While everyone's attention has been fixed on the gun control debate, the royal wedding and Trump's failure as a diplomat, another story broke yesterday that should perhaps be getting just as much attention as the first and third on this list...it should definitely be getting more attention than the third thing on this list, but people do love their distractions.
The NFL just slapped the first amendment in the face. An official ruling yesterday decreed that NFL teams will be fined if a player residing on the field during the singing of the national anthem does not stand, or in the words of Roger Goodall, "show respect for the flag and the anthem."
...it's downright fascistic. There's no better word for it.
While it's true the first amendment's jurisdiction does not extend to the private business sector (the NFL is not publicly traded, believe it or not), that doesn't change the fact that it's an act that shows blatant contempt for the idea behind the first amendment to the constitution.
Despite what some believe, the first amendment doesn't mean you can say whatever you want and face no social, legal or economic consequences; it doesn't give you the legal right to lie, say hateful things, or utilize language in otherwise destructive ways.
The first amendment's purpose is to give U.S. citizens the right to speak via protest, journalism, or other means within the scope of the law...against the government.
Facing the tyranny of censorship in their time, the founding fathers were wise enough to create a legal right for all U.S. citizens to speak out against the government, at that government's inception. It has been an inextricable part of the law as well as our culture from the very beginning.
Speaking out against the government is precisely what Colin Kaepernick did, followed by Eric Reid, both of whom were punished personally by the NFL. Both of them later filed official grievances with the league.
Apparently, the NFL values nationalistic identity over the rights of its players, despite that nationalistic identity being of a country that so often touts its virtue as being a "free country."
Let's not pretend Goodall's ruling isn't a direct response to Kaepernick and his utterly peaceful, yet deeply impactful choice to kneel during the national anthem before a game to protest police brutality against black Americans and other people of color.
The NAACP has, of course, denounced this public implication that the NFL's owners think everything would be better if players like Kapernick and Reid "shut up and just play football."
As horrifying as this attempt - not even by a government body, a private entity with the political and economic influence of a mega-corporation with billions of dollars to spare, is...the thing that has me worried is this:
This is a screen capture of a Google Trends search result page I took last night. Look closely.
The NFL 2018 draft, as a search topic, was at 4,550% - the topic of "protest" as it related to the NFL was only 600%.
This morning, those stats have barely changed at all.
That's why I'm worried. I'm worried because, evidently, the American public cares more about the NFL draft than stopping the police beating and killing people of color.
That isn't necessarily a new revelation, but it's a grave sign for the future of this country.
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