No Flag League

I was at a restaurant this evening and watched the last few minutes of the Kansas City Chiefs' win over the Los Angeles (?) Chargers. I enjoyed rookie Kareem Hunt's ridiculous cutback that gave him his third 50+ yard TD run in as many games.

I have no idea what Hunt did when the national anthem was played. And I don't really care. One of the last things I watch any sporting activity for is the conduct of wealthy or extremely wealthy people when the song is played. I don't even watch them when I'm at a game, because I'm facing the flag with my hand over my heart.

Of late, though, this conduct has become something that Matters a Whole Lot. The fracas began last season when San Francisco 40'ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick was spotted on one knee while the anthem was played and when asked about it, suggested that he could not salute the flag of a nation in which minorities were so oppressed. He connected his position to well-publicized shootings of African-American men by police.

Kaepernick quickly proved sub-optimal as a spokesman for a justice movement. At a press conference, his T-shirt featuring the murderous thug Che Guevara joined his practice socks featuring pigs in police uniforms to make a clear and convincing case that he was not a man to be taken seriously. The issue bubbled along for the 2016 season, mostly under the surface as the number of players who followed his lead stayed relatively small.

This year it has become a much bigger deal, as a few players again began the season either kneeling in prayer, staying seated on the bench or taking some other posture besides standing on the sidelines. Since some did so in groups, fan displeasure mounted and things began to be a little more heated. Then President Trump, who has never met a situation his mouth could not make worse, weighed in. At a political rally in Alabama, he suggested that players who did not stand during the anthem should be fired. Predictably, many more players decided to kneel or do something other than stand during the game today than had done so before. One news story I saw said it was about four last week and more than 100 today. Good job, Mr. President.

At Soldier Field today, the Chicago Bears knelt with their arms interlocked. Only one Pittsburgh Steeler, Alejandro Villanueva, came out during the anthem, and he saluted the flag while it was played. Villanueva served in the United States army and earned a Bronze Star for valor. Coach Mike Tomlin kept his team inside while the anthem was played, the way that most college teams do and the way most NFL teams did up until just a few years ago. Tomlin said he kept his players inside so that they would not be forced to choose one way or the other, but he probably realized that Villanueva would feel a little differently.

Of course the President made things worse by injecting himself into the situation, but he has neither the brains nor the character to do anything else. What is interesting is how far afield the whole mess has moved from what was supposed to originally motivate Kaepernick. Players who may have thought he was a goofball are now asserting his -- and their -- constitutional right to respond to the anthem as they see fit.

Highly-paid professional athletes make fragile spokespersons for political issues in any case, and that goes double when the issue touches on things like privilege. They are textbook cases of people who have money, prestige and influence for no other reason than their strength, speed, size or skill. They've been given special treatment and advantages. When they critique the system which has significantly blessed them, a careful touch is required. Kaepernick choose poorly. People overlooked why he did what he did to take offense at what they saw as disrespect of the nation and its flag, guaranteeing his position would never get the attention or hearing he said he wanted. Just like with the president, everything became about him -- although I'll give Kaepernick the benefit of the doubt that he got there through a lack of forethought than by jonesing for any and all spotlights to turn his way. No such doubt for the president.

And so we are subjected to the players' opinions of the president, the president's opinion of the players and commentators opinions of both. It's enough to make you yearn for the measured opinions and probity of Howard Cosell.