Steelers stay in locker room during Anthem
- Thread starter uihawk82
- Start date
Robowe
Well-Known Member
This is not intended to be political, but to tell the whole story.
Not quite all of the players ... One player, Alejandro Villanueva, came out for the anthem.
http://nypost.com/2017/09/25/steelers-confused-about-players-public-anthem-salute/
“So rather than have some guys kneel and some guys stand, the conclusion was made kind of by everybody that the best thing to do was just to stay in the locker room or in the tunnel, if you will.”
Instead, Villanueva, a former US Army captain and an Army Ranger who earned a Bronze Star for valor in serving three tours of duty in Afghanistan, emerged from the tunnel to stand with much of the crowd during “The Star-Spangled Banner.” He instantly became a cult hero, his jersey becoming the sixth-best-selling on the NFL website not even 24 hours removed from existing in offensive-line obscurity.
“We thought we were all in attention with the same agreement, obviously, ” longtime Steelers star linebacker James Harrison told Penn Live. “But, I guess we weren’t.”
Thanks for the link. I am for what they want to do as individuals as long as they dont hurt anyone or break laws. We have that right. I was watching the beginning of that game and I heard the explanation and I also saw Villanueva standing at the tunnel entrance. Personnally I think the Steelers were trying to take the easy way out and not join in. The same with several other teams. I could get very political and cultural here but I will not. Let's just say they are protesting injustice which is rampant.
mopkins
King Kong
I'm a huge Steelers fan and honestly thought they took the easy way out. It was probably the smartest decision they could make at the time, but it was also the most spineless. Then it really backfired on them when Villanueva went out there anyway, which, good for him.
There's some really weird stuff going on right now. It seems unprecedented for a sitting President, the most powerful person on the planet, to call on a private US company to fire its employees.
There's some really weird stuff going on right now. It seems unprecedented for a sitting President, the most powerful person on the planet, to call on a private US company to fire its employees.
mopkins
King Kong
For the record I don't feel one bit sorry for the NFL. Their blasé attitude over the past decade with regards to concussions has been really sickening.
That being said, they are completely stuck between a rock and a hard place here. If they try to force their athletes to stand and salute the flag they will be viewed as "suppressing minorities". If they let the athletes kneel they are "insulting the troops". No matter what they are going to piss off a large chunk of their fans. Its a no-win situation for them.
That being said, they are completely stuck between a rock and a hard place here. If they try to force their athletes to stand and salute the flag they will be viewed as "suppressing minorities". If they let the athletes kneel they are "insulting the troops". No matter what they are going to piss off a large chunk of their fans. Its a no-win situation for them.
1hawkeye1
Well-Known Member
I want sports to be my haven away from stupid political crap. I used to enjoy politics, but no more. Now it's just nasty insults being hurled back and forth, and ain't nobody got time for dat.
Hey, NFL and ESPN. Stop injecting politics in sports. Until then, I'm done watching NFL football.
Hey, NFL and ESPN. Stop injecting politics in sports. Until then, I'm done watching NFL football.
I don't agree with the juvenile way our President acts and his use of vulgarities asking they be fired. Really not much else to say I think we all know the issues he has and I don't justify any of it.
I also don't agree with Players not standing during the Anthem. Standing for the anthem doesn't mean you think everything is perfect in our country or that you agree with it all or that you support one politician over another. Standing for the anthem is a sign of respect and a moment of remembrance to those who have sacrificed for the opportunities we have. To me, it's just the wrong place and time to state your views. I have family who has died in active service and also gave up...in my opinion, some of the greatest years of their life that 18 -25 range to serve.
I also don't agree with Players not standing during the Anthem. Standing for the anthem doesn't mean you think everything is perfect in our country or that you agree with it all or that you support one politician over another. Standing for the anthem is a sign of respect and a moment of remembrance to those who have sacrificed for the opportunities we have. To me, it's just the wrong place and time to state your views. I have family who has died in active service and also gave up...in my opinion, some of the greatest years of their life that 18 -25 range to serve.
SpiderRico
Well-Known Member
There's two angles to this...
First, the legal/political angle. At the end of the day, they have every right to peacefully protest if their employer approves of it. I'm a veteran myself and have no issue with them wanting to protest within the confines of the law. I may not agree with what you are protesting (I don't agree in this case), but I did put on the uniform to protect every person's right to peacefully protest.
Second, there's the marketing/perception angle. And this is where the players and the NFL just come off as stupid and tone deaf. The vast majority of the "average Joe" that watches the NFL are going to take extreme offense to what they view as "dissing the country". Plus, 75% of the NFL viewership makes less than $100,000/year compared to an avg of $2M for an NFL player....so they view it as an entitlement mentality.
You're now seeing it play out like you would expect thru extreme loss in viewership....
First, the legal/political angle. At the end of the day, they have every right to peacefully protest if their employer approves of it. I'm a veteran myself and have no issue with them wanting to protest within the confines of the law. I may not agree with what you are protesting (I don't agree in this case), but I did put on the uniform to protect every person's right to peacefully protest.
Second, there's the marketing/perception angle. And this is where the players and the NFL just come off as stupid and tone deaf. The vast majority of the "average Joe" that watches the NFL are going to take extreme offense to what they view as "dissing the country". Plus, 75% of the NFL viewership makes less than $100,000/year compared to an avg of $2M for an NFL player....so they view it as an entitlement mentality.
You're now seeing it play out like you would expect thru extreme loss in viewership....
mopkins
King Kong
I was curious about the ratings numbers as well. It's sounding like once MNF is factored in the ratings were actually up this week. Lots of people watch Dallas in primetime.
The NFL might be one of those "too big to fail" sorta things. My guess is a lot of people who are claiming they are going to boycott the NFL are still watching their favorite team anyway.
edit: I do think the long term affect of this will be bad for the NFL. However, I think the concussion stuff is going to eventually crush the NFL anyway. So this protesting stuff is probably just another drop in the bucket.
Knight78
Well-Known Member
Huh? Didn't Obama call for (and get) the resignation of the GM CEO Wagoner?
mopkins
King Kong
Wasn't that due to the gov't bailouts though? I think if Trump was giving $26 billion to the NFL he could probably request that Roger Goodell step down. Seems a little apples/oranges. Trump is asking private business owners to fire their employees for peaceful protest. I'm not sure I've ever seen that before. Let the businesses decide for themselves and deal with the consequences.
Thanks for your service Rico.
I have heard many veterans say they served to protect these rights (which is true), but in my opinion this is all the more reason to give veterans this 2 minutes of time in remembrance of what they have sacrificed. There are hundreds of ways to protest, give the veterans their due in this 2 minute pause we take through our National Anthem and find another avenue to protest.
SpiderRico
Well-Known Member
But in the year over year ratings, Week 3 Sunday was down over 4% from last year. Fox's national game and NBC's Sunday night game were down 16% and 11%, respectively...with CBS' games down about 1%. Who knows what that's from....could be just that the NFL games suck these days (which they do)....but I don't think there's any denying that viewership is down....and attendance is absolutely down big time....
mopkins
King Kong
Yeah I just try to stay cautious when they talk week by week ratings. Some games are terrible, there was a garbage game in London on Sunday that was only streaming on the internet (wtf?), the Sunday night game was awful, and the Cowboys play tonight. The Cowboys always draw a huge audience...even though they're playing the lowly Cardinals.
Attendance has been an issue for awhile now. The NFL has been struggling with that for years.
atomicblue224
Well-Known Member
Trump is just giving his opinion on the matter, which he has the right to do due to the sacrifices of people before him. Since he's the POTUS he should probably not give his opinion in such a childish manner tho.
atomicblue224
Well-Known Member
They need to change their team's name to Pittsburgh Squeelers, they don't deserve to be wearing black and gold. They might as well start wearing pink panties and pink t-shirts.
