The people who have been viciously attacking NFL players (and other athletes) kneeling/sitting, or showing any form of protest during the national anthem in the name of combating inequality & police brutality, are the textbook definition of hypocrites.
These Giants fans (& I’m certain many others) shouted and cursed Seattle Seahawks Michael Bennett & Cliff Avril…while the national anthem was being played.
So instead of being silent and paying homage to the flag (as if this was ever what the protests were actually about), the fans intruded on the moment with their loud ass voices:
Giants fans yelled and cursed at Seahawks players sitting during the anthem before #SEAvsNYG, and Cliff Avril responded
(?: @deanrutz) pic.twitter.com/gLs00qetVo
— Seattle Times Sports (@SeaTimesSports) October 23, 2017
I think it’s clear to see these people could care less about the anthem in actuality. How many times before the last year & a half did they even use the words “national anthem”?
This is about the highjacking of a specific, well-articulated issue by Trump, which has in-turn riled up people who were already looking for reasons to hate black people. It’s really simple as that.
For instance, a black NHL player, J.T. Brown of the Tampa Bay Lightning, has received DEATH THREATS for silently raising his fist during the national anthem:
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
-Martin Luther King Jr. pic.twitter.com/Ql2vEFwl5E
— Jt brownov (@JTBrown23) October 8, 2017
J.T. Brown is an American citizen. Where’s the outrage for an American Citizen (Brown was born in Minnesota), being treated this way? Where are NHL fans to rally around Brown?
Oh yeah, he’s black.
It’s all the same, and I hope people who think like these Giants fans, or like the anonymous tough guys sending social media deaths threats realize they only further show why the protests from people of color & beyond are so necessary in the first place.