KAEPERNICK DESERVES APOLOGY FROM GOODELL
NFL COMMISSIONER AND SO MANY OTHERS STRETCHED PROTEST INTO SOMETHING IT WASN’T
Roger Goodell apologized and never mentioned Colin Kaepernick. Which is the equivalent of the NFL commissioner saying, “I’m sorry, but not really sorry.”
Because he can’t talk about Kaepernick. Legally, that doesn’t make sense.
What Goodell should have said was that he was sorry he didn’t understand or respond appropriately to Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality in America and that under non- legal circumstance — like I’m going to sue you — he should have urged teams in his league to sign Kaepernick as a quarterback.
Goodell and so many others stretched the Kaepernick national anthem protest into something it wasn’t. It was never about the flag. It was never about the military. It wasn’t anti-american. It was about racism and the way police in America treat black men and women, then and now.
And the Kaepernick knee seems more important in the wake of the unnecessary murder of George Floyd.
In his 90- second statement, Goodell said he will reach out to players who have “raised their voices” and “will encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.” This from a league that hasn’t allowed players to write messages, political or otherwise, on equipment over the years.
“Without black players, there would be no National Football League,” Goodell said. “And the protests around the country are emblematic of the centuries of silence, inequality and oppression of black players, coaches, fans and staff.”
It was that kind of silence and oppression that Kaepernick was taking a knee to expose.
Goodell and NFL owners ( and a whole lot of American society) turned it the other way, misrepresenting his thoughts, misunderstanding his protest and he lost his football career because of it. He took a knee.
Goodell now apologizes to everyone but the quarterback who needs to be apologized to.
There has been so much poignant commentary from professional athletes during the past 10 days that sport should be applauded for the small part it has played — and should continue to play — in the ongoing battle against racism and police brutality.
I’m not black and I can’ t pretend to know what it is to be targeted or hated strictly for the colour of my skin.
But I’m angrier right now than I’ve ever been before. And I don’t know when that will end.
We can’t solve police brutality with words and statements and Twitter posts. That can bring us together, but that’s just a beginning.
After the killing of Floyd, we’ve seen other sickening incidents. We’ve seen other problems.
Police have to solve this. Police have to change. Civic leaders have to solve this. Mayors have to solve this. The police have to do better policing themselves.
If that doesn’t change, very little will. And that, too, makes me angry.
Time was you could file Patrick Kane and Tyler Seguin on the list of immensely talented but troubled hockey players. Just not anymore. Hearing them this week, reading them this week: Boy have they have grown up. ... Simple advice for everyone: Carry your cellphone. Carry it everywhere. If you see something wrong, film it. If you think there’s something wrong, film it. Without the gruesome film of the Floyd murder in Minneapolis, there are no protests around the world. The Black Lives Matter campaign would be silent. In this new world, we are all journalists now. We saw the Floyd strangulation, the police car door smashing a man in Nunavut, the Quebec man pulled from his car by his dreadlocks. All of it disturbing. Without cameras, those stories rarely make the news. Keep filming, all of us. Until there’s nothing left to film.
It’s not official yet, but it appears as though Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver are out as hub cities for the upcoming NHL games. One city is almost certain to be Las Vegas. The other may come down to Chicago or Los Angeles. ... Dear NHL: The NBA season will begin on July 31 and end by Oct. 12, if they wind up playing. The draft lottery is Aug. 25. The draft is Oct. 15. The dates are all in place. The NHL dates are we don’t know, we don’t know and we don’t know. But I’m told you can bet on this — Gary Bettman will insist the NHL starts before the NBA does. ... What I don’t understand or agree with: The NBA has kept 22 teams to end the season and then begin the playoffs with 16. Nine are in one conference. Thirteen are in the other. And there will be eight regular season games played before playoffs begin. That’s too many games of inconsequence. Play a few games and start the playoffs. The six teams chasing the pack don’t need to be included. ... One interesting aspect about the NHL plans for playoffs: Re- seeding after every round. In other words, if somehow the Maple Leafs defeat Columbus in Round 1, and there is an upset of any kind in one of the other three Eastern series, then the Leafs would get a better second round opponent. Might be the first time in history Leafs fans will be cheering for the Canadiens in the playoffs against Pittsburgh.
WITHOUT BLACK PLAYERS, THERE WOULD BE NO NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE.
Maybe, with nothing going on, we’ll care more about Wednesday’s baseball draft, with the Blue Jays holding the fifth pick, their highest selection in 23 years. If they target a pitcher with the first pick, the likely choices will be Max Meyer from Minnesota or Georgia’s Emerson Hancock. That’s what the bevy of mock drafts out there seem to indicate. ... It barely made the news as the Arizona Diamondbacks released minor leaguers Dalton Pompey and Travis Snider the other day. You have to wonder at age 27, still young, if this is it for the Canadian Pompey as a big league prospect. ... Still not signed with no assurance of a baseball season: Aaron Sanchez and Yasiel Puig.