By Howie Katz
Big Jolly Times
February 3, 2020
The NFL disgraced itself by the way it handled the disgraceful way its players showed their disrespect for flag and country by refusing to stand for the National Anthem. The players had followed Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality.
For the 2016 Stupor Bowl, the NFL allowed Beyoncé to honor the infamous Black Panther Party during her halftime performance. The Panthers she honored were a bunch of thugs who committed armed robberies and killed cops. They have become folk heroes for providing breakfasts to children in Oakland.
I say the NFL allowed Beyoncé to honor the Panthers because Commissioner Roger Goodell had to know in advance of the game that she was going to do so. He could have told her to cut out that part of her performance.
Now for Super Bowl LIV, The NFL has outdone itself by fueling hatred of the police. Goodell’s league is sponsoring a series of a public service announcements featuring black men killed by the police. The first one was shown Sunday during the game. It featured Corey Jones who was killed by a Florida cop. This appears to be the result of the league’s partnership with Jay Z as the PSAs are his doing.
Unfortunately, there have been some police shootings of black men that were not justified. But the overwhelming number of shootings by cops of blacks were unquestionably righteous.
What Roger Goodell and the NFL is doing to satisfy Jay Z is simply outrageous and unforgivable. Calling attention to black men killed by cops will not only fuel a hatred of the police, but it will also inspire more people, both black and white, to hate cops.
The NFL justified the PSAs produced in collaboration with Jay Z’s Roc Nation by this statement: “The NFL is fortunate to have an incredible platform and with this platform, we have the opportunity to help create positive change and work toward social justice for all of our communities.” Positive change, my ass! All the NFL is doing with its PSAs is to endanger the lives of this country’s police officers.
Let’s not forget there have been far more cops ambushed and killed by black men than black men killed unjustly by the police. A series of PSAs about cops killed while protecting and serving the public would have been a much more appropriate choice for the NFL to show.
How about PSAs on Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael J. Smith, Brent Thompson and Patrick Zamarripa, the five Dallas cops who were ambushed and gunned down on July 7, 2016 by a supporter of the New Black Panther Party? Then there are the other cops murdered in the line of duty. From 1980–2018, an average of 85 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed each year. How about PSAs on those cops instead of PSAs on those killed by the police.
We, not only cops, should all find some way to make the NFL regret what it has become - a cesspool of unpatriotic players and cop hatred.
No comments:
Post a Comment