We all know about this NFL National Anthem issue. I’m not going to waste your time, but more importantly my time, by giving you guys a detailed explanation of everything that has gone on up to now. We know the story.
Colin Kaepernick took a knee as protest for police brutality on people of color after a veteran suggested that he does it (https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/05/nfl-49ers-colin-kaepernick-national-anthem-protest-nate-boyer). Some fans and President Donald Trump took the gesture as a sign of disrespect to the U.S. troops. Now heading into this 2018 season, the NFL mandates for players to stand if they choose to go outside during the national anthem. Otherwise, they can stay in the locker room.
Conservatives didn’t like how the NFL allowed players to protest in the first place while those on the left and people of color do not like the new rule that the NFL implemented. The NFL already had a reputation for being stuck in its ways and now many people are preferring to watch other leagues such as the NBA. The NBA has the reputation for being the more progressive league out of the big four in America.
Even though that may be true, we need to put things into perspective. The NBA already has a policy that mandates for everyone to stand for the national anthem. The policy has been around for a while now but they’re fortunate that it doesn’t get attention since no one has done such a protest in the NBA in recent years.
The last person to do it was Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in 1996. He used to refuse to stand for the anthem up until the league compromise with him to stand but close his eyes during the song. The Nuggets traded him to the Kings and his playing time was little. After his contract expired, no one signed and was blacklisted for a few years at age 29 (https://theundefeated.com/features/abdul-rauf-doesnt-regret-sitting-out-national-anthem/).
The NBA was fortunate to have done this before the age of social media and of constant news coverage. The NFL is basically getting flak for not implementing a definitive policy years ago. As a result, Kaepernick was able to take a knee to speak up and it put the NFL in position as to where they couldn’t do anything about it for that first year up until now that they’ve created a new policy.
Some of you now might be wondering why the NBA doesn’t get called out for their own policy. It’s pretty obvious, really. It’s because the NBA allows its players to voice their opinions in any other situation outside of the national anthem. Players and even coaches can speak up about social issues on social media, in press conferences, and through messages in their non-game day attire.
The NFL has always been annoying about players saying things outside of football. Many teams like to use the phrase: “we don’t want distractions”. Each team has over 50 guys and many coaches. It’s understandable that it can be very difficult to have everyone dialed in and focused when preparing for upcoming games.
Many teams tend to have a metric. I like to call it the Distraction vs. Production Ratio. Basically, it’s about whether the player’s production and use on the team is worth whatever baggage or distraction he will bring to the team and the locker room. However, a player’s ability to voice their concerns should be seen as an exception. These are issues that could affect those playing in the league or at least affect someone they care about.
The irony about this is that the NFL is so worried about distractions but the way they have handled this situation has been their biggest distraction (you know, aside from the whole concussion lawsuits). If most teams encouraged or at least didn’t frown upon players speaking up on issues on social media, then they wouldn’t have to resort to protesting during the anthem. Ultimately, it’s the only way to resolve what was once a protest but now a political media firestorm.
