Opposing view: Players, leave your agendas in the locker room

The idea that the NFL is only implementing its new national anthem policy because of falling ratings and public pressure is exactly how businesses work. No business exists to employ people; they exist to make as much money as possible. Hemorrhaging fans, or customers, is the quickest path to failure, so it’s smart for the NFL to do all it can to stop the swirling public relations disaster its players created.

Fining teams whose players kneel during the anthem isn’t “punishing dissent.” It’s the people who sign the front of the players’ sizable checks exerting the authority inherent in any employer/ employee relationship.

Players have six other days of the week, and 21 other hours on the day of games, not to mention the months they have off, to protest whatever they want in any matter they choose. They’re celebrities in their towns; they don’t lack access to media willing to report on anything they do. But when they punch the clock they should leave their personal agendas in the locker room and do their jobs.

President Trump didn’t create the disgust fans felt; he recognized it.

What the protesting players don’t seem to grasp is if you protest during something, your protest is viewed as being against that thing. If you protest during the national anthem, your protest will be seen as being disrespectful to the anthem. The method overrides the message.

When you consider the fact that the message — that police brutality is rampant and they’ve declared “open season” on black men — is false, it only adds to the public’s distaste. The recent case of Sterling Brown, player for the Milwaukee Bucks, exemplifies this divide. Shocking video of a Taser being used on him ignores the fact that he had parked diagonally across handicapped parking spaces, refused to give officers his license, and disobeyed orders to take his hands out of his pockets. That’s why he was tased, not because of his race.

Derek Hunter is a columnist for Town Hall and author of Outrage, Inc.: How the Liberal Mob Ruined Science, Journalism, and Hollywood.