Electoral College appointee Donald Trump is now trying to distract us from the Russia investigation by calling on NFL team owners to fire players who don’t stand for the National Anthem.
Martha Firestone Ford is the owner of the Detroit Lions, who are playing the Falcons at Ford Field right now. She released this statement four hours ago:
Our game has long provided a powerful platform for dialogue and positive change in many communities throughout our nation.
Thanks primarily to our players, the NFL also has been a unifying force in our country and impactful change has and hopefully will continue to be the result of peaceful expression, done so in order to highlight social injustices of all kind.
Negative and disrespectful comments suggesting otherwise are contrary to the founding principles of our country, and we do not support those comments or opinions.
According to the local Channel 4 news, “Ford linked arms with players on the sidelines before” today’s game started, and “several players kneeled during the national anthem.”
Some fans are already reacting negatively. A fan from Clinton Township, for example, used Facebook to comment on Ford’s statement, indicating that she won't watch any more Lions games and will trade in her Ford car for another make.
If you have any doubt where that former fan stands on politics, she has on her Facebook page a cartoon of a white family about to cross into Mexico illegally, intending to not pay taxes nor learn the language. There’s just too much wrong with that clumsy allegory, but I don’t feel like getting into it today.
I’m sure Ford put a lot of thought into her statement and consulted with other people. She’s the owner, she could have dashed off a response on Twitter without running it by anyone. But she has a lot more class than that.
This is what it takes for the Lions to lose fans? That the team owner stands by her players, who do more for their fans than the current Electoral College appointee ever will?
Never mind all those losing seasons and their frequent absence from the postseason. Nor the fact that just now, almost at halftime, the Lions have finally put something on the scoreboard and seem to be on track to lose to the Falcons 40 to 13.
Sunday, Sep 24, 2017 · 8:57:12 PM +00:00 · Alonso del Arte
Well, the Lions lost 30 to 26 but at least they came closer to winning and this is only their first loss of the regular season.
There are now almost 180 Facebook comments on Ford’s statement. Some express support for the owner and the team, others dismay. At least one says Ford did not go far enough. A couple get off topic and there is even one spam message.
And at least two commenters wring their hands about how the veterans must feel insulted by all this. Those commenters would do well to read what BC in Illinois wrote about this last night.