Brady must choose sides in flag flap
Fans vote for Team Villanueva, not Team Kaepernick
— Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Time to pick a team, Tom. You’ve got two choices: Colin Kaepernick, who ended his wobbly pro football career (at least for the moment) as a political protester; or Alejandro Villanueva, who postponed his NFL career to serve three tours of duty in Afghanistan and now plays left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kaepernick’s idea of “courage” is to tell members of a fawning media that America is so fundamentally racist he can’t even stand and show minimal respect for its flag.
Villanueva’s is to walk through a dry river bed in Taliban country and take enemy fire.
When Kaepernick is criticized, he pouts that he’s a victim of bigotry in the NFL and that’s why no team has put him on their roster.
When, following a team meeting, the Pittsburgh coach and the team decided to stay in the tunnel during Sunday’s national anthem, Villanueva picked up his gear and headed onto the field.
As he said in an interview last year: “I will stand very proudly, and I will sing every single line in the national anthem every single time I hear it.
“I will stop whatever I am doing, because I recognize that I have to be very thankful to be in this country.”
Kaepernick’s message about America is simple. He thinks this country sucks:
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”
In case you didn’t notice, Tom, that “oppressive” country Kap is talking about is the United States of America. You may also want to note that Kaepernick’s NFL allies who played in London this weekend refused to stand for our anthem but did stand for the playing of the UK’s “God Save The Queen.” Because “Team Kaepernick” doesn’t insult every country in the world with a problematic history on issues of race. Just America. Like Kaepernick, Villanueva’s message about America is simple, too:
“This is the best country in the world.” In a 2016 interview the Bronze Star recipient said, “If you go to another country, as a minority, I can tell you that there isn’t a country with minorities in the world that handles the issues that we have in our country like we do … I don’t think we are perfect by any means. [But] everybody has a voice.”
Kaepernick’s being defended tirelessly by a sports media industry all but demanding NFL owners be held hostage in a black-ops site until someone breaks and puts him on a roster.
He’s also got the backing of some of the classiest people in Hollywood:
Jesse Williams of “Grey’s Anatomy” fame says that the pregame national anthem is nothing but a government plot to promote militarism:
“This has nothing to do with the NFL or the American pastime or tradition. This is to get boys and girls to go fly overseas and go kill people.”
“Boston Public” actor Michael Rapaport posted an expletive-filled attack on President Trump online, calling him a “dumb mother … .” Uh, well, Tom, you can figure it out.
And where are Villanueva’s defenders? Where are his celebrities and stars? There aren’t any. Just millions of patriotic NFL fans who turned his #78 Steelers jersey into the top-selling NFL product overnight.
You say President Trump’s statement was divisive, Tom? Some would say that interjecting race-based politics into a public display of unity like the national anthem is “divisive.” And that Trump spoke for millions when he expressed his disgust.
Either way, we are divided, you’re right about that. And you’ll have to pick which team you’re on: Team Kaepernick, or Team Villanueva.
America’s football fans have already picked theirs.