NFL's Priorities Stand for Hypocrisy

NFL’s Priorities Stand for Hypocrisy

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

September 7, 2017

While the Cleveland Browns are the most recent National Football League franchise to make a mockery of the Star Spangled Banner, they are actually doing so with the blessing of the league itself. Another NFL season kicks off this weekend, as flags will be raised and unfurled throughout 16 stadiums, yet there will be a lack of uniformity as the league remains silent on those players demonstrating disdain and disrespect toward the American flag and all it represents.

The NFL, in its current spate of political correctness, is quick to fine players for excessive celebration for anything from a sack to a dance in the endzone following a touchdown. And although it seems perfectly acceptable to blaspheme the National Anthem under the guise of free expression, different socks and/or messages on their shoes are flagged for punishment.

The NFL is demonstrating sheer hypocrisy by not demanding all players stand for the National Anthem. After all, fans in the stands are required to do so, hearing this or a similar announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, please rise, and gentlemen please remove your caps as so-and-so performs/sings our National Anthem.” If it is mandatory for paying customers to stand, why are the players treated any differently? Who are they to receive a special dispensation from standing for the National Anthem.

About a dozen Cleveland Browns players took a knee during their home preseason game on Monday,  August 21 versus the New York Giants. Additionally, Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett sat during the National Anthem on Sunday, August 13. And while head coach Pete Carroll said “we should all stand for the anthem,” there were no repercussions against Bennett.

It was just as wrong for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to take a knee last season, as Hall of Famer Jim Brown said he thought it disrespectful and that players like Kaepernick are desecrating the flag. Now, as opening day approaches, and Kaepernick is still unemployed, there are players and a so-called sports writer Skip Bayless who are attempting to bully the league into hiring Kaepernick on racial discrimination grounds. That suggestion is a load of crap. Regardless of his race, Kaepernick has been a distraction and for those in the overwhelming majority, fans simply don’t wish to support a team with a malcontent on its roster.

Taken one step farther, the unions representing the Cleveland police officers and paramedics have announced they will defer from holding a large, roughly field-sized American flag during the pregame ceremonies prior to the Browns season-opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, September 10.

“I am not going to participate, or work with management, that allows their players to disrespect the flag and the National Anthem,” said Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolman’s Association, and a veteran of the United States Navy. Loomis expressed shock upon learning that Browns management knew there would be players refusing to stand for the anthem, but did nothing to prevent their actions.

The Browns issued a contradictory statement at halftime of the their game versus the Giants. The Browns organization has a “profound respect for the National Anthem, the U.S. flag and those who serve in the military. We feel it’s important for our team to join in this great tradition and special moment of recognition, at the same time we also respect the great liberties afforded by our country, including the freedom of personal expression.” Pure hypocrisy.

So the NFL endorses personal expression when it pertains to something as important as respecting the American flag and the National Anthem, yet rigidly enforces uniform rules regarding socks and shoes. The entire issue is a uniform issue, as in uni = one, one form, as in everyone wearing or doing the same thing - standing for the anthem. Once again, pure hypocrisy.

The NFL and its 32 franchises can enforce a rule requiring its employees, the players, to stand during the National Anthem. If a player wishes to offer personal expression, he should feel welcome to do so on his personal time. Once that player punches the clock, similar to an employee of any other business, they are required to follow the rules as established by their employer, provided they do not require lawbreaking or putting themselves in harm's way. A restaurant employee should not offer personal opinions on issues of the day while serving food to patrons, but once the shift has ended, he or she should be able to express his or her opinion at will. To do so on the clock could prove deleterious to the employer - losing patrons and ultimately income because of a wrong place, wrong time situation. Teams could suffer similar losses when jersey and other merchandise sales slump due to fans speaking with their wallets - refusing to purchase such items representing teams with players disrespecting the flag and ultimately the nation.

Players disobeying the rules should be fined up to the amount of one game’s salary. If players do not like the rules, they are free to find employment elsewhere. The NFL would no doubt disapprove of such enforcement for fear of being called racist when this is not a race issue, but instead, an issue of respect and uniformity. As a business, the NFL is gutless - lacking the intestinal fortitude to do what is right in the eyes of the millions of patriotic Americans, those who wore and continue to wear the uniform, as well as those men and women in blue on the front lines in the cities, towns, villages, and hamlets across this great nation.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He is a longtime fan of the New York Giants and New York Jets.

NFL Throws Flag on Dallas Decal

NFL Throws Flag on Dallas Decal

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

August 16, 2016

A simple, yet meaningful gesture by the Dallas Cowboys to place a decal on their football helmets honoring the Dallas police force, most specifically the memories of the five slaughtered officers, has been sacked by the National Football League and Commissioner Roger Goodell.

The decal, barely larger than the NFL logo decal on the backs of the helmets, which has been worn by the Cowboys since training camp opened July 30, is circular, reading “Arm in Arm,” and features the Texas Lone Star. Calling the requested decal a violation of standard uniform policy, the NFL is acting in a cowardly manner, hiding behind a rule that is not written in stone, when clearly it has been violated numerous times in the past. (http://www.gridiron-uniforms.com/GUD/decals.shtml) The list is not as comprehensive as it leads readers to believe.

In 2007, the Green Bay Packers donned a helmet decal commemorating the 50^th anniversary of Lambeau Field.

Each October since 2009 not only does the NFL mandate breast cancer awareness decals, but various uniform accoutrements are pink – a clear violation of uniform policy.

In 2011 the New England Patriots adorned helmet decals in memory of Myra Kraft, wife of team owner Robert Kraft. Three years later, the Detroit Lions did likewise in memory of their team owner William Clay Ford.

Both the New York Giants and Jets wore “SHES” decals on their helmets in memory of those murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

The above references are a sampling of those which did not appear on the provided link, save for the cancer awareness item. Clearly there is precedence for uniform amendments and a decal is a slight augmentation, yet significant in perception. Take for example the 2012 decal worn by the Denver Broncos that read “Victims of gun violence and wild fires.” If those victims could be memorialized, why not the slaughtered Dallas police officers?

Conservative radio host Mark Levin called the NFL’s decision to reject the Dallas decal “embarrassing and disgraceful.”

It is an act of cowardice because it would demonstrate that the NFL, with a recent history of thuggish behavior by far too many players involved with violence toward women and a gun culture, is hypocritical in supporting police when it can barely police its own players. Instead, by not allowing the decal, it is tantamount to a lack of support of the law enforcement community – the same community that keeps millions of fans safe and secure while spending millions of dollars to attend NFL games in 32 stadiums around the nation.

The decal, a display of unity with the Dallas police, was the brainchild of Cowboys tight end Jason Witten. On the advent of Cowboys training camp July 30, Dallas Police Chief David Brown, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, as well as relatives of the slain officers were present as several of the Dallas players took the field arm in arm with decals adorning the helmets of the entire team. Clearly an emotional moment for those involved.

Yet Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw was not moved, supporting the NFL’s decision. Without naming any, Cowlishaw wrote there are ways to honor police without “opening this political door.”

When did the slaughter of police officers become political? Perhaps when the NFL opted to deny the Cowboys their simple request because Goodell might have feared backlash and recriminations from the violent, anarchistic Black Lives Matter movement.

It is not political when five Dallas police officers are mercilessly slaughtered and several others wounded in an act of violence that endangers entire communities. Nobody asked the politics of the police officers who were murdered on July 7. They were the antithesis of the NFL’s cowardice by making the ultimate sacrifice during a Black Lives Matter protest rally only a few blocks from Dealey Plaza, the site of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

Lorne Aherns, 48, was a 14 year veteran of the Dallas Police Department.

Michael Krol, 40, was an eight year veteran with the Dallas Police Department.

Michael J. Smith, 55, a 27 year veteran of the police force, is survived by his wife of 17 years, Heidi, as well as two daughters, 14 and nine. Smith was also an Army Ranger.

Brent Thompson, 43, was a seven year veteran of the Transit Police who previously served in Iraq. He is survived by his wife of two weeks, a fellow transit police officer.

Patrick Zamarripa, 32, was a police officer and father of two children who survived three tours in Iraq only to be gunned down on the job at home in Dallas.

Somehow politics was probably the last thing on anyone’s minds when these five heroes were laid to rest. May their memories be for a Blessing. As for the NFL, contact Commissioner Goodell at 212-450-2000 or via e-mail at officeofcommissioner@nfl.com to politely lodge outrage as this deleterious decision. Perhaps save a small fortune and watch the games from the comforts of home. As John Belushi said in Animal House, “don’t cost nothin’.”

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

Pats Pigskin Peccadillo Simply Not Kosher

Pats Pigskin Peccadillo Simply Not Kosher

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

January 23, 2015

Initially dismissed as much ado about nothing, when given more thought, the New England Patriots did more than just deflate 11 out of their 12 footballs used in their demolition of the Indianapolis Colts during last Sunday’s AFC championship game.

Full disclosure, I root for the New York Giants – winners of two of their Super Bowls against the Patriots, and the New York Jets, a division rival of the Patriots. I do not like the Patriots, I do not root for them, and I think the deflating of their footballs should be punishable beyond a slap on the wrist of a $25,000 fine and the loss of a first round draft pick.

While it would be impractical to bar the Patriots from the Super Bowl due to the enormous financial investment already made by advertisers, fans, and the Glendale-Phoenix metropolitan area, for which they should not be made to suffer, there is a solution – rematch.

Have the Colts and Patriots suit up in Foxboro once again, this time with all balls under complete control by the NFL (as it should be in the first place), and tee it up. If the Patriots are as good as the 45-7 threshing they laid on the Colts, a New England victory should be the end result. While the old adage, on any given day, any given team can beat any other team is true, a rematch should erase all doubt. I realize this won’t happen as there is too little time left before the Super Bowl itself, but it is worth consideration for future cheatings.

A rematch notwithstanding, the game could be played without the two “stars” in this long winded drama – suspend Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. In his press conference on Thursday January 22, Belicheat sounded more like the inept buffoon Sergeant Hans Schultz from television’s Hogan’s Heroes. He claimed to “know nothing” in answering each question. Brady did his best impression of Barack Obama claiming to not have known anything about the deflated footballs until hearing about it Monday morning from the media.

Something happened – 11 of the 12 Patriots’ footballs were deflated to give an edge to that team, yet no one knows anything about how it happened.

Worse than the scandal itself is the message sent to not just football fans, but sports fans in general, and most specifically to the children who watch and play sports. It’s okay to cheat because there is no real punishment – certainly nothing to impact the game for which the cheating promoted the cheater. A fine of $25,000 is less than lunch money to a team worth $2.6 billion – second only to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. (www.forbes.com) Also, losing a first round draft pick will have little impact on a championship-caliber team that with little change should be just as good next season as this.

The young fans need to understand that rules are in place for a reason – so all teams play by those same rules and that the only advantage is that earned by the hard work of the athletes themselves and the team owners who invest capital to find the right formula to put a winning franchise on the field.

The NFL already has a black eye from the Ray Rice debacle. Commissioner Roger Goodell needs to step up and send a message that cheating will not be tolerated. It doesn’t matter whether the outcome of the game would have been altered, but it does matter that the Patriots have a history of playing fast and loose with the rules – spy-gate in 2008, a snow plow in 1982, as well as accusations of signal and even playbook stealing.

Cheating is wrong – on homework or tests in school, on a spouse or significant other, or on the job. There are far too many places – schools, relationships, the ball yard, or the workplace where there is such a culture of cheating it is barely acknowledged unless so egregious it must be combatted. Like the broken windows theory of governing employed so deftly by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, if cheating is addressed and punished swiftly from the outset, it will be reduced in total.

While this is not the war on Islamic extremist terrorism, the issue of racial strife in the United States, or the deficiencies of Obamacare, these are broken windows in need of repair before the entire building is condemned.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.