Conservative PAC Begins Ad Campaign Encouraging NFL Fans to Turn Off Games - Kevin Seifert, ESPN, Sep 24, 2017
Players in the National Football League have been protesting the National Anthem in one way or another for about a year now beginning with former San Francisco 49ers quarter back, Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick and other players stand up for what they believe is racial inequality in the United States and are supported by interests groups such as the Black Lives Matter group. However two weeks ago President Trump brought the protests to a national attention by calling out players who have knelt for the national anthem and just this week VP, Mike Pence, walked out of a game between the Indianapolis Colts and The San Francisco 49ers because he "will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem." Many players and people saw this as a PR stunt, looking to appeal to the mass of NFL watching Americans who may have voted or support Trump. As can be seen in the second article, a conservative PAC also has been spread PR advertisements by telling viewers to "take a stand not a knee" and to "turn off the NFL." This has greatly angered many people within the NFL who want politics to stay out of the game in order to keep viewership up. Overall, many interest groups have been involved in the NFL protest issue and with the issue extremely relatable and understandable to many American citizens, taking a PR stance might be a successful way to go about gaining support for a specific side.
- Do you think that going public, in terms of PAC advertisements, and Pence walking out of the game, can be successful in order to gain support against kneeling?
- How has government intervention and conflict, in something that is normally meant to be a uniting game, potentially impacted the Trump presidency? Has it been positive or negative?
- Were Pence's actions and comments called for even if it was just a publicity stunt?
With the Trump presidency, the truly deep partisanship of the country is coming to light. By commenting and condemning the actions of those who kneel during the national anthem, the president has projected his personal views onto what is usually a bipartisan game. Before, it was people protesting and exercising their right to express their political beliefs. With these comments, the president is only deepening the divide between Democrats and Republicans. It may have gained him a few supporters or opposers, but overall has just increased the influence of politics in our everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteTrump's actions shed light on the partisanship in this country. Originally, the game can be played with people having disagreements but since those disagreements are political, they will not be brought up. By drawing attention on a national scale, people notice the differences in viewpoints and their opinions start to surface, causing more divide. Thus, in terms of the Trump presidency, Trump may have gained more supporters but he may have just as well gained more enemies. However, in terms of the country, the attention only causes more division, negatively impacting the cohesion of nation.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that political views have intervened in, as some might say, the most American sport, gives Trump and his presidency a very bad look. As of now, Trump is not making headlines for how he is bringing change/improvement to this country, but more by how he has caused conflict in the sports that we love dearly. Many people of all ages look up to these athletes and to see how they are reacting to our country's "leader," definitely influences how others view the current presidency.
ReplyDeleteI think going public can be beneficial to gain support for the anti-kneeling movement. Many people across America feel as though kneeling is disrespectful to the country as a whole, but many may not be aware of the kneeling in the NFL. By going public, the anti-knelling supporters can grow even bigger. I think intervention in the NFL hurts Trump's presidency. The people who would support the anti-kneeling are most likely already trump supporters. By being against kneeling, Trump is alienating potential supporters while strengthening his current supporters.
ReplyDeleteAs partisanship has increased due to Trump's presidency, I believe that by Trump condoning kneeling during NFL games will just divide the nation more. Instead of uniting the nation by publicly disagreeing with football players kneeling, will not be successful since much of the country cannot agree with each other.
ReplyDeleteTrump's comments on NFL players kneeling during the national anthem have only caused more division. The impact it has had on the Trump presidency has been mostly negative due to the united response against the president's comments and the childish nature of these comments. Pence's actions were not really called for because by leaving the game, he shed the light on the partisanship in the US and his refusal to recognize the constitutional rights expressed by the players. Him leaving the game is ironic since he has condemned the players for protesting, yet participated in a protest of his own by leaving the game.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I cannot say I agree with Trump going public with what he thinks of the NFL kneeling situation as I cannot in the slightest agree with his and the other people's perspective on the issue. Firstly, they are kneeling in order to raise awareness for the pressing racial issues that are prevalent in society (due to the racists our country (ehem our President ehem) and mean no disrespect to the military and their service to our country. Secondly, it is in their right to do what they are doing and I do not think it's fair to say that they shouldn't being something that they have the right to do.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Trump's reckless comments on the NFL's kneeling situation has only tensioned the situation more. I believe it is in the right of the American people to refuse to knee down to a country that still has problems with equality and police brutality. What kind of country are we when we have the President of the United States publicly criticizing NFL athletes for protesting in hopes of bringing attention to a serious problem.
ReplyDeleteThere is no real reason for the President of the United States to be calling NFL players "sons of b**ches" to the national media. While he may believe that what the players are doing is wrong, it is their right to protest. This is an incredibly peaceful protest that has been blown out of proportion by the media. Pence's actions and comments were absolutely uncalled for and just showed how petty our President really is. If anyone should be offended by Pence's actions, it should be all the American taxpayers that had their tax dollars wasted on Pence's travel and security to and from the game.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I can understand being offended by the NFL players not standing for the National Anthem, that does not give the President a right to call them out so immaturely on Twitter. It is part of our 1st amendment rights to freely express ourselves and protest for injustices. By being President he is supposed to enforce the laws, even if he may not agree with all of them.
ReplyDeleteRealistically, the issues that NFL players are protesting by not standing for the anthem are not coming towards a solution and it is their right to protest by the first amendment. The president may be upset, but if he wants them to stop protesting, issues such as the upcoming white supremacy groups must be solved.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think it is unnecessary for President Trump to take advantage of social media platforms to inappropriately expose people/groups that he doesn't agree with. According to the constitution, every individual has the right to freedom of expression and speech, unless they are disturbing the peace. With regards to simply not standing up for the national anthem, yes it raises the question on how people feel about our country, but it isn't violently hurting anyone else. So Trump's actions are not justified, and he should focus on solving more important issues instead of vocally attacking people on television/online.
ReplyDeleteNo not one bit. Sports are a leisure activity and to see a president actually throw away an American tradition is quite horrendous. Some may argue that Pence does not understand freedom of speech, and overreacting in a game of football.
ReplyDeleteGoing on I feel the government's involvement as just emphasized their attempt to power grab. Sports may take on political gestures and become politically active, but they are a face of America. Kids and Athletes look up to them.
I believe Pence's actions were uncalled for and it further proves the argument that Trump and his followers simply cannot understand the movement of African Americans demanding to be heard. It's quite hilarious how when blacks protest on the street, people claim it's gang violence, when they kneel- it's disrespectful and unpatriotic. So how is an African American supposed to express their first amendment rights in America? Anything they do is criticized by people who cannot simply understand that is their freedom of expression. With the movement of Black Lives Matter especially, we see more criticism over their actions when they peacefully protest or kneel, it just isn't clear how African Americans are supposed to get their voices out.
ReplyDelete