Kansas City Star rides the fence over Marcus Peters

They don't want to be trashed by TV talk shows and the rent-a-mobs, I suppose.

Kansas City Star

"Marcus Peters, sitting mute on that trainer’s bench while “The Star-Spangled Banner” played before Thursday night’s game — why, it’s enough to make a Chiefs fan root for Tom Brady.

"OK, maybe that’s a bridge too far. And this time, Peters didn’t raise a fist as he did at last year’s season opener, or ride a stationary bike as he did in the preseason. But it’s clear that the Kansas City cornerback’s silent protests are picking at a scar that feels increasingly raw these days.

"The facile symbolism is thick: An ungratefully prosperous African-American athlete damned the very foundation of the nation that granted him his fortune, just before taking on a team literally named the Patriots. And Brady, New England’s square-jawed, all-American superstar quarterback is a longtime “good friend” and golfing buddy of President Donald Trump.

"Or, through a different lens: An unapologetic American success story chose not to rise for a song that wasn’t even adopted as the national anthem until 1931 — and whose lyrics were penned by a slave owner, and whose seldom-sung third verse may or may not cheer the deaths of slaves — standing on principle, then earning the Chiefs’ biggest regular season win over a team of cheaters who still sport Super Bowl rings." . . .

But then....well, what did you expect members of the American media to do, but pen a both-sides-of-the-street opinion? The editorial staff concludes with:

Equality-minded Republicans know just how infuriating it is to be shouted down as a bigot on the basis of nothing more than party affiliation. That’s not why the Founding Fathers established a bedrock of free speech. Marcus Peters is owed that right absolutely. He wouldn’t advocate for change if he didn’t want a stronger country. We want to hear his ideas.

This wasn't his first time: