We saw a silly poll on television Monday morning. (We suppose we were lucky the Today show anchors weren't talking about psychic pets.) The un-scientific social-media poll asked people if NFL players kneeling during the national anthem was disrespectful or an act perfectly within their First Amendment rights.
Why can't it be both?
Gentle Reader will remember this kneeling business became a big deal when a quarterback playing for San Francisco started calling attention to himself in the last year or so. Players had sat during the national anthem before, quietly, focusing on the coming game, perhaps even unaware it's considered poor form in most quarters. Colin Kaepernick, however, made it a political statement--and he's no longer employed. Considering some of the quarterback play in the National Football League these days, a big reason that he can't find work may be his kneeling when most others stand at attention, hand over heart.
Colin Kaepernick has every right to protest, being an American. And the owners of the team franchises have every right to not hire him for his conduct. What a country!
But only a few players thought it a good idea to kneel with him.
Until the president spoke up.
And you somehow knew he would. Donald Trump is attracted toward the limelight like a moth to flames. Ratings! He seemingly can't help it. (He tried to get into the professional football business back in the 1980s with the USFL. For such a great businessman, he somehow failed to make a dollar . . . on football . . . in America.)
At another campaign-style rally last week, the president of the United States, who really ought to have other things to do, weighed in on the handful of kneeling players. He called the players dirty names. And then took to Twitter, of course, to really let them have it: "If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast. Fire or suspend!"
Not too long ago, Donald Trump bragged to a crowd that he was more presidential than any president since Lincoln. Somehow we can't see an Abraham Lincoln speaking publicly on such a matter.
Nobody can be surprised about what happened next: Instead of a handful of kneeling players, kneeling became a Thing, with whole teams either kneeling in protest or standing arm-in-arm in solidarity with their teammates. Even owners linked arms with their players. If you know anything about professional football, to see owners and players linking arms is rare indeed. And poor Donald Trump didn't even get it. He seemed to think those standing arm-in-arm were agreeing with him. Their comments to reporters proved otherwise.
Here's a hint for anybody reading from President Trump's PR team: The president really should have a to-do list that doesn't include rambling on about football. Here's a partial list of what he could spend his time thinking about:
North Korea. ISIS. Libya. Health care. Taxes. North Korea again. Syria. The Kurdish vote. John McCain. Infrastructure. Medicare. Crime. Hurricanes. National security. The budget. Rand Paul. China. Earthquake aid. North Korea again, again. Education. Chuck Schumer. Emergency prep for possible epidemics. Social Security. Venezuela. Wildfires. The Pentagon. Nancy Pelosi. Germany's elections. The travel ban 3.0. The Russian probe. Cyber attacks. Medicaid. His son-in-law. Alabama's special election. And did we mention North Korea, which just said it considers flying bombers close to its borders, which the U.S. military did Saturday, an "act of war."
Football, not so much.
Besides, if the president really was interested in more people showing respect by standing at attention, hand over heart, during the playing of this country's national anthem, his best policy would be a quiet one. Because he's not helping the cause one bit.
Editorial on 09/26/2017