There is a certain level of escapism that every sports fan enjoys on a given night. For football fans, Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights have become sacred times of forgetting about the outside world’s problems and focusing on their beloved NFL teams.
However, after the protests that took place during nearly every game this weekend, football fans can no longer ignore the controversial actions of President Donald Trump. While making an appearance on Murph & Mac Monday morning, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network sifted through the protests that took place over the weekend.
“It’s hard because there have been so many varied viewpoints,” Rapoport said. “From Friday night late to late Saturday night when it became clear that this was becoming the issue on Sunday, I talked to a lot of people, head coaches, GMs, players, agents, everyone.”
When President Donald Trump made a speech on Friday, in which he criticized any athletes who kneel during the national anthem, many in the league felt they could no longer stay silent. As several players knelt on the sideline, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans remained off the field during the national anthem as their form of protest.
“Everyone likes to say, stick to football, but it’s impossible now. Our president won’t allow it,” Rapoport said. “I talked to a group of players who protested yesterday, who wanted to stick to football. They did not want protest, they did not want to kneel, but they felt they had no choice because at some point you reach a breaking point and say, ‘alright I just have to make my voice heard.’”
Of the three teams absent from the field during the national anthem, the Steelers left their head coach, Mike Tomlin, and a few coaches on the field alone.
“Just the picture and it’s so weird to see, so maybe that’s why it stood out, but Mike Tomlin, a couple of his coaches and no one behind him,” Rapoport said. “That was an incredible sight to see and to see Tomlin stand there with no team behind him.”
Needless to say, there will be some who inevitably boycott the NFL because of these protests and many fear, especially the owners, that this will cost the league in terms of ratings. Yet, what took place this past weekend thrust football into “a national conversation” that transcends the sport and involves those normally uninterested in the NFL.
“I don’t know what the ratings are going to be, but I would imagine they are going to be crazy, besides the fact that it was an unbelievable slate of 10:00 a.m. games and even the night games were pretty good,” Rapoport said. “I think it almost created another buzz for football that we’ve never seen.”
One of the most powerful images from the weekend took place prior to the showdown in London, where Jaguars owner Shad Khan was seen joining arms with his players. While his suit and short stature stuck out on the sideline, nothing stood out more than his courage amidst the possibility of losing revenue.
“That was definitely dramatic, especially because Shad Kahn gave a million dollars to Trump, he has been a supporter and this was a clear rebuke by linking arms with his players.”
As much as these actions may rub those in the country the wrong way, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is committed to this support of the players. According to Rapoport, “he [Roger Goodell] will not fine players who did not come to the sideline, he will not fine players who did not come out for the anthem,” enabling them to freely express their beliefs.
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and start from the beginning for Rapoport on the protests.
