Is This The Best the NFLPA Can Do?

If I'm a union member in today's day and age I want intelligence and reason from my top representatives. The NFLPA head four years before the contract is up talking about the negotiations being headed for "small a armageddon" makes everyone look foolish. This the same week as NFLPA President Eric Winston saying that the revenue side of the game is the owners issue to deal with. "I think that’s their responsibility to make sure that people are watching this game, that the revenue continues to be generated. They always say, “We’re the business side of this, we’re the ones that produce the revenue,” so they need to go produce it. That’s the way I look it." I know the players are hoping for big changes to the CBA in 2021 but with these two in charge I don't like their odds.

NFL Players and the National Anthem

Below is the post I put up almost a year ago about Colin Kaepernick not standing for the national anthem. I still support those sentiments however I don't feel that it's working. I say this for a variety of reasons: First of all it bothers me that the method of delivering the message offends so many others. There are many methods NFL players could use to raise awareness of the issues of oppression, violence, race relations etc. I'm not sure choosing one that makes people so uncomfortable is the most effective. Secondly I think it's difficult to get others to join in with helping share your message when the delivery method you choose is so controversial. Michael Bennett wants white players to join in the protests to add credibility. If I'm an NFL player I would support the idea of working to raise awareness of these important issues, however there is zero chance that I would sit during the anthem. Finally, and probably the biggest reason I think this is no longer succeeding, very few of the discussions I hear about players not standing for the anthem actually mention why they are doing this and none discuss the issue in any depth. The message is being lost because of the controversial delivery method.

Last year's post: I don't love Colin Kaepernick's delivery method for his message but I'm glad to see a football player using his platform to raise awareness of an issue. There will be those who say it isn't effective but that's simply not true. The 49ers pledged a million dollars to organizations that work on issues of racial and economic inequality. That is just one example of the positive reactions.
Some feel it's disrespectful to veterans to not stand during the anthem. I respect that opinion. Mine is that those heroes fought (and continue to fight) to give us freedoms. Arguably the most important of those is freedom of expression.
Some comment that he makes X number of millions of dollars a year how can he be oppressed? By that logic I have to stop supporting the local food bank because I have a house full of food.
"The purpose of influence is to stand up for those who have none" Rick Warren

LeBron's Comments

Really disappointed that the media is focusing on LeBron's shot at Trump rather than the positive message he put forth. There are a lot of young people who look up to LeBron and I have a lot of respect for him using the platform available to him. For those who didn't hear it, here is the text:

"I have this platform and I'm somebody that has a voice of command, and the only way for us to be able to get better as a society and us to get better as people is love. And that's the only way we're going to be able to conquer something at the end of the day. It's not about the guy that's the so-called president of the United States, or whatever the case. It's not about a teacher that you don't feel like cares about what's going on with you every day. It's not about people that you just don't feel like want to give the best energy and effort to you. It's about us. It's about us looking in the mirror. Kids all the way up to the adults. It's about all of us looking in the mirror and saying, 'What can we do better to help change?"