OBLIGATIONS OF FREE SPEECH
Athlete’s protest and the reaction to it is healthy for U.S., but exposing wrongdoing should be the ultimate goal
Duane Brown has every right to raise his fist during the national anthem.
Colin Kaepernick has every right to kneel while it plays.
Any American in the stands has every right to be angry with the Texans tackle, the 49ers quarterback and other athletes who protest during the anthem. That’s what makes this country what it is — a land of freedom.
I won’t sit for the anthem. My grandfather is a World War II veteran. I will stand for him and what he did for this country.
But you will catch me having conversations about what is happening around me. Because Joe Dial fought for me to be able to do so.
Freedom comes at a cost
It’s hard to look around and see what’s going on in Charlotte, in Tulsa and other cities before the shootings there. I want this country to be better for the youth of this country — ALL of them — regardless of the color of their skin, their gender and their lifestyles. In a sea of negativity, the sporting world is doing one positive thing. It’s making us talk about the issues.
Conversation is important, respecting each other is important, understanding that we are all Americans and that we are all in this together is important.
What baffles me isn’t that people are angry at Kaepernick and other athletes who kneel or sit or raise their fists during the national anthem. There are patriots in this country and they are offended.
I’m not surprised that others stand behind these athletes, support them and want to protest with them. People are angry for a reason. There is a lot of injustice.
The protesting is warranted. The protesting of the protesting is warranted. It’s the right of every American to believe what he or she wants to believe and, together, we have to make it work.
What puzzles me is that so many people are holding sports figures accountable for what they do during the national anthem but not for what they do off the field. There’s an entire fan base that will boycott the NFL because of Kaepernick.
But a lot of those fans will stand and cheer Art Briles at a game or flood Penn State’s stadium in University Park, Pa., to honor Joe Paterno.
There’s never been a call to boycott the NFL or NCAA football despite so many charges of domestic violence and sexual assault. Where is that conversation? Where is that outrage? Last weekend, Briles was cheered at Rice Stadium by Baylor fans. Penn State celebrated Joe Paterno.
Did Briles have a right to be at the game Friday night? Absolutely. Should he have been? That’s debatable.
I know Briles didn’t sexually assault someone. I know he didn’t physically commit a crime.
But he knew his players were accused of terrible things and took no action, he didn’t bench them, didn’t discipline them. He didn’t help the university seek the truth and protect students.
He prioritized winning over helping make Baylor a safe space for women.
Cases of Briles and Paterno
Briles is a terrific football coach, one of the best. But he fell short as a person when he turned his head away from allegations. He could have helped. He could have made a difference. He should have.
The Rice band stole the spotlight from Briles that night. The same fans who cheered for him booed the MOB.
“I’m far more offended that Briles got a standing ovation than I am that the band upset Baylor fans,” one victim told me in a text message.
“I know he is allowed to be there, but it’s hard to see him. He represents the leader of the football team. And those guys on that team did horrible things,” another victim texted.
Shawn Oakman was also at the game, mingling with fans, visiting the locker room. Coach Jim Grobe says he didn’t recognize Oakman or he wouldn’t have let him in the locker room.
That might be true, but what about the assistants who knew who Oakman was and let him in the locker room to be with the team? Didn’t they have a responsibility to tell Grobe that Oakman was there?
Baylor has done much lately to clean up a big mess. It is commendable to see the school has made positive strides, hired people, started task forces, followed the Pepper Hamilton suggestions.
Misguided school priorities
But when a former player accused of sexual assault is in the locker room and the head coach is clueless to it, it doesn’t help a university trying to mend its ways.
On the same day, Penn State celebrated Paterno. Former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky is serving a 60-year prison sentence after being found guilty on 45 charges of sexual abuse of young boys.
Lawsuits say Paterno knew as far back as 1976 that Sandusky was abusing a child. Like Briles, Paterno didn’t commit the crime, but he knew about it and did nothing. It’s hard not to think about the victims of these crimes and how they feel knowing a university honors a man who looked the other way.
Sports are entertainment, they are fun and exciting. They bring people together. They also can serve as forums to make us aware of what’s happening around us.
Athletes and coaches aren’t robots. They are people. They can speak out, they can invoke change. They can and should also be held accountable when they are breaking laws or enabling others to so.