The anti-American anthem protests have been devastating for the NFL.
The unpatriotic displays have upset fans, servicemen, and companies who don’t want to be associated with the league.
Now protesters just disrespected police officers in a truly appalling way.
Anti-Cop Roots
Free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick began the disgraceful protests in the 2016 pre-season when he chose to sit for the national anthem, then eventually decided to kneel for the remainder of the season.
Radical leftists and a compliant mainstream media said Kaepernick was simply raising awareness about police brutality against black citizens, but his message was anti-American and anti-police from the beginning.
Kaepernick said officers were committing “murder” and getting “paid leave.”
He then wore socks depicting police officers as pigs and compared cops to slave catchers of the 1800s.
Players Reject Olive Branch
Many police officers took the players at face value and offered to open a dialogue. Some protesters connected with local police departments and went on ride-alongs to get a sense of the job cops do.
But other players weren’t at all interested in talking. Kaepernick has supposedly rebuffed all offers to speak with the police, and he’s rarely done any press at all to expound on his rather shallow beliefs.
In Palm Beach County, an area in south Florida, police officers thought they had come to an understanding with players on the local Miami Dolphins, but a handful of players still chose to protest.
That disrespectful act prompted the Palm Beach County Policemen’s Benevolent Association to sever their ties with the Dolphins.
The police union said:
“The Palm Beach County PBA recently offered our members discounts to a Miami Dolphins game because the franchise said they were going to honor all first responders. We entered into this partnership with the understanding that the Dolphins organization would require their players to stand for the National Anthem. This did not happen.
As a result, the Palm Beach County PBA will no longer participate in this ticket program, and we are asking all our members, as well (as) members of the Dade County Police Benevolent Association and the Broward County Police Benevolent Association, not to participate either. If you have already purchased tickets to this game, we encourage you to call the Dolphins ticket office to request a refund because this organization obviously does not honor First Responders and the dangers they put themselves in every day.”
The players don’t seem interested in solving problems. They’re more preoccupied with creating chaos.
Much Ado About Nothing
Ironically, while Kaepernick was calling for more attention to the issue of police violence, Barack Obama’s Department of Justice was already looking into the matter, and ultimately found no widespread issue.
In perhaps the most blatant case of recent police violence, the shooting of Walter Scott in South Carolina, the offending officer pled guilty on federal charges and will face 20 years in prison.
Statistics have shown that police shootings of unarmed black suspects make up a fraction of black homicides — under 5% — and officers are less likely to use lethal force on a black suspect than a white one.
That isn’t to say that there are no bad police shootings happening, but in a nation of over 325 million people, it’s easy to demagogue a handful of incidents and create a narrative that leads to nationwide hysteria.
The tragedy is that law-abiding citizens in crime-ridden areas are asking for increased police presence, but their majority voices are drowned out by the screeching activists with platforms who are hostile to cops.
All these radical leftists do is give cover to the criminals who prey on these vulnerable neighborhoods.
It’s no wonder the Palm Beach County police broke ties with the league. They’re tired of being portrayed as the enemy.