Jerry Jones Takes a Knee, Now What?
Not sure if you’ve heard, but there was a buzz about the NFL this weekend, and it had nothing to do with the plays on the field. The issue of players kneeling during the National Anthem had begin to quiet, until last Friday when President Donald Trump during a rally in Alabama said the following “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… he is fired’?”.
Reaction to the President’s statements were fast and furious. Owners and executives such as Robert Kraft of the Patriots, Jed York of the 49ers, and Jimmy Haslam came out against Donald Trump’s statement.
Sunday almost every team in the NFL had players that took a knee, locked arms, or did not come out of the locker room for the anthem. A majority of the players that knelt were black, while most of the white players in the league stood locking arms are placing a hand on their kneeling teammates. Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs along with Seth Devalve were the only two white players to kneel on Sunday.
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Monday Night Football on ESPN ends the NFL week and some were curious to see what the Dallas Cowboys would do. Jerry Jones has previously made statements conveying the idea that no player of his would kneel for the anthem. On Monday Night Football, the entire Dallas Cowboy team including coaches and the owner Jerry Jones, took a knee prior to the National Anthem. Once the anthem began they all stood with locked arms for the duration of the anthem.
For many of those who are against the protests, Jerry Jones represented the last hope of an owner who would stand up to the players, and fulfill Trump’s wish of booting anyone that wouldn’t stand. Those anti-protest supporters were sorely disappointed when Jerry came out with his team knelt along with them, even if it was prior to the anthem being played.
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While some that support the anthem protests will see that as a victory, there is the ego of the NFL owner that one would need to consider. Trump essentially asked the owners to take a definitive stance against their players and fire anyone that exercised their right of free speech. For the NFL owners, while they don’t like a guy like Colin Kaepernick upstaging them, they really don’t like when the government steps in and tells them how to run their multi-billion dollar league.
Colin Kaepernick will remain unemployed for the rest of this season and possibly for the rest of his career, and mostly because of his protest, this weekend, and Jerry Jones did not change that. While they won’t be told what to do by Donald Trump, NFL owners still don’t want an afro wearing, pig sock sporting, Che Guevara supporting, non voting running quarterback on their team.
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Theoretically there are football reasons why Colin Kaepernick isn’t on the field, such as his health, he was injured early last year, and got injured again late in the 2016 season. There is also the fact that his numbers the last 3 years have steadily declined. He had a 4-1 TD/INT ratio, but he also did throw many passes downfield beyond 10 yards and his accuracy was average at best. Also keep in mind that Robert Griffin III is still unemployed this year as well and he and Kaepernick have similar skill sets, both with early success that faded once the league adjusted.
Also a legitimate question, is Kaepernick still interested in playing? I believe early on in free agency this NFL season Kaepernick wanted to play and that continued through early training camp, but one has to wonder where his head is at currently? I don’t know Colin, and I don’t have access to his inner circle, but has he found something in activism that has replaced his passion to play football at a high level? I firmly believe a person can play sports or do any job really, at a high level while still being an activist, but there are plenty of players in the past who have chosen a different passion over professional sports. Does Colin still truly want to play or would he take the opportunity if provided out of obligation because of the support, but not because its what he actually wants? Only Colin can answer that question.
While it was good to see some unity in the NFL regarding protesting the anthem, what really matters is what comes next. These protests and the division they exposed won’t be worth a damn if the players, teams, and leagues don’t make the next move and push to impact the cause they were protesting more. If these protests were truly about oppression, and injustice, players, teams, and the league will need to do more in communities across the country to impact that change. It won’t be enough to just dump dollars into communities (although it will help) they need to be visible in engaging not only the youth, but the police, the gangs, families of the slain, churches, and anyone that will listen. If they want change they have the power to lead the charge to make that change a reality.
The NFL, it’s teams, and players already do a great deal to contribute to their communities, lets not diminish the great work they already do. That being noted, there will always be room for more, more effort, more players involved, and yes more money.
This week of the NFL was a powerful display of solidarity and the impact a league can have on the national conversation. While I support that initial effort, I implore each player, coach, owner, team, and the league to do more.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones joined his team’s players in kneeling before the national anthem before their game Monday night at Arizona.
Jones, Coach Jason Garrett and other Cowboys coaches and front office executives locked arms while standing on the field. Before the anthem, Jones and the players and coaches took a knee.
They stood, with arms still interlocked, for the anthem.
Some in the crowd at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., where the Cowboys were taking on the host Cardinals, booed at the display. Arizona players also stood and linked arms during the anthem, but they did not take a knee beforehand.
It was the latest show of unity or protest by NFL teams since President Trump said Friday at a campaign rally in Alabama that owners should fire players who refuse to stand for the anthem.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans were not on the field for the anthem before their games Sunday. Many players on other teams chose to kneel for the anthem. Other teams demonstrated unity with players standing with interlocked arms. Several owners stood on the sideline with their players and locked arms with them. But Jones became the first owner to kneel.
Steve
Steve is an affordable multifamily housing professional that is also the co-founder of Whiskey Congress. Steve has written for national publications such as The National Marijuana News and other outlets as a guest blogger on topics covering sports, politics, and cannabis. Steve loves whiskey, cigars, and uses powerlifting as an outlet to deal with the fact that no one listens to his brilliant ideas.
