Will we see more Redskins kneel during the anthem?

[Boarman1]

If anyone is tired of politics I get it, but I'm just gauging everyone

AP made it clear he is going to kneel during the anthem
Will other Redskins kneel too?
Will white Redskins players kneel as well?
Will kneeling be a big deal again in 2020?

[kbg]

If anyone is tired of politics I get it, but I'm just gauging everyone

AP made it clear he is going to kneel during the anthem
Will other Redskins kneel too?
Will white Redskins players kneel as well?
Will kneeling be a big deal again in 2020?

as an outsider, i probably have a different take but i don't see it being a big deal from now. i think many players, skins and others and other sports, will take a knee. and no one, or not many, will get too excited about it.
we are seeing some players here kneeling. for the same reasons. the initial shock from a few years ago has worn off.

[ILikeSonny09]

as an outsider, i probably have a different take but i don't see it being a big deal from now. i think many players, skins and others and other sports, will take a knee. and no one, or not many, will get too excited about it.
we are seeing some players here kneeling. for the same reasons. the initial shock from a few years ago has worn off.

I agree. I'm sure more will kneel and wouldn't be surprised if most do. Some will continue to stand for the national anthem as an inviolable tradition, a statement of respect for the U.S. and in some respects for veterans, and binding on all Americans. But few in this generation have been raised with the same sentiment, and it's easy for them to view the standing tradition as less important than making a social statement in the current climate, or at least expressing solidarity with black teammates, or simply to avoid being type cast as unsympathetic and possibly "racist". Kapernick is a flake with a big head and demonstrably anti-authority tendencies and kneeling has previously been linked to him in a very direct way. But kneeling has "grown" while Kapernick has shrunk: I imagine most guys on the roster truly couldn't care less about him and a few who probably have never even read an article on him.

The only important thing, really, will be to what extent standing/kneeling becomes a divisive issue on the team. In the new paradigm, if it has to go in one direction or the other, standers are all likely to be tolerant toward kneelers, but a few kneelers are likely to be intolerant toward the standers. I think Rivera has made it clear that he respects each player's right to express on this issue, and he'll make it crystal clear that every player will be held to that same" acceptance" standard. If you want to get your nose out of joint with some teammates, you won't be long for the Redskins roster.

[Skins-R-Us]

If I were the NFL, I would simply eliminate the national anthem from the equation. There is nothing stating the national anthem needs to be played before every game it has just become a fixture. But if it is going to be a problem and cause division, just stop doing it and the problem is solved. Should we start playing the anthem before business meetings and church services, or concerts, etc...we don't do this ritual for really anything else in our lives, why sports. Yeah I get why it kind of caught on in the 30's but times are different now. If it unites, do it if you want, but if it divides us then the juice just isn't worth the squeeze.

https://www.history.com/news/why-the-st ... ing-events

This is also sad...
https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pe ... story.html

[kbg]

If I were the NFL, I would simply eliminate the national anthem from the equation. There is nothing stating the national anthem needs to be played before every game it has just become a fixture. But if it is going to be a problem and cause division, just stop doing it and the problem is solved. Should we start playing the anthem before business meetings and church services, or concerts, etc...we don't do this ritual for really anything else in our lives, why sports. Yeah I get why it kind of caught on in the 30's but times are different now. If it unites, do it if you want, but if it divides us then the juice just isn't worth the squeeze.

https://www.history.com/news/why-the-st ... ing-events

This is also sad...
https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pe ... story.html

that is an interesting thought.
we do the same here. play ours at all manner of thing. but my understanding is that originally, national anthems were only supposed to be played at international events. it has become an everyday event and i wonder if that makes it a bit less special. not sure that has anything to do with kneeling though.

[RI Skins fan]

The national anthem should be played for national events

kneeling for the anthem was a means of protesting - it was never intended as an act of disrespect

[34Drive]

If anyone is tired of politics I get it, but I'm just gauging everyone

AP made it clear he is going to kneel during the anthem
Will other Redskins kneel too?
Will white Redskins players kneel as well?
Will kneeling be a big deal again in 2020?

My gut feeling is that the Redskins will kneel. Kneeling is the new Pledge of Alligence plus a quasi religious experience.

[ILikeSonny09]

The national anthem should be played for national events

kneeling for the anthem was a means of protesting - it was never intended as an act of disrespect

Who are you kidding?

[RI Skins fan]

Who are you kidding?

what do you think?

[34Drive]

I don’t mind people peacefully protesting on their own time but I am not attending a game this year to watch players protest during the singing of the national anthem. Would rather finger paint a mural or clean the garage.

[kbg]

I don’t mind people peacefully protesting on their own time but I am not attending a game this year to watch players protest during the singing of the national anthem. Would rather finger paint a mural or clean the garage.

obviously the commute makes it a bit unlikely i'll get to any games but presumably, it will only be during the anthem? so not as though it will eat into the time anyone spends there.
if they were doing anything to interrupt the game, i might feel more strongly. but each to their own, of course.
i'd suggest you are as entitled to choose not to go if the players wish to protest in that manner as they are to protest.
i have a feeling that in a number of years, taking a knee like this will simply be seen as one group in society respecting their heritage in the manner they choose, while others choose to stand. it may not become a non-issue but i think it might become a far less emotive one. but i am very often wrong.

[VegasSkinsFan]

As long as the opposing team ends up kneeling in awe of us at the end of the game, that's what I want to see

[RI Skins fan]

As long as the opposing team ends up kneeling in awe of us at the end of the game, that's what I want to see

hopefully in the near future

[lorimike]

If anyone is tired of politics I get it, but I'm just gauging everyone

AP made it clear he is going to kneel during the anthem
Will other Redskins kneel too?
Will white Redskins players kneel as well?
Will kneeling be a big deal again in 2020?

<<<<

I am effing sick of it but I would consider this gesture an improvement over looting, rioting, and tearing down statues. Half the nit wits doing it don't even know their history. Politics 24/7 with the left. All cauase these idiots lost an election.

[kbg]

<<<<

I am effing sick of it but I would consider this gesture an improvement over looting, rioting, and tearing down statues. Half the nit wits doing it don't even know their history. Politics 24/7 with the left. All cauase these idiots lost an election.

you don't think that there might be a little more to it than just losing an election?
i find both the extreme left and extreme right right equally loathsome, wherever they are (and sadly these days, it seems that almost everyone has to be extreme one or the other or be branded as such) but i think it is politics 24/7 with both of them. i think that there is ample evidence that many on both sides do not know their history (including recent history).
but we have strayed far too far away from football.

[lorimike]

you don't think that there might be a little more to it than just losing an election?
i find both the extreme left and extreme right right equally loathsome, wherever they are (and sadly these days, it seems that almost everyone has to be extreme one or the other or be branded as such) but i think it is politics 24/7 with both of them. i think that there is ample evidence that many on both sides do not know their history (including recent history).
but we have strayed far too far away from football.

<<<<<

Nothing that I enjoy more than a Sunny warm Sunday and football. I just wanna watch football and forget about politics. I'm just fed up with what's going on right now.

[kbg]

<<<<<

Nothing that I enjoy more than a Sunny warm Sunday and football. I just wanna watch football and forget about politics. I'm just fed up with what's going on right now.

could not agree more.
our local competition for rugby league is up and running and even though my team decided they should have their worst run of results in thirty years, it is great to have the footy back.

[Boarman1]

If I were the NFL, I would simply eliminate the national anthem from the equation. There is nothing stating the national anthem needs to be played before every game it has just become a fixture. But if it is going to be a problem and cause division, just stop doing it and the problem is solved. Should we start playing the anthem before business meetings and church services, or concerts, etc...we don't do this ritual for really anything else in our lives, why sports. Yeah I get why it kind of caught on in the 30's but times are different now. If it unites, do it if you want, but if it divides us then the juice just isn't worth the squeeze.

https://www.history.com/news/why-the-st ... ing-events

This is also sad...
https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pe ... story.html

I love this take, take away the anthem before all sports games, that includes pro sports and college sports. The flag doesn't represent my beliefs and that of the younger generation. We're not at war with anyone internationally, we're at war domestically.

[VegasSkinsFan]

I love this take, take away the anthem before all sports games, that includes pro sports and college sports. The flag doesn't represent my beliefs and that of the younger generation. We're not at war with anyone internationally, we're at war domestically.

Actually no. If liberals wanted a war, there would be one. If Republicans wanted a war...there would be no more liberals.

[lorimike]

The problem will be those who do not kneel and the blowback they will receive from the left. sigh

[34Drive]

obviously the commute makes it a bit unlikely i'll get to any games but presumably, it will only be during the anthem? so not as though it will eat into the time anyone spends there.
if they were doing anything to interrupt the game, i might feel more strongly. but each to their own, of course.
i'd suggest you are as entitled to choose not to go if the players wish to protest in that manner as they are to protest.
i have a feeling that in a number of years, taking a knee like this will simply be seen as one group in society respecting their heritage in the manner they choose, while others choose to stand. it may not become a non-issue but i think it might become a far less emotive one. but i am very often wrong.

I do not give a rat’s a$$ about the NFL, and I do not plan to watch this garbage this Fall. I couldn’t give a flying truck as to what Robert Goodell thinks or believes. Kneeling and playing some strange racial anthem is not how I will spend my Sunday afternoon. I talk to a lot of PSL owners in the city where I live and they aren’t supporting this garbage either. Good riddance NFL!! I will continue to peruse this site to remember the time when our country was united, under God, and diversions such a Sunday football brought us together, as a nation.

[charles324]

<<<<

I am effing sick of it but I would consider this gesture an improvement over looting, rioting, and tearing down statues. Half the nit wits doing it don't even know their history. Politics 24/7 with the left. All cauase these idiots lost an election.

The left? What cool aid are you drinking? / Did you notice that the guy burned the court house in Nashville was a 20 something white supremacist? and the guy smashing windows in St Paul? confirmed neo-nazi. Don't be played for a fool. Otherwise the Cowboys are going to win six straight against the DC FC (footbal club).

[34Drive]

I will not watch one NFL game this year until they cut the political crap. Would rather watch Roseanne Barr reruns. These idiots and especially Goodell will get nothing out of me. I am volunteering my time to help local vets this year. NFL can stick it where the sun doesn’t shine!!

[34Drive]

The left? What cool aid are you drinking? / Did you notice that the guy burned the court house in Nashville was a 20 something white supremacist? and the guy smashing windows in St Paul? confirmed neo-nazi. Don't be played for a fool. Otherwise the Cowboys are going to win six straight against the DC FC (footbal club).

Yeah sure Antifa is all about right-wing radicals. Sure.

[ILikeSonny09]

I will not watch one NFL game this year until they cut the political crap. Would rather watch Roseanne Barr reruns. These idiots and especially Goodell will get nothing out of me. I am volunteering my time to help local vets this year. NFL can stick it where the sun doesn’t shine!!

I consider it mostly a lot of crap too. It's revisionist and implies condemnation for everybody who came before, and nobody dares speak against the narrative. Well, we all have our own tolerance level and I don't fault you at all for yours. These athletes feel bad because most of them are filthy rich compared to people they grew up with and they feel obliged to make some sort of token gesture; akin to players wearing pink in October. For most of them, that's all this is- the passion du jour. Instead of taking a knee, send a big check to a legitimate outfit like the Woodson Center, for crying out loud. But, if they make the roster or PS, they're a little like family for me, so I make generous allowance for their foibles. The guys who really matter are the players we recognize for their community efforts, and thankfully we've had a good number of them. Thanks for your help to local veterans, BTW.

[RI Skins fan]

LOVED the pre-game stuff last night - was amazed that some in the crowd were booing the players for showing their solidarity and support for each other - there's a lot of people that owe Kaepernick an apology

looking forward to seeing football again - I don't care how players want to show their feelings as long as they play and practice as hard as they can

[34Drive]

LOVED the pre-game stuff last night - was amazed that some in the crowd were booing the players for showing their solidarity and support for each other - there's a lot of people that owe Kaepernick an apology

looking forward to seeing football again - I don't care how players want to show their feelings as long as they play and practice as hard as they can

The look on their faces as people booed them. Priceless! That stadium had only 20,000 people in plus they piped in fake applause. Imagine if 70,000 fans were there booing those ding dongs!

[Maddog97]

LOVED the pre-game stuff last night - was amazed that some in the crowd were booing the players for showing their solidarity and support for each other - there's a lot of people that owe Kaepernick an apology

looking forward to seeing football again - I don't care how players want to show their feelings as long as they play and practice as hard as they can

I did not watch the beginning of Thursday game but it is a protest. I have no issue with peaceful (emphasize peaceful) protest. The reactions of people demonstrates the current political environment. It was there when Olympians raised their fist. It was there on a bridge in Selma. I intend to enjoy football this Fall though being in Charlotte I will be challenged to watch the Skins (sorry, the Washington Football team), especially with sports bars having limited space. Some players will kneel and there is no disrespect to the military. I am more concerned about the impact of far right and far left entities on the country.

I am glad that in the midst of all this there will be another symbol. It will be patches remembering Bobby Mitchell. His history with the team is a story upon itself. Players will also wear names of victims or statements on racism. But Mitchell represented a change for the team but also a lack of change. He worked in the organization but was not a GM. Anyway, on Sunday, let's support our team, the future Washington Red Wolves!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2 ... -mitchell/

https://twitter.com/WashingtonNFL/statu ... 7951540227

(Apologize in advance if you can access WaPo articles)

[kbg]

I did not watch the beginning of Thursday game but it is a protest. I have no issue with peaceful (emphasize peaceful) protest. The reactions of people demonstrates the current political environment. It was there when Olympians raised their fist. It was there on a bridge in Selma. I intend to enjoy football this Fall though being in Charlotte I will be challenged to watch the Skins (sorry, the Washington Football team), especially with sports bars having limited space. Some players will kneel and there is no disrespect to the military. I am more concerned about the impact of far right and far left entities on the country.

I am glad that in the midst of all this there will be another symbol. It will be patches remembering Bobby Mitchell. His history with the team is a story upon itself. Players will also wear names of victims or statements on racism. But Mitchell represented a change for the team but also a lack of change. He worked in the organization but was not a GM. Anyway, on Sunday, let's support our team, the future Washington Red Wolves!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2 ... -mitchell/

https://twitter.com/WashingtonNFL/statu ... 7951540227

(Apologize in advance if you can access WaPo articles)

well said. excellent post.

[RI Skins fan]

Thanks for posting the WaPo article - Jake Russell is a V strong Redskins fan - a good read ...

no worries about what the players do - it's been made very clear that any 'demonstrations' by the athletes is not meant as anything more than trying to effect change that is badly needed and has been neglected for way too long

looking forward to seeing the NFL in action again