Many NFL players are on a kamikaze mission against Donald Trump.
The players alienated fans by engaging in ugly anti-American protests during the Star-Spangled Banner, and seem even more emboldened after the league’s new anthem policy.
But the players hellbent on attacking Trump were given a warning by the last person they ever expected.
Outspoken host Stephen A. Smith made a keen observation on the NFL’s foolish crusade against Trump. Players are fighting for a right that doesn’t exist (the freedom to do or say anything on the job without repercussions), and fighting to disgrace the flag.
This is a losing issue because the majority of Americans believe players should show respect for the flag.
Smith said,
“Donald Trump has the NFL in the palm of his hands…He can do whatever he wants to them right now because of the positions they have taken or the positions they refuse to take, preceding the whole Colin Kaepernick thing.”
Smith also correctly pointed out that Trump has a loyal base. Sixty-two million Americans voted for him, and a lot of them are NFL fans who are tired of anti-Americanism being sold to the public as patriotism.
If NFL players continue to vilify the idea of standing for the flag, the worse they do, and the better Trump does.
Smith understands this, but the players clearly don’t, and few of his colleagues likely don’t understand it, either.
ESPN has committed itself to progressive politics, which has thus far been a disaster. The teetering sports juggernaut has lost millions of subscribers, a problem exacerbated by politicizing their content.
Smith isn’t immune to nonsensical liberal rants, but he’s willing to stake out unpopular opinions on his network.
He once appeared on Fox News and said that every black person should vote Republican at least once in his or her life.
Smith’s particular politics aren’t relevant, but the fact he’s telling black people it’s okay to be free thinkers separates him from many of his ESPN cohorts.
The channel purged several prominent conservatives including Curt Schilling, Mike Ditka, and Britt McHenry. Meanwhile, racist host Jemele Hill got a slap on the wrist after multiple incendiary comments, such as calling Trump a “white supremacist.”
Hill was only censured after she told fans to boycott certain companies that advertise with her employer, which shows a gross lack of competence.
ESPN also folded up its ombudsman position after the final titleholder wrote a stern criticism of the company’s oppressive liberal bent. He said some employees were afraid to turn the television to Fox News in the break room.
In another example of the network’s push left, their website featured poetry from convicted cop killer and federal fugitive Assata Shakur, who currently lives in exile in Cuba.
Liberals’ embrace of detestable figures shows why organizations that skew left—like ESPN—can’t be trusted to handle topics with objectivity.
This is what makes Stephen A. Smith’s comments about Trump and the NFL surprising. He’s issuing a warning to the players they should take heed, but the rest of the left is telling the players to escalate the situation; consequences be damned.
Let’s see how much the players want to protest after the anthem-influenced revenue hit hurts their negotiating power in the next round of collective bargaining.