I guess the NFL owners didn't get the memo on Marshawn Lynch

The Coffee Shop
1

According to Slowman, he should be blackballed like Kaepernick.

On Saturday evening, as the rest of the Oakland Raiders players and staff stood during the playing of the national anthem before the team’s preseason game with the Arizona Cardinals, one player did not join them.

Running back Marshawn Lynch, who did not play in the game, was seated, on an orange Gatorade cooler.
. . .

After the game, Raiders coach Jack Del Rio told reporters that he was surprised Lynch sat during the anthem. Del Rio spoke to Lynch and the player told him, “This is something I’ve done for 11 years. It’s not a form of anything other than me being myself.”

“I told him I very strongly believe in standing for the national anthem. But I respect him as a man and he can do his thing. So it’s a non-issue for me,” Del Rio said.

https://www.yahoo.com/…-game-045425043.html

https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/l8GJFp9fizre4GVufYs5Pw--/YXBwaWQ9eW15O3c9NjQwO3E9NzU7c209MQ--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/homerun/feed_manager_auto_publish_494/32d3bca83fc316b61f4d43ceff31f7db

2

So it’s a non-issue for me,” Del Rio said.

As it should be.

3

So it’s a non-issue for me,” Del Rio said.

As it should be.

But how did this escape the NFL’s blackballing process???

4

So it’s a non-issue for me,” Del Rio said.

As it should be.

But how did this escape the NFL’s blackballing process???

No idea.

5

So it’s a non-issue for me,” Del Rio said.

As it should be.

But how did this escape the NFL’s blackballing process???

No idea.

Sure throws a monkey wrench into Slowman’s conspiracy theory …

6

So it’s a non-issue for me,” Del Rio said.

As it should be.

But how did this escape the NFL’s blackballing process???

No idea.

Sure throws a monkey wrench into Slowman’s conspiracy theory …

You know what his answer to that will be.

7

Not sure I’ll get an answer. He seems to still be in the corner licking his wounds.

8

According to Slowman, he should be blackballed like Kaepernick.

man, i must have really gotten under your skin. sorry, dude.

9

According to Slowman, he should be blackballed like Kaepernick.

man, i must have really gotten under your skin. sorry, dude.

That really isn’t a rebuttal of his point. Just saying

10

According to Slowman, he should be blackballed like Kaepernick.

man, i must have really gotten under your skin. sorry, dude.

Not at all. I just wanted to give you a chance to recant your prior rant and save face.

11

According to Slowman, he should be blackballed like Kaepernick.

man, i must have really gotten under your skin. sorry, dude.

Not at all. I just wanted to give you a chance to recant your prior rant and save face.

well, good. i feel better.

why would i disavow what almost everyone seems to agree is happening? do i think there’s a formal meeting in a dungeon of the owners where they make decisions with robes worn? no. i think it’s more like baseball pre-branch-rickey. do i think they hate black people? not then, not now. i think it’s purely a money decision. i see their point.

and as for me i find it quite abhorrent to fail to stand for the anthem. but then again i’m not black, and i don’t know how i’d feel if i were.

the reason there are those who kneel with kaepernick and are not punished is because owners and fans see these players as standing in solidarity with someone who is taking a stand. a number of players and coaches showing solidarity with kap themselves say they don’t necessarily approve of his mode of protest, but they don’t feel he should protest alone. i don’t think fans - people like me, or you, regardless of what we think - find that objectionable.

also, of course, marshawn lynch has a contract. you can’t blackball someone who’s already got a contract. and then there is the fact that marshawn lynch is just a kook. he’s kind of like trump. he gets a pass for all kinds of bad behavior because the bar for him is already set so low.

what i wish is that there was a branch rickey running a pro football team now. maybe there is. i hope there is. we’ll see.

12

Ha! Ha! Ha!

That’s some insanely twisted logic, but I expected as much.

Kaep isn’t very good. Lynch is. That’s why they are treated differently.

The end.

13

That’s some insanely twisted logic, but I expected as much.

thank you for the generous words, and i expected as much.

here’s michael bennett, employing my twisted logic and this is the predominant view among people who know rather than just bloviate:

It’s going to take the organization," Bennett said. “I think the players have spoken up enough. I think the media has spoken up. It just takes the ownership for someone to say we want this guy in our locker room. I think a lot of teams, like we said before, were really affected by what he did and what he did this year. It wasn’t criminal. There’s been guys who have criminal records, guys who have been accused of murder, guys who have been accused of rape and domestic violence who are still in the NFL. It’s crazy to see this guy not have an opportunity in the NFL. It’s just weird. I mean, some quarterbacks, as we all know, shouldn’t be playing, but they are, and this guy is sitting on the side. We all know why. It’s just hard to fathom that he’s not having a job this year.”

14

You ignored my questions to you in the other thread, so I am going to post them again here:

But, let’s address your second point. Let’s set aside his skillset for a moment and just discuss this. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, he is the 10th best QB in the League. Let’s further assume the sole reason he is not signed is because of his conduct. So what? Why is that a problem?

Don’t tell me it is racism. That is ridiculous. See, e.g., Mike Vick and Greg Hardy. See also, Tim Tebow and Jonny Football. If a player has the skillset, that player will be on an NFL team, regardless of his transgressions and/or race. So, this isn’t about race.

That means it must be because he knelt during the National Anthem, he work a Castro shirt, he bashed the hell out of the US on the 4th of July, he railed against Trump but did not even bother to vote, and he wore socks with pig police officers on them. Why is it a problem to “blackball” him for that, assuming that is the reason?

The message is only as strong as the method. Assume I want to draw attention to child abuse in America. I cannot fathom anyone would find that to be anything other than a worthy cause. Assume I do this by going downtown and lighting American flags on fire. Would it get attention? You bet. When the cameras show up, I can explain that I am not bashing the US or soldiers, or anything other than trying to draw attention to a worthy cause. Would that excuse my method? Absolutely not. Period. Hard stop.

Kaep has done so many offensive things the message has been completely lost in the method. You don’t get to do offensive acts to raise consciousness to a cause and not face the consequences of your conduct.

So, let’s assume it is all about his protests. Why is that a problem, given these facts?

15

Let’s further assume the sole reason he is not signed is because of his conduct. So what? Why is that a problem?
first, i think you should just stipulate that if he hadn’t taken a knee he’d be in the NFL now. up to you if you want to do that. i think that would help the rest of your argument. but to your next point:

i don’t think you can express it much better than michael bennett did, who was not his teammate, who was in fact his rival, and who is in a position to know what it is like to play on the other side of the field from kap.

it’s a timely moment to have this discussion because of charlottesville, specifically trump’s reaction to it and the nation’s reaction to that reaction. racism exists along a continuum and trump plays to that continuum. i don’t know what the owner and fan reaction would’ve been to a white player taking a similar stand over, say, the continued high rate of poverty in america. nobody really knows. but i’m pretty sure trump’s calculated feting of those who live somewhere along the continuum of “where did my country go?” are not fans of kap’s taking a knee. and the owners are not idiots.

but what bennett does say is that black athletes get away with a lot, lot worse, fans don’t react, because a certain swathe of fans expect this behavior of black athletes and that is its own statement on the prism through which black players are seen by a lot of fans. richard sherman spoke to this by his opinion that this is kap - and other players - being told to stay in their lanes. beating your GF while driving drunk is a sin committed* in your lane*. i think sherman, bennett and others are offended by that.

that’s my view and you can say ha! ha! ha! and call it silly and whatever else you want to say but the majority of those speaking out who actually earn a paycheck from the NFL and by covering the NFL see it as i do, so i don’t really know how silly it can be. yes, you can disagree, but to continue to berate my view would show that you lack a cogent argument in response. i hope you don’t take that route.

16

Let’s further assume the sole reason he is not signed is because of his conduct. So what? Why is that a problem?
first, i think you should just stipulate that if he hadn’t taken a knee he’d be in the NFL now. up to you if you want to do that. i think that would help the rest of your argument.

Well, given the fact that this thread eviscerates that theory in its entirety, I won’t be making such a specious stipulation.

but to your next point:

i don’t think you can express it much better than michael bennett did, who was not his teammate, who was in fact his rival, and who is in a position to know what it is like to play on the other side of the field from kap.

it’s a timely moment to have this discussion because of charlottesville, specifically trump’s reaction to it and the nation’s reaction to that reaction. racism exists along a continuum and trump plays to that continuum. i don’t know what the owner and fan reaction would’ve been to a white player taking a similar stand over, say, the continued high rate of poverty in america. nobody really knows. but i’m pretty sure trump’s calculated feting of those who live somewhere along the continuum of “where did my country go?” are not fans of kap’s taking a knee. and the owners are not idiots.

And there you go off the deep end again …

but what bennett does say is that black athletes get away with a lot, lot worse, fans don’t react, because a certain swathe of fans expect this behavior of black athletes and that is its own statement on the prism through which black players are seen by a lot of fans. richard sherman spoke to this by his opinion that this is kap - and other players - being told to stay in their lanes. beating your GF while driving drunk is a sin committed* in your lane*. i think sherman, bennett and others are offended by that.

But Marshawn Lynch did the same thing and has for 11 years and is still in the League. I posted a link in the other thread showing 12 players who knelt with Kaep and are all still in the League. So, how can you claim the knee is the only act preventing Kaep from being in the League? Why do you ignore the pig sock, the Castro shirt, the comments on the Fourth of July, and the general asshattery in which he engaged?

I will say it again - you don’t get to do whatever you want to get attention without repercussion. I don’t care how noble your cause, if you act the fool to draw attention to it, the message is lost. Why do you keep ignoring this?

that’s my view and you can say ha! ha! ha! and call it silly and whatever else you want to say but the majority of those speaking out who actually earn a paycheck from the NFL and by covering the NFL see it as i do, so i don’t really know how silly it can be. yes, you can disagree, but to continue to berate my view would show that you lack a cogent argument in response. i hope you don’t take that route.

That completely dodges the issue in its entirety. Do you wish to engage in a discussion or not? If you truly want to discuss this issue, then respond to the question I posed, not the question you want to answer.

You keep dodging the issue. Why is that?

17

And there you go off the deep end again …

you just… couldn’t… help it!

But Marshawn Lynch did the same thing and has for 11 years and is still in the League.

right. but marshawn lynch was crazy in his lane. what did jack del rio say? marshawn being marshawn? this is what drives a lot of people crazy, the low expectations of athletes i general and black athletes in particular.

I posted a link in the other thread showing 12 players who knelt with Kaep and are all still in the League. So, how can you claim the knee is the only act preventing Kaep from being in the League?

i answered that higher up. first, if course, because they have contracts! you can’t un-contract them. second, because it’s being interpreted as honorable to stand with a friend and teammate taking the lonely route. it’s “forgiveable.”

Why do you ignore the pig sock, the Castro shirt, the comments on the Fourth of July, and the general asshattery in which he engaged?

i don’t ignore anything. and my guess is that i don’t see his behavior much different than you see it, on a visceral level. just, i’m glad you’re finally coming around to the truth of it: this is why he’s basically banned from the league. if he just would’ve smoked pot, beat up his girlfriend, drove his car into a telephone pole, he’d be playing in the league today (aldon smith). but taking a stand - regardless of how inarticulate - in opposition to police violence on blacks, no can do. that’s misbehaving out of his lane.

18

And there you go off the deep end again …

you just… couldn’t… help it!

But Marshawn Lynch did the same thing and has for 11 years and is still in the League.

right. but marshawn lynch was crazy in his lane. what did jack del rio say? marshawn being marshawn? this is what drives a lot of people crazy, the low expectations of athletes i general and black athletes in particular.

So, crazy gets a pass? I don’t buy it. Great athletes get a pass. That has always been the case. Kaep is not a great athlete, so he doesn’t get a pass.

I posted a link in the other thread showing 12 players who knelt with Kaep and are all still in the League. So, how can you claim the knee is the only act preventing Kaep from being in the League?

i answered that higher up. first, if course, because they have contracts! you can’t un-contract them. second, because it’s being interpreted as honorable to stand with a friend and teammate taking the lonely route. it’s “forgiveable.”

Kaep had a contract. He opted out of the contract. That’s why he is no longer on a team. Why do you keep ignoring that?

Why do you ignore the pig sock, the Castro shirt, the comments on the Fourth of July, and the general asshattery in which he engaged?

i don’t ignore anything. and my guess is that i don’t see his behavior much different than you see it, on a visceral level. just, i’m glad you’re finally coming around to the truth of it: this is why he’s basically banned from the league. if he just would’ve smoked pot, beat up his girlfriend, drove his car into a telephone pole, he’d be playing in the league today (aldon smith). but taking a stand - regardless of how inarticulate - in opposition to police violence on blacks, no can do. that’s misbehaving out of his lane.

Nope. The League has demonstrated that, if you are good enough talent, you get to play. Too many examples to list and they have been listed before.

Many, many other athletes have spoken out against wrongs and maintained a successful career. Kaep is not an elite athlete and not done too much harm to be worth the hassle. Period. Hard stop.

You also conveniently ignore the fact that he suddenly became a vocal activist after it was clear his skills had diminished and he was to be relegated to a backup role.

19

But Marshawn Lynch did the same thing and has for 11 years and is still in the League. I posted a link in the other thread showing 12 players who knelt with Kaep and are all still in the League. So, how can you claim the knee is the only act preventing Kaep from being in the League? Why do you ignore the pig sock, the Castro shirt, the comments on the Fourth of July, and the general asshattery in which he engaged?

You’re right on target, here, with one minor quibble:

Kaepernick didn’t bend the knee–oops, wrong thread–take a knee, initially, which is an inherently respectful gesture, even though it’s differentness was purposeful and made in protest. He disrespected the flag and the anthem by purposefully ignoring them, then slandering them when asked about it.

If Kaepernick had taken that tack from the get-go, set aside the radical leftist anti-American/pro-Castro bullshit, and let his positive actions speak for his position, he’d still be able to find work as a backup in the league.

Instead, he went full Asshole, right out of the gate. The people who ultimately supported him by convincing him to show respect by kneeling, and kneeling in solidarity, didn’t draw that kind of heat, and for the obvious reason, and their involvement in the protest, such that it was, likely had zero impact on owners’ comfort level with them wearing their uniform.

His asset-to-liability ratio simply doesn’t make him an attractive employee, at present.

20

Marshawn is a strange guy. I’m guessing that because of his athletic talent he’s largely been able to do things his way. Remember when he didn’t want to talk to the media and because it was required he answered every question the same way? In this case to sit down for no reason in light of all the controversy is not a wise move and makes him look ignorant. If you know this has been an issue and is important to a large group of people why wouldn’t you stand? I think a large amount of the “I do things my way” attitude is routed in narcissism.