NFL's New Kneeling Policy Poll
 

I disagree with the NFL's new policy based on my belief, that the NFL should be at the forefront of bringing to light the REAL REASON for the kneeling and not kowtowing to pressure from those who are trying to change the narrative to one of 'patriotism'...which it is most certainly NOT.

Particularly since there is no effort to stop concession sales and many other sanctioned actions occurring during the anthem...without comment or faux outrage.

Can someone please explain THAT flaming hypocrisy to me? :ohdear:

I can't help but wonder, how many who are saying they also disagree are doing so...because they don't think the rule goes far enough? :oops:

Maybe when this poll plays out, a new poll giving a few choices on the reasons for disagreeing with the rule...can be started? :shrug:

I can not agree or disagree. I think these players who are paid enormous sums of money, should shows leadership. So I do not want them to kneel during our national anthem. I don't think they should be allowed to skip it by staying in the locker room. They get the privilege to play and get paid the way they do because of those who gave so much to this country. And by kneeling they show disrespect to those who gave.

On the other hand they deserve to have free speech just like everyone else.

I don't support what they do and believe they should find a different venue and time to express their views. So I chose not to watch or support the sponsors who buy their time to allow it.

There is a time and place for everything. Protesting as they do is the wrong time and the wrong place.

Priceless
 

Priceless💛💛💛
I stand so that you can kneel:
by Andrew Freborg
I stand to honor the promise the flag represents.
You kneel because that promise has been broken.
I stand to affirm my belief that all are created equal, and to fight alongside you for that promise.
You kneel because too few stand with you.
I stand because we can be better.
You kneel to remind us to be better.
I stand to honor all that have fought and died so that we may be free.
You kneel because not all of us are.
I stand because I can.
You kneel for those who can't.
I stand to defend your right to kneel.
You kneel to defend my right to stand.
I stand because I love this country.
You kneel because you love it too.

The ONLY poll that matters is viewer$hip. The new policy was a result of the 10% drop in ratings. Nothing more, nothing less.

Ummm...nope.

Viewership was already going down...before the kneeling issue came about.

Albeit, last year it was down a little more than the previous year.


NFL viewership takes heavy hit again in 2017


Facts matter. :ho:

Let's hope that everyone reads this AND understands.

I didn't watch a game all of last season and it appears that I won't be watching this upcoming season either. They're shooting themselves in the foot - or even better - their knee!

Kneeling
 

No, I am not in favor of the new policy.
Players are employees, and they represent the companies they work for. There should be standards that the employers require i.e. standing for the national anthem

What they do on their time is fine, but what they do on their employers time is not.

I will continue to not watch any more football games. I haven't missed it.

My biggest issue is the NFL and the employers didn't deal with this head on right from the start.

Very well stated.

The NFL players are entertainers and star athletes. They should be using their positions to better society. And since racism is still a profound problem in our US, they are in a great position to make a difference. And many NFL players are African-American and would have faced this racism first hand.

The US flag represents what Martin Luther King, Jr., fought for as there are promises made by the Founding Fathers to future Americans. The Bill of Rights contains those.

I understand those who oppose kneeling during the anthem, and I do not like it much myself.

However, it would better serve this country (which is what these folks maintain) if we strove to respect the values and meaning of the flag. I am not sure that those who condemn those who kneel actually understand the true meaning of the flag of our country and what it stands for.

If we did that first and demanded honesty and values from our leaders, there would be no need for such a demonstration.

Memorial day is a time, for me, to recall all the very good friends lost defending NOT the flag itself, but the principles it stands for.

Profound !

Agree. I don’t watch NFL football because of this issue. College football is much more entertaining and you don’t have to deal with the politics.

I am happy to see that your view has evolved since the first day this issue was HOT last year.

People are going to feel and believe and speak and act and type whatever they wish about this issue. More power to them.

I wish the Political Forum was open so these subjects could be fully explored without tiptoeing around the Forum Rules.

I remember being taught to STAND AND SALUTE THE FLAG in kindergarten. No one would have dared to take a knee in class then or at a professional sporting event. No Way. The question is what changed and what gives a Professional Athlete the option of deciding which way to go in public? When they are on the clock they are not paid to think about anything except the sport they are paid to entertain us playing in.

Riddle me this???? Why no display's of disrespect (My Opinion) No Link. For Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Field Hockey, The Olympic's etc? Makes you wonder why just Football doesn't it??

I wish one of the Yankees tried this when George Steinbrenner was alive. Think there was a reason he was called "The Boss"?

If you do not get the intent of the standing and why in football, then you just flat out do not understand what the issue is, and it is NOT about disrespect. It was made political and there it remains, while we seem to ignore snubbing our noses at the systems, beliefs, morals and all the goodness that flag was meant to represent.

Nobody who demeans EVER these players, comments on what the flag represents or understands that these players KNOW what it stands for.

These players, nor most Americans have a chance to demonstrate or show how they feel about the abuse of war heroes, the first ammendment, or the values that are the TRUE meaning of our flag.

I do not like the demonstration either, but I know why they demonstrate....I do not know how those who oppose this kneeling can possibly justify the standards that the flag actually represents and then stand by while those virtues being trod on and that is not a political statement as the opposition to this demonstration is and has always been, the political statement.

As those who attend church on Sunday then sin all week are looked upon as phony and false christians, I still maintain that standing for the anthem and then turning your back on all that it actually means makes anyone who does that a phony patriot bound by politics.

When I attended kindergarten I learned history, and the values that made this country great. That I still hold in my heart. Those folks who in recent times buried and burnt the flag...I didn't like that either, but I listened and investigated their reasons and the message. Most of what they were upset about was financial but they used the flag to show their disapproval.

We seem to be now a country who instead of values worship people, and since we demean war heroes if not in agreement politically, then perhaps we just do not understand the true meaning of the flag or patriotism. And lets be clear......disagreeing with someone politically is not wrong, but disagreeing and mocking service of heroes is much worse than what these players are doing.

The National Anthem does not need to be played before every single sporting event. It is forced patriotism that has diluted the power of the message of standing at attention before the flag.

A sporting event is a glorified movie, and no movie theater plays the National Anthem before the next showing of “Jason Bourne.”

We are numb to the song, the music and the message. There should be an impact to the message when we stand at attention. And the message is standing for the ideal and what we aspire for America, not always what it is. Some stand at sporting events with tears in their eyes.....some share a hot dog at that time....others use it as time to visit the rest room.

Lets begin to respect the ideals furled with the flag and instead of political toys with forced patriotism, lets try the real thing and criticize the ongoing war on all our foundations.

The topic is the new NFL "kneeling" policy and a poll on whether you agree or disagree. If the discussion continues to veer away from the topic, the thread/poll will be closed.

Thanks for you cooperation.

Moderator

I Agree with the Policy with all My Heart. It is a Policy to Stand. Making it about kneeling makes it sound like it is an possible option.

When you are an employee of a company or organization you become a representative of that employer and are there to perform a task and present the employer in the best light possible. What you do away from the job on your own time is your business but certainly not on company time or property.

Just out of curiosity, did you feel the same way when Tim Tebow...publicly interjected his religion into the NFL?


And for the record, I supported Tebow's right to kneel/pray...as well as support those now kneeling for other reasons. :ho:


I would even support a Muslim who chose to publicly pray toward Mecca, but I'm betting there would be a whole lotta folks...that would go ballistic if that were to happen.


Oh the hypocrisy. :ohdear:

I apologize up front, but I am an old dude who long ago after military service renounced what is called " racism ". I can not help but feel it is being perpetuated but those that profit by doing so. White activists, black activists and particularly " the media ". That's were the money goes. Let's just take a look around and acknowledge our society is a lot different then it was in the 1950s. There are an awful lot of people being enriched by constantly stirring things up. They deserve to get their " pink notices ".

:agree:

The new policy is all about money and nothing else. The owners are alarmed at declining revenues, period.

You don't watch the NFL for the anthem, so if you don't like the kneeling, ignore it like you do racism and police brutality.

Very succinct! :coolsmiley:

Excellent idea. Especially since before the protests started, the networks never showed the national anthem before football games. They sold that time to advertising. Makes you wonder what their motivation was.

I sure do wish for the talent to be so brief but yet capture the thought that needs captured..

WELL done

I used to enjoy football.
Then, I stopped caring.
Now, I hope that the NFL goes out of business.
College football is also no good.
Thank you Joe Paterno for showing us what a lovely bunch the NCAA can be. Football ueber alles!

"The quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers is questioning whether he should continue to play football and a Baltimore Ravens lineman has already quit after the publication of a new study that showed brain damage in 110 out of 111 deceased NFL players.

The study, published July 25 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, has been construed by some analysts as the death rattle of football. "Could football ever end?" a columnist in The Wall Street Journal asked, while Forbes headlined an article on the research "The CTE study that could kill football."

110 out of 111

Yep! :thumbup:

The policy stinks. When players knelt for the anthem, they were revealing themselves as being unpatriotic. Now, there is no way to tell who is patriotic and who is not, because you are forcing people to act patriotic even if they are not. It's kind of like when you force someone to apoligize for something. The apology is worthless because you never know if it is genuine.

This poem says it all.

I agree 100% the field at a game is a workplace and demonstrations of any kind by employees have no place .
Let them protest at a downtown site on their day off which is every Tuesday .
Also notice that none of the players who have been active participants in the " protests "have shown a willingness to donate any of their money and time to help solve the issues which they are so emotional about .

Frankly most of them are just very poorly educated mounds of flesh who can barely memorize their assignments for the teams set plays .
I was a season ticket holder for about 10 years and attended 2 Super Bowls . Down here I subscribed to the NFL Sunday Ticket .
However once the foolishness began I cancelled the Sunday Ticket and refused to watch another game . Didn't`t watch a minute of the Super Bowl either . Doubt very much that I will ever return . No more money of mine for Thugs .

Well I am aware that at least Mr. kaepernick has actually donated over a million dollars to local groups that benefit the underprivileged. I am sure that is a pittance compared to what you have contributed to such causes. Thank you for your enlightened and compassionate post.

I may disagree vehemently with someone's belief, but I will absolutely defend their right to express it--but NOT in the workplace without the permission of his employer. These players are not entitled to violate their employer's conduct policy while they are on the job site. Each of these players represents hias employer's brand--and their own personal brand. What advertiser wants to pay a player big bucks if that player won't represent the advertiser so as to increase the advertiser's revenue and profits?

Compare this, for example, to the PGA Tour Champions Tour. These players, past their best competitive days, are instructed as soon as they join that tour concerning their conduct. They must be pleasant, sign autographs after playing and play in the pro-ams (which are usually a pain in the butt for them). This enhances the Tour's brand as well as the brand of each player, who is a "walking billboard" for his advertisers. Being a non-controversial "nice guy" also gets them outings. These Monday outings pay them thousands of dollars to just play golf--something they were gonna do that day anyway.

I don't watch NFL--even the Super Bowl--anymore. I also avoid buying products from Wells Fargo and Campbell's. These two companies--and others--made advertising decisions at the corporate level. Their bet was that these particular ads would bring in more customers than they would alienate by these ads. Make no mistake. They were not taking expressing a social position--as they would have you believe. It was a business decision--and they lost money because of it. That's why these ads quickly became conspicuous in their absence.

In the same way, the NFL--owned by the team owners--has made a business, not a social decision, and they're losing. It's as simple as that.

I like your posts but have a question. Did he make these donations before or after he kneeled? I did not Google to investigate. I'll take your answer as fact without a link. I don't think its come to that, where I can't choose to trust someones answer to a simple question. Thank's. :oops:

I agree i will not be watching a single game.I hope they lose 40% over last year they discuss me.

I do believe your employer has the right to tell you what you can and can't do during the time he is paying you. And they are being paid on Sunday.

Mine used to tell me I had to wear a suit, white shirt and tie every day. They told me what time to arrive and when I could go home. And I am sure if I wanted to march, protest, or do some other personal choice activity I would of had to take time off to do it.

So if the NFL or team manager or owner says to stand during the national anthem then they better stand.

And yes I do agree they are forcing the issue because revenue is down and there loyal fans are going away. But it a business and it has a boss. And if you want to work there then follow his or her direction.

Here ya go. Colin Kaepernick'''s million dollar pledge is complete | SI.com

[QUOTE=Buffalo Jim;1548156[SIZE="5"]]I agree 100% the field at a game is a workplace and demonstrations of any kind by employees have no place .[/SIZE]

So if you were forced to stand every single morning at work for the National Anthem, you would have no problem at all, right? Do you understand the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship? Under HItler, Germans were forced to stand. Sieg Heil!

[QUOTE=l2ridehd;1548177[SIZE="7"]]I do believe your employer has the right to tell you what you can and can't do during the time he is paying you. [/SIZE]And they are being paid on Sunday.

Let me tell you about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Women were employed as seamstresses. They couldn't go on a bathroom break at all. The doors were locked and chained behind them. And then a fire broke out and killed them all. This was the beginning of unions, and people realizing the employer does NOT have the right all the time, and it's dangerous to assume they do have that right. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com