The NFL Will Never Learn From Their Mistakes
Goodell and the NFL owners have shown that they have no incentive of correcting their mistakes and more than likely never will
The National Football League’s collective group of owners are reminiscent of the character “Can’t Get Right” from the Eddie Murphy/Martin Lawrence comedy classic “Life.” There’s just something wrong with them where it seems they will continue to fail to grasp the world around them and will never make the right decision.
The NFL announced yesterday that all athletes and coaches are to stand for the National Anthem before kickoff. If any personnel takes a knee, they would be fined by the League. They have permission to stay in the locker rooms if they do not want to be there for the ceremony.
“We want people to be respectful of the national anthem,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a press conference. “We want people to stand — that’s all personnel — and make sure they treat this moment in a respectful fashion. That’s something we think we owe. [But] we were also very sensitive to give players choices.”
This is a short-sighted action that shows how little they understand the nature of the protests. It was never in regards to the National Anthem or disrespecting the military. Colin Kaepernick and other football athletes took a knee during the anthem in response to police brutality and the acknowledgement of civil rights for African Americans.
For whatever reason — mostly sheer ignorance and fear of a certain Commander-in-Chief — this falls on deaf ears. Because of this poorly constructed decision, this will make the NFL even more decisive than ever. The NFL’s reputation is already damaged over the years due to several poor decisions but this may make matters even worse.
The decision also did not sit well with the players. The NFLPA released a statement criticizing the new policies.
Most NFL athletes took to Twitter to denounce and criticize the actions of Goodell and the NFL owners for their decision.
The NFL has been handling a myriad of controversies poorly due to the fact that the League just refuses to tackle the issues head on. They hide behind quick resolutions without actually solving the problems. They fail to protect the cheerleaders from sexual harassment and abuse. They deny blackballing players like Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid despite the fact that the reasoning does not make any sense and continuously looks suspicious. They still have not done a good job establishing penalties of domestic violence cases. The list goes on and on.
Perhaps it’s due to the fact that it’s a multibillion dollar industry as to why it seems they can get away with the numerous bad decisions they have made over the years. The NFL recently signed a streaming deal with Verizon for $2 billion. It’s unlikely they will lose money anytime soon. It could also be due to the fact that the owners fear President Donald Trump.
Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report reported that several of the owners are afraid of the backlash they may receive at the hands of Mr. Trump and his supporters.
“ What does the NFL fear? It fears boycotts of games,” Freeman said. “It fears people not watching its product on television. It fears people not buying its products.”
What will the NFL do when one of their players receives the kind of brutality NBA shooting guard Sterling Brown suffered at the hands of police? Will they come to his aid? Will they finally understand why their athletes have been taking a knee during the National Anthem?
The NFL will never get out of its way when it comes to empathizing with the personnel and their plights. In their perfect world, they would prefer everyone to just shut up and play ball.
*additional credit to Bleacher Report, ESPN, Five Thirty Eight, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, New York Times
