politics or other reasons?
I rarely ever watch games on TV. I just don’t find it fun. The politics have nothing to do with why I don’t watch football on TV. I just don’t like football.
If hockey became overly political I would probably stop going to games. I don’t see that happening as most of the players are not even American.
This is going off on a tangent, but I will reply. On the CHB I make a post comparing the responses to Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to those who objected to the old Washington Redskins team name.
On one hand, Kaepernick said that he intended no disrespect to the military by kneeling and did so only to make a totally different point. Many current and former military and other patriotic Americans replied that kneeling during the national anthem was flat out disrespectful and they were offended, regardless of Kaepernick’s intent.
On the other hand, many Native Americans said that they were offended by the Washington Redskins team name. Washington Redskins fans replied that they intended no disrespect to Native Americans with the Washington Redskins team name.
Many of the same people who took issue with Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem said that those who were offended by the Washington Redskins team name should get over it and stop looking for reasons to be offended. I also saw several sports writers take the reverse position, saying that the Kaepernick’s message was totally and unfairly distorted while at the same time ripping the Washington Redskins for continuing to use that name.
Similarly, with your reference to NASCAR I assume you are referring to their ban on the confederate flag as being PC. That seems pretty similar to the criticism of the Washington Redskins team name, and the comparison of that to Kaepernick and other players kneeling also seems pretty apt.
More Native Americans did not find it offensive. There are always people who will be offended by everything but the two situations are not comparable at all.
The team name was never meant to be offensive. Kaepernick was trying to create controversy and the name was meant to honor natives. Apples and oranges.
The truth of the matter is most Native Americans were OK with the Redskins name because of its history and symbolism.
Meddling white people were offended.
As far as Nascar, I hadn’t even thought about the Confederate flag. I was thinking about Nascar getting the FBI to investigate a loop in a garage door rope that had been there more than a year.
If Kap had been white protesting some issue, the NFL would have spent about two minutes on the situation. Kap is uniquely qualified to write a book, “how to ruin an NFL career”.
I am going to make the same replies I made on the CHB and then stop here. I would first ask anybody if you would refer to a Native American as a “redskin” and the reason for your answer. I will also cite this column by Charles Krauthammer on the subject. I agree with the points he made.
An opinion article by a white guy kind of proves my point.
Is Charles Krauhammer a native American? If so you made the liberal sin of not listening to the marginalized crowd. That would be another white man telling natives how they should feel.
I don’t have a ton of native friends but I do have a few. None of them cared about the term redskin. My friends father went by red as his nickname because of his heritage.
This was another example of the left being upset for a group that didn’t really care. Do you know what many natives want? The treaties honored and a decent living.
My friend’s father group in a cabin on a reservation with no electricity and no water.
I think getting upset of mascots is a tad silly. Should Notre Dame change their mascot because it’s offensive to Irish? It depicts the Irish as small, drunks who like to fight which is offensive to my ancestry.
I knew I said I would not reply, but as long as we are citing polls, does this more recent one make any difference on your position on athletes kneeling during the national anthem?
No. It is between the employer and the employee. It’s that simple. If the employer allows it then he can kneel. Otherwise, he is without a job.
I still think Kap is a pampered, privileged piece of shit.
I have a friend that is full blooded Lakota and he travels the country encouraging local sports teams (mostly high school) to keep their Native American nicknames (Braves, Indians,etc.), he refers to the small minority of people who try to get them changed as “name traitors”.
That is two questions that I posed that you didn’t answer. That is fine, though. It is your prerogative.
However, as long as we are on the subject of polls, the poll you referred to is from the Washington Post in 2016. Here is a more recent poll form 2019 on the same subject. Does that affect your opinion on the matter?
Well, did the poll about kneeling only include the groups that Kapernick was insulting and being offensive too?
I belong to one of those groups and used to belong to the other.
A big part of the game not getting good ratings this year is that it wasn’t competitive. Ratings are averaged through the whole game. With people not having big parties, a lot weren’t watching in the 2nd half.
I don’t care about the groups he offended. What I care about is if his employer approved it.
I was in law enforcement and the military for years. I did medical work in both fields but I had the same training as everyone else.
In both of those careers, we work to defend the rights of others even when we find it offensive. My issue was that he was on the company dime when he did it and it reflects poorly on them. It wasn’t a product I would consume but I won’t in the future at they seem to support his views.
Nike did a big deal with him and I ceased to buy Nike products but I didn’t really care for their products anyways. I am more of a under armour guy and that has nothing to do with politics. I just find their products superior.
Free Speech gives him the right to offend veterans and law enforcement. His employer has the right not to pay him anymore which I think is fair. At the end of the day, sports are a business. If he hurts the bottom line, he will go.
Now, what I would have found more compelling is if he had donated his whole salary to a group that combats the problem he thinks is there. That would have caught my attention. It also would have done more good.
In the bike world, there is a huge gravel race every June (200 mile endurance race) that is on gravel thru the Kansas flinthills. The name of the race was “Dirty Kanza”, but more recently was shortened to DK. This year it is called “Unbound Gravel” because Kanza is the Indian Tribe that the state of Kansas was named after. Some felt that “Dirty Kanza” was disrespectful. This is a race that brought riders from around the world to race. I haven’t met anyone who is looking forward to “Unbound Gravel”, but several who are interested in the DK.
Now days you’ll offended somebody with anything.
Often the group that is offended has nothing to do with the offense.
Also groups are diverse. What may offended one native may not offend another. My friends father liked to be called Indian, not native. My friend didn’t want to be called either. He didn’t identify as native even though he was 25%.
Sometimes people will use white as a slur and that annoys me.
Black friend Wanda to be called Negro. Doesn’t like colored or African American.
All groups are different.
Apparently I am now an asshole since I drive a Jeep Cherokee.
I personally like how we honor the natives by naming helicopters after them.
I admit the topic of natives is complicated but we are not leaving America. We are not handing it back.
Mexico is full of natives. They’re treated like second class citizens.