Too bad the NFL wasn't UTR Using Their Rights

There is no accountability in the news. No editor like Perry White any more to tell Lois her story is crap. The internet enables the spread of bullshit masquerading as news. Anybody can attempt to pass off anything as news. It is a major contributor to how stupid we are becoming as a society.

Everything is "viral". Erroneous news stories spread like a virus, infecting the minds of unsuspecting twits. I think there is a difference between "fake news" and news that is just plain incorrect. Stop calling everything that is incorrect, fake news. Just say it is incorrect. It's out there. It's real, not fake. It is incorrect.

F*** the National Felon League. You don't disrespect our American flag without severe consequences and their behavior is akin to flag burning. I won't give 1 penny to a flag burner, do you? Would you buy ANY product by a disrespecting flag burner, say Coke, Chevy, Lowes, Dewalt, or Applebees holds flag burning before their shifts... do you keep buying their product? NOT ME.

I hope they lose billions of dollars, 1/2 their fans, and lose their tax exception fraud status as a nonprofit, and have their monopoly stranglehold busted up.

I just did a cursory search. Here's what TIME LIFE sports page has to say on the matter:

http://time.com/4955704/nfl-league-rule ... them-rule/
Does the NFL Require Players to Stand for the National Anthem?
Alex Fitzpatrick



So it apparently isn't in the "Rulebook" because it's not game play related. But it IS in the operations manual, where it would make sense. Granted there are terms like "may" however it's clear that the flag is not meant to be disrespected, and disciplinary action against those that disrespect it.

Take it a step further, what if a player stood there and gave the finger to the flag or the crowd, or burned a flag, or similar distraction. You okay with that?

Well how about this then.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/36/301

If your hand isn't over your heart, you are disrespecting the flag I guess.

I always have and always will...stand at the position of attention. And when I cant' stand no more someone will help me stand at the position of attention. Nuff said!

So many people miss that the right to do what you want, within reason, during the anthem, is part of what many have fought and died for. Seems simple to me. I don't get all the hoopla. Are people saying that folks don't have that right? Sure, you can say it's disrespectful. But for a group of folks for whom the word RIGHTS have a very important meaning, we as gun owners, to bash the players seems hypocritical to me.

Its the flag burning argument all over again. Burning it makes you an asshole. But it is your right to do it.

should and may, that doesn't mean required. Let it go

Ding ding ding

It is NOT your right to burn the flag AT WORK, which is what the NFL game is to those players.

The broadcasters all weekend were WRONG. The 1st Amendment guarantees the government can't stop you from speaking. Your employer can restrict nearly anything when one is at work.


Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva, who broke with his team to stand for the national anthem on Sunday, became the best-selling NFL player Monday, according to a report.

The former Army Ranger, who served three tours of duty in Afghanistan, was the only Steeler to appear for “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the game against the Chicago Bears.

“I don’t know if the most effective way is to sit down during the national anthem with a country that’s providing you freedom, providing you $16 million a year … when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for less than $20,000 a year,” Villanueva told ESPN last year.

I agree with the flag burning point to a degree. What if you or I or any average Joe went to their office and publicly made unsolicited political 'protests' during staff meetings or any other use of company time. What would happen? FIRED!!!

Also what would happen if you, I or an average Joe undertook actions on company time that resulted in the alienation of most likely 50 percent of the company's loyal customers. What would happen? FIRED!!!

The NFL is a business plain and simple. The team owners are even more stupid than these players. They're basically backing those players that are alienating their own fan base, driving down attendance and viewership resulting in the loss of ticket sales and marketing dollars. Stupid business decisions.

Is it their right to do so? Absolutely. That doesn't make it any less stupid.

IMO Kaepernik and his kneeling colleagues have many opportunities to use their grossly excessive salaries on all kinds of community outreach/improvement and have every right to engage in political action on their time according to their own personal beliefs.

As far as I'm concerned, professional sports are entertainment and I don't pay for high dollar tickets or waste my time to have someone pontificate to me about political topics. I can figure that out myself. If I wanted that, I'd go to a political party convention.

This is less about flag burning and more about highly entitled celebrities feeling that their political opinions are more important than everyone else's opinions.

As mentioned earlier. This was #fakenews. Now it’s twisting into something else. Something that is already being talked about in the prooer thread.

Locked