Trump vs the NFL: How did it come to this?

Really? You think peacefully protesting for equality is akin to a Muslim who quotes Christian ideals to say homosexuality doesn't belong in aboriginal culture...

Nick, I would think that Anthony Mundine falls into the same category. I think Mundine is a tool, but he has every right to protest in that way. The same rule has to apply to all, and I firmly believe that everyone has the right to state their case, just as everyone else has the right to offer countering opinions. So defending the protests and "destroying Anthony Mundine for his attitude" are entirely consistent. As long as you don't restrict people's right to protest, you can question their "cause" all you like.

I did fight for us Misha and I am offended - I laugh how people defend the protests yet destroyed Anthony Mundine and his 'attitude'

I’m also going to disagree with your last line again, in a positive way. I think it was a great weekend. The US is falling short of the very lofty ideals that it holds out as the moral mandate to send those servicemen and women overseas. I view the social infrastructure of the US as not that dissimilar to an emerging nation if you consider education, health and crime. Education and health are the result not of money spent, the US actually just tips money into a pit on these, but the way they’re delivered is almost feudalist rather than meritocratic ideals which supposedly underpin the US. And the subsequent effect of that, combined with a tangential interpretation of a two century policy, has an impact on violent crime rates. Anything that even moves a slight shuffle closer to the US trying to actually become the country it was intended to be in my mind is incredibly positive.

Yeah I still don’t think that the comment was designed to actually appeal to the owners from a the perspective of political strategy. The centre right that supported his candidacy has distanced itself from him already, as very few pundits though he would be this volatile. He’s going to probably need a war to bring them back as the US media aren’t going to attack a nationalist president (though he’s technically stepped over the line to fascist with his tweets overruling the bill of rights) during war time. But if he can generate mass turn out of voters from the far right, and the left doesn’t put forward a candidate to motivate the centre right or the broad selection of their own support base, then he’s got a shot at a second term. Even if he misses he’ll build an incredible power base which may parlay into a new version of the Tea Party, which will be the worst case outcome for the right.

The NFL has been declining for several reasons 1. Games are too predictable. 2. Some of the penalty calls for offensive/defensive pass interference are a joke, maybe Terrell Owens was right when he said he was still the best wide receiver in the game, despite being retired and 41 years old 3. The tackling skills of most of the players are a joke, most NRL or union players can tackle far better than NFL players.

Thanks for the thoughts Mushi. Best thing about this article is we don't get hung up on the Cooper v Foley toxicity. I appreciate your thoughts on Trump. When I say his comments backfired what I was suggesting, and I should have been more specific, was the following. Plenty of owners supported him and donated to his campaign. Many of those same supporters e.g. Kraft (and even Brady) have disagreed with him. He may be winning or c minting support on the far right but he is equally losing support from the center right. Anyway, it was a sad weekend for all the wrong reasons.

I agree accept for the "Trump's comments have back fired on him" Trump isn't trying to get back the middle right he's trying to entrench himself as the leader of far right. To get a second term, or build a fanatical fan base for post presidency, he is trying to get every voting age person in that segment of the population gee'd up enough to get to the polls. And it's working look at BigJ's response he loves it, and every time we point out the obvious failing of the legal and ideological side it just further entrenches in his mind that he is the one of the chosen few to ensure survival of our society.

Dallas players kneel midfield BEFORE the anthem was played and the flag unfurled. Were still booed. So it shows its not about the anthem or the crowd I wonder what the beer queues are like while the anthem is beig played

TV ratings were up on the corresponding week last year

It depends on what you mean by society “falls apart”. If you mean the part of society that causes us to adhere to norms over what we perceive to be injustice (the metaphorical good men standing idly by) then yes that bit falls apart, many in the western world have actually called that “falling apart” progress or evolution. What you want is for the symbol of the country to be more valuable than the ideals that it intended to symbolise. On one hand you have a people using their first amendment right to highlight what they perceive an infringement of the self-evident rights highlighted in the declaration of independence and on the other you have an anthem to symbolise a country that stands for those ideals.

I think that last line should be and/or in the case of some.

Ah the old straw man. If they were then they'd have very strong grounds for unfair dismissal. Same here.

Yep way to go with using those examples

Great comment

NFL attendance and TV ratings have been on a steady decline for the last three years and this certainly won’t help. How about we give politics a rest and talk about the state of the NFL instead? Around 90% of former players have CTE and there seems to be a player arrested by police for either drugs or domestic abuse every week which is also tarnishing the sport. Many fans think the sport has become boring with endless stoppages and commercials and crappy offensive play. Did you see the half empty stadiums for the opening weekend? LA has 20m people but they can’t even get close to filling the Coliseum. How the mighty have fallen. Should be a warning to all sporting competitions to not take your fans for granted.

Land of the free. What a joke that is when your commander in chief actively stifles peaceful protest by threatening them with their livelihood. They have every right to use their social platform to express an opinion and you have every right to turn off. But you do not have the right to stifle free speech.

Pretty good article Johann, thanks for writing it. I think I have a unique perspective on this topic so I will share some background and my own personal thoughts. Born and raised in Sydney, high school, Uni etc. Left in 1995 and lived in the US since 1998 - that's 19 years. I have 4 kids, all born in the US. The eldest just finished high school and - of all places - got into the United States Military Academy at West Point. If you are not familiar with it then look it up - best rated public University in the country; you need a written recommendation from a member of Congress to complete your application (which he got) - no exceptions. 4 year academic course including military training, then 5 years of active service. He is now - as a student - a paid member of the US army. This issue goes back further than Trump and Colin Kaepernick. Under Obama there was a groundswell of opinion to a series of perceived injustices - Trayvon Martin is one example - which led to such groups as Black Lives Matter. There were riots in Baltimore, etc etc. Colin chose to express his views silently by kneeling at a football game during the national anthem. Some folks supported him but in general he was criticized - he remains unemployed now. So now we come to Trump - I am not a US citizen so I cannot vote and will leave my personal views of him out of this. what I will say is that he is VERY divisive. It is his nature. So when he criticized all players he struck a chord - basically it backfired on him. You mention Seahawks Titans game but a better example may be the Steelers Bears game, at least for the point I want to make. The entire Steels team stayed in their locker room for the Anthem except for 1 - a former soldier (Alejandro Villanueva) who graduated from West Point in 2010. He was the only Steeler on the field for the Anthem. Take a look at the Mike Tomlin post match press conference on youtube - he's the Steelers coach. I play on a local old boys rugby team, with many current and ex military. Views are mixed. Some are disgusted while others feel an individual has the right to protest. My view? The US Supreme Court (their version of the High Court) has said that burning the flag is protected by the right to free speech - so how can kneeling for the anthem be any worse? It is a silent protest against perceived or apparent social injustices. And I say that as the father of a son who is honoured to be at this nation's premier military academy. I genuinely believe Trump's comments have backfired on him - Colin was isolated and unemployed till this past weekend and by weighing in he has now created a groundswell of support for the issue he was critical of. There is no denying that the US is racially divided - this hasn't helped. My two cents worth - I hope it helps this discussion.

Trump, as the leader of the government specifically does not have the right to demand they be sacked. That's exactly contrary to the First Amendment, that the government shall not impinge on freedom of expression.

It is good manners to stand for the anthem, which is why not standing is such an effective protest. But in reality, the analogy is weird and misplaced. The hallmark of democracy is being free to protest peacefully, not manners. Indeed in a democratic society, one is wonderfully free to use bad manners!