Pens pawns in Trump strategy
NHL team accepting White House visit flies in face of protests by NFL players
I wonder if Donald Trump could even name three players on the Pittsburgh Penguins?
The U.S. president might not even know who Sidney Crosby is.
But Crosby and the Penguins have now become pawns in Trump’s ugly political strategy to divide Americans — mainly based on race — making it us vs. them.
After Stephen Curry of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors said last Friday he wasn’t interested in visiting the White House with his teammates — stating it would be a tacit endorsement of Trump — the president uninvited him Saturday.
“Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team,” Trump tweeted. “Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!”
Curry responded by telling reporters: “By acting and not going, hopefully that will inspire some change when it comes to what we tolerate in this country and what is accepted and what we turn a blind eye to.”
The day after Curry was uninvited, the Penguins announced they were accepting Trump’s invitation to the White House as Stanley Cup champions. Us vs. them. Trump can praise the white boys on the Penguins — even though many are from countries that believe in health care for everyone — while condemning the mostly black NBA players.
“Please (sic) to inform that the Champion Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL will be joining me at the White House for Ceremony. Great team!” Trump tweeted Sunday, the same day NFL players were protesting the president’s us-vs.-them politics by kneeling or standing arm in arm in large numbers during the national anthem before games.
At the same time, several NASCAR team owners said they would come down hard on any drivers who did not stand during the national anthem before their race Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. NASCAR legend Richard Petty, owner of Richard Petty Motorsports, told The Associated Press: “Anybody that don’t stand up for the anthem oughta be out of the country, period. What got ’em where they’re at? The United States.”
When asked if his drivers would be fired if they protested during the anthem, Petty said: “You’re right.”
Not surprisingly, every NASCAR driver stood for the anthem Sunday. Forget about the first amendment. It’s us vs. them. In Trump’s America, it’s the good ol’ white boys of NASCAR vs. the mostly black players in the NFL.
“So proud of NASCAR and its supporters and fans,” Trump tweeted. “They won’t put up with disrespecting our Country or our Flag — they said it loud and clear!”
As for the NFL players, Trump tweeted: “If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect ... our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU’RE FIRED. Find something else to do!”
During a speech last Friday in Alabama, Trump said: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’”
“Son of a bitch” — a term Trump wouldn’t even use to describe the Nazis and white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Va., where a woman was killed demonstrating against them. Instead, the president said there were “some very fine people on both sides.”
Kudos to NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had the courage to tweet to his 2.28 million followers Monday: “All Americans R granted rights 2 peaceful protests Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable-JFK.”
Here’s what the Penguins said in their statement after accepting Trump’s invitation: “The Pittsburgh Penguins respect the institution of the Office of the President, and the long tradition of championship teams visiting the White House. Any agreement or disagreement with a president’s politics, policies or agenda can be expressed in other ways.”
Am I the only one wondering if the Penguins know what percentage of their predominantly white fan base in Pittsburgh supports Trump? Trump won Pennsylvania during the presidential election, outpolling Hillary Clinton by 44,292 votes out of more than six million cast.
About the Penguins’ decision to go to the White House, Crosby said: “I support it. It’s a great honour for us to be invited there.”
NBA superstar LeBron James had a different take when he tweeted at Trump: “Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!”
In a social media video, James said: “For him to try to use this platform to divide us even more is not something I can stand for and not something I can be quiet about.”
Us vs. them has also become NHL vs. NBA.
When the Penguins visited the White House after their Stanley Cup championship last year, they were a sea of white faces in the official photo taken with former president Barack Obama.
Obama is no longer in the White House and the Penguins might as well all wear Trump’s Make America Great Again caps when they pose for this year’s photo with the president.