
Remove politics. This is how things work. When our kids think of their heroes, many of them are professional athletes. These men and women stand (or in this case) kneel for things they believe in. I don’t have any leaning left or right on this topic. I don’t condone or condemn the behavior but these are individuals who have very few limits placed on them. If they stay off drugs, show up for work and keep their nose clean, they can make millions of dollars throwing balls around. These heroes don’t pull any strings though. They live and die by the league teams that hire them and keep them around.
The way this is being handled reminds me of two very appropriate Chris Rock quotes from 15 years ago: (via)
Oprah is rich, Bill Gates is wealthy. If Bill Gates woke up tomorrow with Oprah’s money, he’d jump out a fuckin’ window and slit his throat on the way down saying, “I can’t even put gas in my plane!”
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Shaq is rich. The white man who signs his check … is wealthy. “Ah, here you go, Shaq. Go buy yourself a bouncing car. Bling, bling!”