The NFL’s Dirty Little Anti-American Secret

Q. Since when did genuflecting during the playing of America’s national anthem become a sign of “disrespect?”
A. Since Trump and his ever-agitatin’ Far Right Friends decided it was.

So the National Football League went along with them and introduced a new NO KNEELING/NO GENUFLECTING POLICY.

Last Wednesday, on May 23, the NFL ordered team and league personnel to stand on the field during the playing of “The Star Spangled Banner.” If they didn’t want to stand, then they were ordered to stay in the locker room or in a similar location off-field until the national anthem was over. Either/Or. Case closed. The football god has spoken. Obey or be fined.

Now let us pause to remember how this absurd controversy got started in the first place. Lovers of popular culture and sports history, take special note: Here’s another tale of oppressed workers taking a stand against The Man. This power struggle between NFL employers and employees — let’s face it, that’s what this whole thing is REALLY about — began two years ago, in 2016.

In the wake of ongoing police brutality and unjust racial profiling of black men (and black women, too), football player Colin Kaepernick took a stand. Kaepernick, then quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, found a unique yet archaic way to “protest.” He began genuflecting when “ The Star Spangled Banner” was being played, right before every football game. That’s right, genuflecting. Only when he genuflected, he held that pose for several minutes and got up only after the anthem was over. Not physically easy to do.

So his “protest” didn’t even fit the usual definition of the word. His personal objections against law enforcement’s M.O. were actually expressed in a very low-key, conservative manner. No blatant hot dogging, no objectionable or vulgar verbal expressions, either. His “act of dissent” wasn’t radical or disruptive at all.

Kaepernick’s “protest” was so deferential, almost so passive-aggressive, that if he hadn’t publicly explained what he was doing or why, no one probably would have cared. Or, if he’d been doing it to help Melania get P.R. for Saving The Whales, everyone would have applauded. (Go, Whales!) And yet, this quarterback’s respectful objection drew scathing criticism from FOX NOOZ and POTUS #45 — The Master Distractor and Agitator himself.

Last September, during a surreal pep rally for GOP lackey and U.S. Senate hopeful Luther Strange, The Great Leader unleashed a torrent of invective about it.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’”
Trump shouted to the crowd.

“You know, some owner is going to do that. He’s going to say, ‘That guy that disrespects our flag, he’s fired.’ And that owner, they don’t know it (but) they’ll be the most popular person in this country.”

Then The Great Leader-turned-sports-guru launched into another rant about how the NFL was hurting its TV ratings by making football “less violent.” But he made a circle back to his unmitigated criticism of “those people taking the knee.”:

“…But do you know what’s hurting the game more than that? When people like yourselves turn on television and you see those people taking the knee when they’re playing our great national anthem. The only thing you could do better is if you see it, even if it’s one player, leave the stadium.”
“…I guarantee things will stop. Things will stop. Just pick up and leave. Pick up and leave. Not the same game anymore, anyway.”

(FYI, to ensure the accuracy of his quotes, I checked Bryan Graham’s online article from The Guardian. Sure enough, Trump really did say these things. I’m not exaggerating or fabricating them. For further enrichment, please go to @bryangraham, Sat.23Sep2017 or Donald Trump blasts NFL anthem protesters: ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field.’ Trump really did excoriate Kaepernick and other NFL players who showed support by genuflecting while “The Star Spangled Banner” was being played.)

Later, as if to add even more insult to injury, Trump continued his rant on Twitter:
“If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU’RE FIRED. Find something else to do!”

Uh-huh.

If The Donald could find something else to do, America wouldn’t be so dazed and confused. And then, responsible, concerned writers (like this one) wouldn’t have to do so much fact-checking and researching to find out what really happened. Or what kind of propaganda POTUS #45 is churning out for our latest confusion du jour.

To be sure, there is always confusion with any kind of communication from Trump and his loyal yet dysfunctional White House. Of course. That’s the way he operates. He deliberately makes it difficult, it not impossible, to rationally understand what he’s saying or doing.

Trump’s M.O. is to fire up such a blitzkrieg of outrageous assertions and accusations that it becomes cognitively impossible to realize what he just said. That’s why whatever he says ALWAYS sounds like fake news. So, as listeners, we can only react emotionally — not intellectually. We either freeze or become angry or get excited.

There’s another option, though. We can also stand back and rationally analyze what Trump’s trying to do. Remember, this glorified used car salesman always sets the stage for his outrageous conduct by spewing outrageous rhetoric beforehand. His rally rant last September revealed the true method to his madness.

His M.O. always involves the 3 D’s: DISTRACT, DIVERT, DISTORT.

Let’s go over how Trump got the NFL to issue sanctions against football players who wanted to genuflect before their big games. And please, don’t tell me you didn’t notice that. Outlawing any law-abiding American who criticizes or disagrees with him — or shows how he’s not helping America become great again — is always his main objective. He thinks he’s real cunning but he’s not.

In this case, he distracted attention away from law enforcement’s mistreatment of Black Americans by diverting our focus to the way football players were protesting it. After that, it became easy for him to distort the facts.

After that, Trump publicly criticized Kaepernick and other players for disrespecting our flag and our country. He vigorously accused them of being un-patriotic and unworthy of such high salaries. That became his focus. He confused decorum for the flag with suggested (but not mandatory) postures to take during the playing of our national anthem.

As usual, his diatribe was devoid of facts.

*First of all, let’s be clear about what Kaepernick and the others were doing: they were genuflecting, NOT “kneeling.” NOT “taking the knee.” They were bending one knee to the ground in objection to injustice, but also showing utmost respect and reverence for America and our way of life.

Apparently, Trump is incapable of holding 2 contradictory things in his brain at the same time. He’s also seriously lacking when it comes to all things historical. If he would have checked WIKIPEDIA before he’d opened his big mouth, he would have known that genuflection was introduced by Alexander The Great into his court as early as 328 B.C. (and that this gesture had already been used in Persia.) It’s an old customary gesture that shows respect — not disrespect — for kings and sages and other important dignitaries.

The fact that these football players genuflected during America’s national anthem shows how much reverence they really felt for their country.

Furthermore, if The Donald would actually go to church once in a while, he’d notice many Christians still include genuflection as part of their worship services. Not disrespectful at all. In fact, he should try genuflecting himself sometime just to see how physically difficult it can sometimes be to hold that pose.
Better yet, he should try to genuflect and hold that pose while he’s singing “The Star Spangled Banner.” I’ll bet he couldn’t do both.

*What about standing during the national anthem to show respect? There’s no such law. This is America: land of the free, home of free self-expression. No democracy like ours would ever impose laws commanding us to honor our country the way Trump implies.

Just to be sure, I checked out information given by Daily Breeze columnist and attorney Ron Sokol(RonSEsq@aol.com) on this matter.

According to him, it is customary to stand while our national anthem is being played, but it’s not mandatory. He cites that in Baltimore (when the song that was musically based on an old English drinking song got “composed”) a law was passed 100 years ago that required musicians to stand for the song, but no requirements were enacted for the audience.

However, a federal Statute — 36 US Code Section 301 — states that individuals in uniform, members of the armed forces and veterans, as well as all other persons “should face the flag and stand at attention (with various salutes suggested) when the national anthem is being played and the flag is present.”

*But what if the national anthem is being played WITHOUT THE FLAG BEING PRESENT? Do all other persons present have to stand? And must the performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” always include a displayed flag, too?

The ”Flag Code” I consulted offers answers but even more information that’s open to individual, subjective interpretation. On Flag Day, June 14, 1923, The National Flag Code was adopted by the National Flag Conference. This Code was designed to provide guidance based on Army and Navy procedures about displaying the flag and to answer questions about the flag. Because each state has it own flag law about handling and displaying, however, the code doesn’t impose penalties for any misuse or mishandling of America’s flag.

Although Congress later ensured that the Code ended up as Public Law, great care was also taken to protect our basic rights and freedom of expression. Here’s a revealing paragraph (from the online info site) that shows how our fundamental liberties must remain intact, even when handling and displaying Old Glory:
“While the Code empowers the President of the United States to alter, modify, repeal or prescribe additional rules regarding the Flag, no federal agency has the authority to issue ‘official’ rulings legally binding on civilians or civilian groups. Consequently, different interpretations of various provisions of the Code may continue to be made. The Flag Code may be fairly tested: ‘No disrespect should be shown to the Flag of the United States of America.’ Therefore, actions not specifically included in the Code may be deemed acceptable as long as proper respect is shown”

Again, I ask the same question I’ve been asking for the past 2 years: Why does Trump think genuflection — the ultimate in reverence and respect — shows disrespect for our flag, our national anthem, our country? His accusations and all his huffing and puffing make no sense. Maybe he and his minions keep saying “kneeling” and “taking the knee” because those descriptive phrases actually sound more disrespectful than genuflection — which is what Kaepernick and the other athletes were actually doing. Changing the words you use doesn’t change what’s actually happening, though.

Trump actually believes that if he can distort the narrative and convince the masses that these football players are NOT showing proper respect, then he can dictate any rule he wants in regard to the flag. WRONG! Confusing functions of the NFL with government — that is, with the Pentagon and Department of Defense — and with the Presidency can only result in an unholy alliance called fascism — and it has no place in our democracy.

Now I’m going to end this op/ed with some info that will blow your minds, gentle readers. Remain seated as you try to process this bombshell. NFL teams always used to stay in their respectful locker rooms as the national anthem played. That all changed in 2009. What happened in 2009? The NFL started getting paid for “being patriotic.”

This practice that you’ve probably never heard of before is called “paid patriotism.”

How does it work?

The US Department of Defense pays money to the NFL — as well as to professional baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer teams — for having patriotic tributes at their games.

According to an article by Jay Syrmopoulos that I found online (dated September 25, 2017) these paid tributes covered a lot of different pageantries. Puck drops, first pitches, full-field flag details, on-field color guard, enlistment and reenlistment ceremonies, and performances of the national anthem — these things are usually called “paid sporting events” by sportswriters and broadcasters.

What no one wants to admit, though, is that these events were paid for by the US Department of Defense and the National Guard — and that both military government entities used taxpayer dollars for the payments.

So all those heartwarming surprises to welcome home unsuspecting veterans, those tearful tributes to honor wounded warriors, and everything else in that ol’ God-Bless America arsenal is paid for by you and me — whether or not we actually go to the game or watch the sports extravaganzas on TV. In fact, the Department of Defense paid 14 NFL teams $5.4 million dollars from 2011 to 2014 to put on this feelgood patriotic propaganda. Surprised? Americans shouldn’t be.

As early as April, 2015, Senator Jeff Flake publicly denounced this practice. Later, in November, 2015, Flake and John McCain — both Senators from Arizona — issued the report that detailed just how many taxpayer dollars had been misused to pay for something the billionaires in professional sports could have done on their own time with their own money.

Former Congressman Ron Paul even raised concerns in a video:
“Do you know why the NFL has become so gung-ho with military propaganda? It’s because the U.S. government pays them to do it! So, our money is taken from us, and given to the NFL, in order to propagandize us to support the Empire’s wars. That has to stop.”

Unfortunately, it hasn’t stopped, thanks to Trump’s interference.

It’s one thing to outlaw democracy in the workplace by ostracizing players like Kaepernick and/or penalizing them for “protesting” on the job. But these NFL players are not engaging in typical acts of dissent. Furthermore, their workplace cannot be classified as a typical business or corporation — not when the National Football League doesn’t entirely pay for its stadium workplaces. Not when the NFL gets gifted with all kinds of tax breaks and write-offs most businesses only dream of getting. Not when the government uses taxpayer dollars to pay for “patriotic” pre-game and halftime extravaganzas.

Especially not when POTUS #45 is trying to bring abstract ideals like nationalism and patriotism into sports. Too bad the NFL caved in. Team owners and the sports machine initially supported the players. Then that flag-waving demagogue in the White House scared them. The possibility of losing all those “paid patriotism” bucks AND facing fallout from Trump’s “unpatriotic” P.R. was to much for them. So the NFL reverted to its familiar role as football god to repress the Constitution rights of its workers. Go, Team! But Team Bosses Still Rule!