Should NFL Teams Fire Players Who Won’t Stand For the Anthem?

[Valin]

Power Line

John Hinderaker

September 23, 2017

 

President Trump’s Huntsville, Alabama, speech, which Paul wrote about here, continues to reverberate. One of Trump’s riffs related to the National Football League:

Quote

When people like yourselves turn on television and you see those people taking the knee when they are playing our great national anthem – the only thing you could do better is if you see it, even if it’s one player, leave the stadium. I guarantee things will stop.

And

Quote

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.”

 

(Snip)

 

That leaves, obviously, the question of contract rights. Very few employees have written contracts, but professional athletes do. As a legal matter, the NFL’s player agreement controls the Colin Kaepernick-type situation. It undoubtedly contains language governing when a team can suspend a player or terminate his employment. Whether that language would be interpreted to cover the case of a player who kneels or stays seated during the Anthem, I have no idea.

_________________________________________________

 

But if they can do so, I would have no objection to a sports team suspending or firing a player whose public, on-field, in-uniform conduct damages the team’s goodwill.

[Draggingtree]

14 minutes ago, Valin said:

Power Line

John Hinderaker

September 23, 2017

 

President Trump’s Huntsville, Alabama, speech, which Paul wrote about here, continues to reverberate. One of Trump’s riffs related to the National Football League:

And

 

(Snip)

 

That leaves, obviously, the question of contract rights. Very few employees have written contracts, but professional athletes do. As a legal matter, the NFL’s player agreement controls the Colin Kaepernick-type situation. It undoubtedly contains language governing when a team can suspend a player or terminate his employment. Whether that language would be interpreted to cover the case of a player who kneels or stays seated during the Anthem, I have no idea.

_________________________________________________

 

But if they can do so, I would have no objection to a sports team suspending or firing a player whose public, on-field, in-uniform conduct damages the team’s goodwill.

Nor would I 

[Draggingtree]

NFL Arrogance

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Posted by Mike McDaniel in Culture

I did not play football in high school. I was too busy with track, soccer, music and theater. Over the years, I never developed the habit of watching sports on television. Work and my other interests took precedence, and I’d much rather participate in athletic endeavors than watch others. There’s not much physical or psychological benefit in that.

 

I’ve never been fond of the emphasis Americans put on professional athletics, and as an educator, less fond of the often irrational emphasis and portions of education budgets spent on high school football, and to a lesser degree depending on location, basketball.

I’ve been aware of some coaches and players who appeared to be men of character, even, in some ways, people worthy of emulation. And I’ve never begrudged them their salaries. They earned what the market would bear, and if we’re to embrace capitalism, that’s included in the embrace. We’re not in a zero sum game, and a dollar they make is not a dollar denied me or anyone else.     https://statelymcdanielmanor.wordpress.com/2017/09/22/nfl-arrogance/