Hang on a minute, take a knee. It was kind of a back-burner issue at this point but the players who opted to take a knee during the National Anthem at NFL games are back in the news. Earlier last week the NFL announced a policy to fine teams whose players opt to take a knee during the ceremony. So, everyone is freaking out again. For the vast majority, it's another tribal issue and you feels a certain way about it based on whether you have a D or an R next to your name on your Voter ID Card. If you're a D, Trump is an A-Wipe and all of a sudden you're worried about rights again and if you have an R next to your name you like the move because these players are disrespecting the country and military and those things rule. Again, however, this is another thing where it's not black & white, nuance exists. I thought a lot about it this week because I see both sides of the argument. I believe that people should have the right to protest peacefully but I also agree that you shouldn't necessarily have the right do it at your place of business. From what I can tell, the kneeling thing started as a statement against a perceived injustice of police brutality against black Americans. Now agree or disagree with the sentiment, it has nothing to do with military or America but that compartmentalized issue. You can't blame the other side for believing it's about bashing America though seeing as the protest takes place during the time when the anthem is played. It's a timing thing. When else would the players have the time during a game to make that statement during a game? They wouldn't, it's kind of the only time. Should they? I mean, look, the bottom line for me is these guys are at work and if the boss says "not on my time" then fair enough. If they're activists outside of the game then there's little the NFL and owners can do about it; so players, save it for interviews and social media and just stand during the anthem. It's apparently part of the job.
Well, now that issue is solved, get up and let's get to the goods. Tampa News Force is in the building. It's a fascinating concept trying to make the news entertaining and funny. It's not the Daily Show it's more hitting the streets and just asking people involved, "what's going on here"? It's weird, to be frank but oddly engaging. It's brought criticism from major news outlets like the Tampa Bay Times' Tony Marrero and Howard Altman who thought it was in poor taste and after a brief Twitter spat, John went to confront them and ask why they were upset with what he was doing...as journalists do:
