Thursday night, the National Football League kicked off its 2020 season. The inaugural game featured the 2020 Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs versus the Houston Texans.
But that’s not all that the NFL ‘introduced Thursday night. In addition to a good football game., the League opened what could be called a “Season of Unity”?
United against what? By appearances the League is demonstrating that it is against “social Injustice”, presumably.
The pre-game theatrics included the two teams gathering at midfield and locking arms in a dramatic ‘show of unity”.Unclear was “unity for or against what?” Some suggest, against police brutality toward Black folk, inspired by the George Floyd tragedy.
But the highlight of the pre-game festivities was the introduction of “The Black National Anthem”. It appeared to be a complement to the traditional playing of the familiar Francis Scott Key-inspired “Star Spangled Banner”, widely recognized as the “National Anthem of the United States of America”.
Some ‘boos’ were reportedly heard, apparently in response to the entire unity show.
(In order, no doubt, to put the most positive light on the evening’s festivities, the Washington Post has written this helpful “history of the “Black National Anthem”):
“The song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, known as the “Black national anthem”, was played more than 20 minutes before “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which was written by slaveholder Francis Scott Key and includes lyrics about the capture of escaped slaves who fought for the British during the War of 1812.
“Playing the Black national anthem is wonderful to acknowledge what Black people have been through in this country, but that doesn’t negate the racist authorship of the ‘Star Spangled Banner,’ ” said CeLillianne Green, a historian, poet, lawyer and author of the book “A Bridge: The Poetic Primer on African and African American Experiences.” “Most people don’t know what the second and third stanzas say in the national anthem and that Francis Scott Key was outraged by Black people fighting for their freedom. They hide those stanzas.”
Reflecting on the Post’s very helpful narrative above, it seems to us that what we have here, and going forth in future NFL football games is a rendition of “The White Folks’ National Anthem” and “The Black Folks’ National Anthem”…at least until the offensive nature of the former anthem can be fully rectified and only one anthem is recognized.
All of course in the ‘spirit of unity’, which seemed to be the theme of Thursday night’s football contest.
Who can’t ‘lock arms’ with that?!
Yet to be decided is when the anthem that is not of your race, is played, is it required, or at least permissible, to kneel and raise your clenched fist..all, again, in the spirit of “unity”?
Evidently that’s how Chiefs’ player Alex Okafor (above photo) sees it. (And, apparently, so too the lads who put their hands reverently on Mr. Okafor’s shoulders while he’s showing his “respect”.)
Haven’t seen the stats on the game yet, but no doubt somebody is keeping track to determine if the winning team had more Black players on it than the losing team.
(If not, may be somebody in the NFL has been assigned to look into that winning team’s roster and to require ‘appropriate adjustments’.)
All, of course again, in the ‘spirit of UNITY’.
Now then, there’s another thing that Commissioner Goodell needs to have the Chiefs’ management look into. The national TV audience, as noted above, heard ‘boos’ while the whole ‘tribute’ to unity and social justice theme that seemed to be the reason for the game, was proceeding.
Obviously, those boos must have come from ‘hateful white supremacists’ in the crowd. I’m sure that Mr. Goodell will want to know how they were able to get tickets for the game. After all, tickets for the Covid restricted attendance were to have gone to season ticket holders almost exclusively. Just who are the Chiefs’ season ticket holders?
It looks like it’s going to be a long season for the National Football League. dlh
Addenda — A history of the NFL on “social justice commentary” by players
Via Pastor Mark Cannon FB post —
I found this and had to repost!
Some Folks Have Come to Despise the NFL. For fans who follow the sport, most of this will be a simple reminder of things you already know. For the rest, it’s a wake-up call:
In 2012 the NFL had an issue with Tim Tebow kneeling before each game to pray, they also had an issue with Tebow wearing John 3:16 as part of his eye-black to avoid glare, and made him take it off.
In 2013 the NFL fined Brandon Marshall for wearing green cleats to raise awareness for people with mental health disorders.
In 2014 Robert Griffin III (RG3) entered a post-game press conference wearing a shirt that said “Know Jesus Know Peace” but was forced to turn it inside out by an NFL uniform inspector before speaking at the podium.
In 2015 DeAngelo Williams was fined for wearing “Find the Cure “eye black for breast cancer awareness.
In 2015 William Gay was fined for wearing purple cleats to raise awareness for domestic violence. (Not that the NFL has a domestic violence problem..).
In 2016 the NFL prevented the Dallas Cowboys from wearing a decal on their helmet in honor of 5 Dallas Police officers killed in the line of duty.
2016 the NFL threatened to fine players who wanted to wear cleats to commemorate the 15th anniversary of 9/11.
So tell me again how the NFL supports free speech and expression. It seems quite clear based on these facts that the NFL has taken a position against any action by NFL players demonstrating RESPECT for any issue:
For God, social causes such as mental health, cancer, domestic violence, for cops killed arbitrarily, for being cops, or for the Memory of 9/11…
BUT they will allow demonstrations of DISRESPECT for our National Flag, our National Anthem, for America , and for the American People, if it will help mollify a particular Group and its supporters. That is who and what the NFL now has shown itself to be. . . .
