The entire Garfield High School football team, including the coaches, took a knee during the national anthem Friday night before their game against West Seattle High on Friday night to protest “social injustices.”
After the game, which Garfield won, Garfield High School head football coach Joey Thomas said that "the players decided to do this" to bring attention to "social injustices," emphasizing that it was "a player-driven" move and that his players plan to continue the practice during the anthem before every game "until they tell us to stop."
Well if they are waiting for the school board to tell them to stop it does not appear that will happen anytime soon.
Seattle Public Schools issued the following statement:
“Students kneeling during the national anthem are expressing their rights protected by the First Amendment. Seattle Public Schools supports all students' right to free speech.”
Now THAT my friends is what freedom is all about.
And good on these high school athletes for participating in our democracy. As well as the Seattle Public Schools for supporting their right to do so.
I bet the people complaining about the protests don't stand and remove their hats when they are in their house. I think the anthem is played to often it cheapens it to be played all the time it gets played at almost all sporting events what next play it before movies and concerts or anywhere that more than 50 people gather at.
ReplyDeleteThis is how other countries feel about their national anthems. They do not play them at ever sports activity, etc. because they believe it is disrespectful and cheapens it. The playing of their anthem is reserved for only the most solemn of occasions.
DeletePersonally, I think this might be an idea it is worth the U.S. starting to embrace.
Most people at home are going to the bathroom or stuffing their faces while at home.
DeleteThousands are in the beer lines at the game or stuffing their faces also.
That is awesome. I expect Trump to denounce this at any moment. Some pastor will also threaten them with death, and call for them to be deported. Good on the school board! Hope a lot of these young men are 18!!
ReplyDeleteNo. Shot.
DeleteSome minister that also doubles as a high school football announcer has already announced at a game that anyone taking a knee would be shot.
I guess that's that separation of church and state since he is obviously denying the existence of the Bill of Rights and Constitution. I guess at his church, you check your rights at the door and he considers the football field his holy temple.
When I view the future through adult eyes I wonder if the USA will survive.
ReplyDeleteWhen I view the future through the eyes of the next generation my pessimist attitude is lifted. The children of today understand much more. It is through them that I can realize hope.
Right wingers go nuts when someone takes a knee, but remain silent when someone takes a bullet.
ReplyDeleteSad.
If THAT'S not the truth!
DeleteHubby MNF last night, I noticed that cameras did not pan the Vikings sideline during the anthem. No doubt they got their order from above.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just me, but I see no difference between the uber religious nuts and the "God and Country" flag-waving screamers. Some of them are the worst excuses for human beings there are with the most to hide.
There's a lot of overlap between the two.
DeleteI think it has a lot to do with the blind team FANatic group mindset. Once they sign up for the "team" whatever the team says goes and they never question it but blindly follow. No questioning. No thinking involved. They've chosen their 'team' and nothing anyone else says will sway them.
I think that is our most dangerous attribute. The blind following, whether in religion or politics. I see it in my 86 year old mother. She registered as a Republican after she attended an Eisenhower rally. Now it doesn't matter how far the Republican Party has drifted away from that nor that the current party holds none of the same views she does, she's a Republican and that's how she votes.
I call it the team mentality.
I heard the coach interviewed the other day before they did it. He is a former NFL player. Very thoughtful, articulate guy who seemed to really care about the kids. This was done respectfully.
ReplyDeleteThere was probably some discussion in the locker room. It is a tribute to this coach that he allowed his players the freedom to express themselves rather than shut them down as indicted by the "until someone tells us to stop."
DeleteYep, that's my Seattle, one of the most liberal cities in America!
ReplyDeleteAll this because some waning 2nd rate quarterback wants to keep his social activist girlfriend with nice cans from leaving him for a bigger fish. Too bad for Colin, she is the type that is always scouting new replacements, and he will be by the curb come the new year. Next season he won't have a team or his hot girlfriend.
ReplyDeleteMore likely Colin used his freedom of speech to bring attention to San Fran's current police problem with shooting minorities, so bad that currently they have no police chief.
DeleteBecause only YOU are entitled to Constitutional rights, not "those" people?
DeleteYou know what *that* is, right?
It's called FASCISM.
Who took away Colin's rights 12:00?
DeleteDid someone stop him from sitting or kneeling?
When did that happen that he had his rights taken away?
Ohhh wait a minute...
You must think that other people are not allowed THEIR rights to speak freely and disagree with his protest.. Is that what you mean? You don't want his detractors to have their rights to free speech?
Probably not 10:53, he just wants to keep access to his girlfriends pussy. Expect Kaepernick to have some type of mental episode in the next year or two.
DeleteAnybody still wants to complain about athletes taking a knee during the national anthem in protest for unjust killings?
ReplyDeleteBelieve me if you've been complaining, you haven't seen nothing yet. Wait till this Sunday NFL games.
TV reports black man with his hands up shot by white police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was an unarmed father of four kids coming home from community college. He had car problems that's why he was in the street.
The unarmed black man, that was not following police commands, that walked backed to his car, and reached thru his window.........
DeleteSomething very odd about all this, you should probably wait for the full investigation. At least be honest about his own actions which caused a shooting. You don't reach into your car when a bunch of cops are yelling orders at you with their weapons drawn.
If I had to guess, probably pcp, but we'll see.
8:36 AM how do YOU know the man wasn't following cops' orders? Was he reaching inside his SUV to retrieve his ID and registration? We don't know, and now that he's dead, we'll NEVER know.
DeleteNo weapons were found in the vehicle or on his body, by the way.
Nobody is arguing that there were no weapons found Kajo. If the police are giving instructions, and you behavior is erratic, and the police have weapons drawn, and you move your hands and reach for the unknown... you may very well end up shot.
DeleteHere is some reading material for you leading up to the shooting:
http://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/tulsa-police-release-audio-of-911-calls-involving-the-abandoned-vehicle-of-terence-crutcher
BTW I do believe this is sad all the way around.
Shot if you're black.
DeleteIf you're white and retrieving your ID and registration, you're shortly sent on your way or they call a tow truck for you.
And big surprise, vial of pcp found in the vehicle.
DeleteTwice as many white people over black people killed by police every year 12:02.
DeleteWestern WA is quite liberal, Eastern WA the opposite.
ReplyDeleteGood that kids as young as high school age get what 'freedom of expression' means. And choose to demonstrate it in public.
What the hell do sports have to do with real
patriotism?
At the root of this whole stand/sit/lie down fiasco is one very major question, something I've always wondered, why in the hell is the anthem even part of these sporting events? Why is the pledge invoked in classrooms at the beginning of each day?
ReplyDeleteI don't get it, never have never will, it just seems to be government-forced jingoistic lock-step behavior, more like something one would see in Nazi Germany or China not in a country that was founded on its freedoms.
The pledge was to make sure all of our children don't grow up to be Communists.
DeleteThe National Anthem at sporting events was some sort of commercial marketing gimmick or PR stunt that stuck.
Personally, I'd like to see the anthem gone from all of the games. It just cheapens it.
Exactly. First Amendment rights to free expression.
ReplyDeleteSomething Donald Trump wants to ELIMINATE.
I don't understand why his statements about eliminating protections under the First Amendment aren't being reported more widely.
I don't agree with what they're doing, but I defend their right to do it. Tim Tebow wore WAAAAAY too much eyeshadow with bible verses and took a knee, sometimes two, and he was applauded and rewarded. Someone of a different race does it, and they have no right to. Someone upthread asked a great question. Why do they play the national anthem at sporting events? Especially when both teams are from the same country???
ReplyDelete