Let's ` begin to listen and find solutions'
Adrian Peterson says he will kneel during the national anthem this NFL season, and maybe you're thinking, crap, here we go again.
But 2020 doesn't feel like 2016.
When Colin Kaepernick took a knee before 49er games in 2016, he became Public Enemy No. 1 in White America. Even some who supported Kaepernick's protest of police brutality weren't totally on board; only a small percentage of players knelt with Kaepernick. Even those of us who believe flag reverence should never trump Constitution reverence, thought that Kaepernick was doing more harm than good to his cause.
That was then.
Now, Kaepernick seems a forerunner to the current days. Now, the issue of racial inequality and unjust treatment by law enforcement has breached the levees.
People of all colors and influence have joined the cause. White America seems ready to do what it has been asked by Black America to do for centuries. Change.
And Drew Brees is clear evidence.
The Saints quarterback drew the ire of many last week — notably his New Orleans Saints teammates — when he told Yahoo Finance he would “never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”
Brees, a Louisiana icon for his inspirational leadership in helping New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina, said that he thinks of his grandfathers, both veterans of World War II, when he hears the anthem or sees the flag, “both risking their lives to protect our country and to try to make our country and this world a better place.”
Brees immediately was shouted down by his NFL peers and soon enough apologized, saying he now realizes this was not about the flag. And when President
Trump tweeted that Brees should not have apologized, Brees doubled down on his apology, and a few days later, even Brees' wife apologized.
Peterson will not be alone; hundreds of players figure to kneel come September. And with the image of George Floyd gasping for breath still raw, fewer Americans are going to be outraged.
One of my readers called the other day. An elderly white man. He wondered if the NFL protesters, while kneeling, could put their hand over their heart. He didn't suggest it because he was mad or was trying to make them compromise. He seemed to want to spare them some of the criticism sure to come with another wave of kneeling.
But there's a better way. Like many have said, what if we listened more? I listened to Spencer Tillman.
The former Tulsa Edison, OU and NFL running back is a long-time sportscaster, now with Fox, and a pillar of the Houston community, where he sits on the board of directors at Methodist Hospital. Tillman ranks among the sharpest guys ever to come through Oklahoma sports.
I chatted with Tillman last week, after Brees' initial statement but before his apology.
Brees had said that when he stands with his hand over his heart, looking at that flag, he thinks about his grandfathers.
“I would not respond to my brother Drew Brees in a way that is condemning him personally,” Tillman said. “I would offer a perspective. Like, Drew, I heard you say that when you think of the flag, you think of your grandfathers … let me add an addendum to that.
“I share your compassion for grandparents. The only difference is, my two grandfathers weren't allowed to fight in the military in combat roles, until executive order 9981 in 1948 that allowed minorities, after the desegregation of the military, to fight in combat roles. They didn't have that privilege to do that.
“So because I have a different perspective and have to, in 2020, still fight for those unalienable rights … can you at least find a place in your heart to understand why I would engage in civil disobedience over this issue? Not pillaging, not burning. I am not an advocate of destruction of property. No way, forget about it. But when people hurt and are wounded, they cry out. Hurt people hurt people. And that's not logical, but it is predictable. So we shouldn't be surprised when those types of things happen.
“Let's do what Drew Brees suggested in his comment. I am thinking about my grandparents, who did not have the right to fight in the military. So when you start think about it in those terms, still fighting for those inalienable rights to this day, at least to the fullness of it, then hopefully we can find a pathway for reconciliation. It's only then that we begin to listen and find solutions at that point.”
Some people still don't understand the kneeling. They still hold holy the flag, perhaps forgetting that every army has a flag, but not every army fights for freedom. Freedom trumps the flag.
After George Floyd, maybe more Americans understand the kneeling now. The flag, without freedom, is a piece of art. When Adrian Peterson kneels in September, can we find it in our hearts to understand? Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at oklahoman.com/berrytramel.