Nobody is going to have to endure watching National Anthem protests during Monday Night Football games this season, because ESPN will go to commercial when the Star-Spangled Banner.
Ah, the ostrich strategy. Never fails.
President Trump was busy this morning taking to Twitter to criticize The New York Times and the rest of the “fake media,” and only time would tell if he would turn his attention to the NFL’s continuing National Anthem situation. No preseason NFL games were on the slate, so nobody was protesting in person, so to speak.
Though the NFL has been criticized by Trump, sponsors and fans for not penalizing players who kneel during the anthem, Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN’s president, told reporters the league did not pressure the network regarding the MNF football blackout and was informed of the decision as a courtesy.
The anthem controversy has become a flashpoint in the two seasons since the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling to shine a light on police brutality and other forms of social injustice.
The issue triggered a national debate, with some fans and the president accusing the players of being unpatriotic.
In May, the NFL changed its policy, making it mandatory for players to stand for the anthem or remain in the locker room, or face potential penalties from their teams. Previously, it was only suggested that players stand for the anthem.
“If a player is going to take a knee for the national anthem then he better be spending some of his time and efforts in the offseason toward the cause that he is protesting against. You can say that you are not disrespecting our country or the men who fought and continue to fight for our freedom, but actions speak louder than words,” Chris Gronkowski said in a Q&A for GetMoreSports.com.
Fans of the NBA may know that LeBron James has had a few things to say about it.
RELATED: TO UNDERSTAND LeBRON v. TRUMP, REMEMBER MUHAMMAD ALI
“What worries me about the anthem protests in that the league is starting to see a decline because of it. I think what the majority of the players don’t realize is the fans indirectly pay their paycheck and if ticket sales and attendance are down, then it is eventually going to cut into their pay if they continue to protest,” said brother Glenn Gronkowski in a different Q&A with GetMoreSports.
“Most of the fans attending games appear to support standing for the anthem since I don’t think there has been any media coverage of any of the fans in the actual stadium kneeling as well. But if attendance continues to drop as it did last year, then I’m worried the NFL might start to decline as well and players might learn the hard way when it hits them by being released or they don’t receive as much money on their deals as they should had. “If all this were to happen because of politics, I think that would be a bad way for the NFL to go down for so many people who just love watching and playing the game.”
Protesting during the anthem has been an issue for years, and those too young to remember should know that Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was one of the first players to incite an anthem debate. After coming out of LSU as Chris Jackson, he converted to Islam and changed his name. During the Chicago Bulls’ 72-win season, he dropped 32 on Michael Jordan while dealing the Chicago Bulls a rare loss.
That season is also when Abdul-Rauf’s conscience told him not to stand for the anthem. At first, nobody noticed as he stretched or stayed inside the locker room instead. When a reporter finally asked about it, the issue went viral — ’90s viral.
Like Kaepernick, Abdul-Rauf said he viewed the American flag as a symbol of oppression and racism. Abdul-Rauf also said standing for the anthem would conflict with his Muslim faith.
“You can’t be for God and for oppression. It’s clear in the Quran, Islam is the only way,” he said at the time. “I don’t criticize those who stand, so don’t criticize me for sitting.”
On March 12, 1996, the NBA suspended Abdul-Rauf for one game, citing a rule that players must line up in a “dignified posture” for the anthem. It cost him almost $32,000 of his $2.6 million salary.
The players union supported Abdul-Rauf, and he quickly reached a compromise with the league that allowed him to stand and pray with his head down during the anthem. But at the end of the season, the Nuggets traded Abdul-Rauf, who averaged a team-high 19.2 points and 6.8 assists, to the Sacramento Kings.
His playing time dropped. He lost his starting spot. After his contract expired in 1998, Abdul-Rauf couldn’t get so much as a tryout with any NBA team. He was just 29 years old.
RELATED: ISAIAH AUSTIN MAY BE THE FIRST PLAYER TO GAMBLE ON THE CHRIS BOSH RULE
“It’s a process of just trying to weed you out. This is what I feel is going to happen to (Colin Kaepernick),” Abdul-Rauf told The Undefeated in a 2016 article. “They begin to try to put you in vulnerable positions. They play with your minutes, trying to mess up your rhythm. Then they sit you more. Then what it looks like is, well, the guy just doesn’t have it anymore, so we trade him.”
“It’s kind of like a setup,” he said. “You know, trying to set you up to fail and so when they get rid of you, they can blame it on that as opposed to, it was really because he took these positions. They don’t want these type of examples to spread, so they’ve got to make an example of individuals like this.”
