Tuesday, January 16, 2018

NFL’s kneeling comes to abrupt halt: Protesters miss playoffs

Washington Times

The San Francisco 49ers, who did not qualify for the NFL postseason, had only four players taking a knee during the national anthem by Week 17. Kneeling at Week 16 were (from left) Eli Harold, Eric Reid, Marquise Goodwin and Louis Murphy. (Associated Press/File)

"NBC plans to televise any players who refuse to stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl, but there may be nothing to show.
"It appears that NFL players are no longer taking a knee during the national anthem, namely because none of the teams with still-active protesters has qualified for the postseason.
"By the end of the regular season, only five teams featured at least one player regularly sitting or kneeling on the sidelines for the anthem: the Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers, the Miami Dolphins, the New York Giants and the Oakland Raiders.
"None of those franchises made the playoffs, even though four of the five did so in the previous season, leading to speculation about whether the take-a-knee protests wound up dragging down team performance along with TV ratings.
“ 'By their actions, the kneelers brought controversy into the locker rooms, and this kind of distraction is always going to be detrimental to team cohesiveness,” said Robert Kuykendall, a spokesman for the conservative corporate watchdog 2ndVote.
“ 'They unfairly put their own teammates in the tough position, especially the players who believe the national anthem and the flag should be respected,” he said. “Obviously, teams without the distraction were going to be more focused on the game, and that is a catalyst for success.' ” . . .

I'm still angry over the NFL having Beyonce' and her anti-police half-time performance and show no regret over it.

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