As a USAF vet, i don't agree with their stance on the flag by kneeling.
I say keep them in the locker room unless you intend to respect the flag, or don't play the anthen at all. I was going to go to a NFL game but no longer. I will not support these rich ball players or owners

(09-25-2017 08:11 AM)Springboromark Wrote:  As a USAF vet, i don't agree with their stance on the flag by kneeling.
I say keep them in the locker room unless you intend to respect the flag, or don't play the anthen at all. I was going to go to a NFL game but no longer. I will not support these rich ball players or owners

Not a vet. But I agree.

Football in general is less appealing with all of the targeting nonsense

This just makes it worse

36 U.S. Code 301

(09-25-2017 08:41 AM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  36 U.S. Code 301

Thank you Boca

Bravo.

This one kind of said it all for me. I always thought this guy was a cut above - now I have no doubt. Bravo on him.

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/1276...y-divisive Steelers' anthem protest potentially divisive

Quote:So the Steelers held a team meeting Saturday night and decided that whatever they did in protest, they would do together. That way, no one would be singled out before their 23-17 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

And it backfired. While the team remained out of view, Tomlin and assistant coaches Todd Haley, Mike Munchak and James Saxon stood on the Steelers sideline for the anthem.

Then the cameras caught Steelers left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger who served three tours in Afghanistan, standing at the end of the tunnel with his hand over his heart.

In an attempt to show solidarity over a divisive issue, the Steelers instead left their hero soldier standing alone.

After the game, Villanueva left the locker room without speaking to reporters. His teammates defended his decision to stand proud for the anthem.

Good for him.

I wouldn't stand either... since they can't punch the President in the mouth.

(09-25-2017 09:42 AM)Screwball Wrote:  Bravo.

This one kind of said it all for me. I always thought this guy was a cut above - now I have no doubt. Bravo on him.

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/1276...y-divisive Steelers' anthem protest potentially divisive

Quote:So the Steelers held a team meeting Saturday night and decided that whatever they did in protest, they would do together. That way, no one would be singled out before their 23-17 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

And it backfired. While the team remained out of view, Tomlin and assistant coaches Todd Haley, Mike Munchak and James Saxon stood on the Steelers sideline for the anthem.

Then the cameras caught Steelers left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger who served three tours in Afghanistan, standing at the end of the tunnel with his hand over his heart.

In an attempt to show solidarity over a divisive issue, the Steelers instead left their hero soldier standing alone.

After the game, Villanueva left the locker room without speaking to reporters. His teammates defended his decision to stand proud for the anthem.

Good for him.

AMEN!!! Villanueva is a man of courage and conviction. Makes me proud.

(09-25-2017 09:43 AM)UT! Wrote:  I wouldn't stand either... since they can't punch the President in the mouth.

and I wouldn't stop a bullet for you. I wouldn't ask anyone to stop a bullet for you. I wouldn't fault anyone for not stopping a bullet for you, but they will do it because that's what they signed up for. Lucky you.

We kneel for our Brides. We kneel for our God. We do NOT kneel for adversity. These people are cowards.

The anthem and the banner are not about the current elect. It's about the system of government, those that have defended it and those that have died. I don't pretend to know what's in hearts. There are more than a few quotes from previous administration that bring into doubt racial neutrality and that do exhemplify outright bigotry. We don't kneel to that. We don't kneel to the things out of the current President's mouth. Politics seems to be the only place where we blame the winner for winning. If this guy stupid, how stupid the person that lost to him? If unhappy, the job is do the best to see your person wins and continue to work towards the best of the country if they do not.,

Who of these EXTREMELY rich people are paying for policing they feel they can support? Who is patroling crime ridden neighborhoods? Who is putting anything but their mouth where their mouth is?

They are cowards.

Please take a moment and think about why they are taking a knee. It has nothing to do with disrespecting the flag or country.

(09-25-2017 10:07 AM)rockytop Wrote:  Please take a moment and think about why they are taking a knee. It has nothing to do with disrespecting the flag or country.

http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/lo...697991001/

(09-25-2017 10:07 AM)rockytop Wrote:  Please take a moment and think about why they are taking a knee. It has nothing to do with disrespecting the flag or country.

I can have all the good reasons in the world to be unhappy, but to satisfy or express it in this way is my determination of disrespect for both the flag and the country. They have options. They chose this one. They are cowards and the only way to see if they have the courage of their convictions is to let them know they risk heavy loss.

They want to take a vow of modest living of those that have defended us, donate those massive salaries towards solving the problems they see AND stand for those that died, they'll have all my respect. The latter two, they will have my respect. The last, they will have my respect. But without the last, not a cent, not a minutia of respect for them or those that defend them.

(09-25-2017 08:11 AM)Springboromark Wrote:  As a USAF vet, i don't agree with their stance on the flag by kneeling.
I say keep them in the locker room unless you intend to respect the flag, or don't play the anthen at all. I was going to go to a NFL game but no longer. I will not support these rich ball players or owners

To me, if someone declines to participate, that's up to them, they have that right. But, to perform some intentional, active gesture of protest, discontent, or whatever you want to call it, during the ceremony is dissing your country. I can't believe those fools who went over to England and stood for the British anthem and knelt for the US anthem. How do they think the nationals interpreted that? I don't care what you want to try make people believe your "reason" is supposed to be, it is not protest, it is disrespect.

Just my two cents...once upon a time in this great country, we valued debate...honest, passionate debate about the issues as defined largely by indisputable facts, with all parties genuinely focused on making a situation better, after a respectful airing of opinions & understanding of interests and experiences. Today, that difficult but healthy discussion has been replaced by partisan political vitriol, with folks on either side of an issue not even open to acknowledging that they may not have all of the facts or truly understand how someone else is impacted by the other side of the issue.

Look: I'm a late middle-aged white protestant heterosexual male. That's my life experience. It would be ridiculous for me to say that I "know what it's like" to be black, or female, or Muslim, or gay. I suspect that like many of you, I grew up in a day when (other than an occasional "white lie") something was either true or it wasn't--period. Today, if I disagree with your view, I simply label it as "fake news" and present my "alternative facts", all to support & confirm my own view. Where is the learning there?

This isn't how we accomplished great things--together--as a nation. Do I like people disrespecting the flag (and in my view, it is disrespectful)? No. Having said that, I believe in American values that say this may be one of the only places where you can safely do that. But I think if we could somehow get back to respectful political discourse, symbolic gestures wouldn't be needed. If the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, then maybe the shortest distance between two points of view is straight talk.

(09-25-2017 10:07 AM)rockytop Wrote:  Please take a moment and think about why they are taking a knee. It has nothing to do with disrespecting the flag or country.

I hate this response. There are much more respective and effective ways to get your point across than doing the one thing that pisses off your entire audience. By taking a knee during the anthem, you effectively wipe out any chance of dialogue and change...

(09-25-2017 12:06 PM)bcunn3128 Wrote:  Just my two cents...once upon a time in this great country, we valued debate...honest, passionate debate about the issues as defined largely by indisputable facts, with all parties genuinely focused on making a situation better, after a respectful airing of opinions & understanding of interests and experiences. Today, that difficult but healthy discussion has been replaced by partisan political vitriol, with folks on either side of an issue not even open to acknowledging that they may not have all of the facts or truly understand how someone else is impacted by the other side of the issue.

Look: I'm a late middle-aged white protestant heterosexual male. That's my life experience. It would be ridiculous for me to say that I "know what it's like" to be black, or female, or Muslim, or gay. I suspect that like many of you, I grew up in a day when (other than an occasional "white lie") something was either true or it wasn't--period. Today, if I disagree with your view, I simply label it as "fake news" and present my "alternative facts", all to support & confirm my own view. Where is the learning there?

This isn't how we accomplished great things--together--as a nation. Do I like people disrespecting the flag (and in my view, it is disrespectful)? No. Having said that, I believe in American values that say this may be one of the only places where you can safely do that. But I think if we could somehow get back to respectful political discourse, symbolic gestures wouldn't be needed. If the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, then maybe the shortest distance between two points of view is straight talk.

Then the players should host a symposium or have an interview on a major network to discuss these injustices so that people like me can understand what exactly they are protesting. A simple police brutality answer isn't good enough because it is too vague and really untrue. Kneeling for the anthem accomplishes only thing: it pisses people off

(09-25-2017 12:57 PM)Rocket_Fanatic Wrote:  

(09-25-2017 10:07 AM)rockytop Wrote:  Please take a moment and think about why they are taking a knee. It has nothing to do with disrespecting the flag or country.

I hate this response. There are much more respective and effective ways to get your point across than doing the one thing that pisses off your entire audience. By taking a knee during the anthem, you effectively wipe out any chance of dialogue and change...

Absolutely!!! So why if the issue has nothing to do with disrespecting flag or country are they doing just that??? Kneel for the Stars and Stripes... then stand for God Save the Queen??? Pathetic!

(09-25-2017 10:07 AM)rockytop Wrote:  Please take a moment and think about why they are taking a knee. It has nothing to do with disrespecting the flag or country.

So tell why they are taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem, I really like to know what your thoughts are.

Its kind of ironic that those NFL ball players that supposedly stand together as one, yet after the whistle blows to start the game, they beat the hell out of each other.

(09-25-2017 01:06 PM)Springboromark Wrote:  

(09-25-2017 10:07 AM)rockytop Wrote:  Please take a moment and think about why they are taking a knee. It has nothing to do with disrespecting the flag or country.

So tell why they are taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem, I really like to know what your thoughts are.

Out of curiosity, do you know why Kaepernick kneeled in the first place?

The fact that all of you are debating the act instead of the reason is VERY telling.

(09-25-2017 10:02 AM)AquaRocket Wrote:  

(09-25-2017 09:42 AM)Screwball Wrote:  Bravo.

This one kind of said it all for me. I always thought this guy was a cut above - now I have no doubt. Bravo on him.

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/1276...y-divisive Steelers' anthem protest potentially divisive

Quote:So the Steelers held a team meeting Saturday night and decided that whatever they did in protest, they would do together. That way, no one would be singled out before their 23-17 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

And it backfired. While the team remained out of view, Tomlin and assistant coaches Todd Haley, Mike Munchak and James Saxon stood on the Steelers sideline for the anthem.

Then the cameras caught Steelers left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger who served three tours in Afghanistan, standing at the end of the tunnel with his hand over his heart.

In an attempt to show solidarity over a divisive issue, the Steelers instead left their hero soldier standing alone.

After the game, Villanueva left the locker room without speaking to reporters. His teammates defended his decision to stand proud for the anthem.

Good for him.

AMEN!!! Villanueva is a man of courage and conviction. Makes me proud. It takes more courage to take an unpopular stand. It's easy to do something everybody will pat you on the back for, much harder to stand up to hate and criticism. I wish everyone would be more measured in their response to something they claim to not understand. Get a grip on the issues before leveling harsh, hateful criticism.