“I am deeply disappointed by the comments made by the
owner of The New England Patriots NFL Team on Sunday.
I am proud to be associated with so many American Patriots
who make such tremendous contributions in positively impacting
our country. Their efforts, help bring people together and make
our country stronger. There is no greater unifier in this country
than true patriotic freedom and unfortunately nothing more divisive
than professional sports players DISRESPECTING our country’s
National Anthem. I believe our professional sports players could
learn a lot from the lessons of American History and the importance
of working together toward the common goal of the freedom of our
citizens. Our American Patriots are intelligent, thoughtful and care
deeply about our country and I support their right to affectively
boycott any and all professional sports owners and players who
continue to DISRESPECT THIS COUNTRY.”
Odd that nobody ever sings the third verse to The Star Spangled Banner:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Patriots protect and defend the Constitution. A not so minor part of that document is the First Amendment.
What freedoms do we have without the freedom to disrespect a song or a pledge, if refusing to stand like puppets was indeed disrespect, which I am not quite as sure as you about. Maybe blasting boat horns, so no one could hear the song, or mooning the crowd, but kneeling quietly? Really? Seemed like a pretty respectful way to do a protest, honestly.
The only disruption was to those that wanted it to be a disruption. "OMG, I can't enjoy that song unless EVERYONE does exactly the same thing as me!" Songs do not matter, neither do flags, they are only symbols that refer back to the Constitution, which is trampled every day by politicians and police officers. If you want to be upset about un American activity, you should really be referencing activity that defies the Constitution, not activity that is protected by it.
That is what the players were, in fact doing. If police kill a suspect, they have violated the 4th through the 8th Amendments - look them up, they are no less important than the 1st or the 2nd, as stated, specifically, in the Constitution.
I think maybe those that are so upset about these players should really do a little (OK, a LOT) of growing up.
The President calling for them to be fired for the proper exercise of a Constitutionally protected Right is much more egregious and specifically not patriotic to me. A violation of his Oath of office, is no minor offense... That is DISRESPECT for this Country.