The NFL is a problem right now.
Not only are their protests a rampant problem, but Seahawks star Michael Bennett has also perpetuated a fake news story.
And now that same NFL star just lied about his role in a Las Vegas incident.
Michael Bennett is piggybacking off of Colin Kaepernick.
The Seahawks defensive end recently perpetuated a “victim” circumstance after the Mayweather-McGregor fight because he was trying to suit his narrative.
The narrative is that black people are victimized by police officers.
He claimed that he was “knee’d” into the ground and police officers referred to him in a racist manner.
Except none of that was true.
This Kaepernick protest has people on edge, but it’s clear that NFL protesters are viewing it in a whole new way.
Sports Illustrated reports:
“Richie Zyontz is a name unfamiliar to most people who follow sports but he’s an important figure in NFL circles. For four decades Zyontz has produced pro football at the highest level, including the last 15 years as the lead producer for Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on Fox’s top NFL broadcast. He has served as the lead producer for five Super Bowls (XXXIV, XLII, XLV, XLVIII and LI), an assignment maybe 20 or so on earth can say they’ve done.
Prior to this season Zyontz, like most sports network staffers who produce NFL games, thought hard about how to cover the on-field political activism of NFL players. He and his Fox colleagues knew it would be a storyline this season, and no matter the course they opted to forge, they knew their decision would alienate some viewers.
What the networks (and the NFL) could not have predicted, of course, was that the issue would ultimately become a major topic for the President of the United States. It is a smart one for Donald Trump to push because it widens his base: The country, if you believe polling, is divided on the issue of players kneeling during sporting events.
“It is an interesting and divisive topic,” Zyontz told SI in August. “I discussed privately with colleagues at our Fox NFL meetings, and opinions are split: Some feel it has no place in the broadcast, others feel it’s part of the game story.
Our boss Eric Shanks, similar to last season, has asked us to acknowledge what our cameras see without dwelling on it, and I totally agree. I think we should document what transpires during the national anthem on both sidelines.
I don’t think it would be right to show a single player without the context of his teammates and the other sideline. Every game account and every radio call-in show will be rife with description and discussion on Monday regarding the anthem so to ignore it would be negligent.”
The NFL TV rights-holders have no good options on the national anthem. Whatever they decide, millions of viewers won’t be happy. On Sunday Fox Sports opted for a split decision of sorts. “
As we have in previous broadcasts of NFL games from London, Fox will show the national anthem as well as ‘God Save the Queen’ live,” said a Fox Sports spokesperson. “As is standard procedure, regionalized coverage of NFL games airing on Fox this Sunday will not show the national anthem live. However, our cameras are always rolling and we will document the response of players and coaches on the field.”
CBS opted to do what they did last week—they showed the anthem live and the images surrounding it for the 1:00 p.m. ET kickoffs. They opted not to do so for the late game given markets go to that game at a different time.
NBC aired the anthem Sunday night and showed images from both sidelines, including some Seahawks players sitting during the anthem and Colts players locking arms. ESPN told the Sporting News it would not air the anthem live on Monday prior to the Redskins-Chiefs game.
The only commonality is criticism on all sides. Last Tuesday Neil Best of Newsday and I asked Eric Shanks, the head of Fox Sports, what his plans were for this Sunday on the issue of airing on-field political activism.
“The standard procedure is not to show them because of the way the commercial format works and the timing of the anthem to get to the kickoff,” Shanks said. “So I think we’re going to pay attention to events. Who knows what’s going to happen?
A lot of time is happening between now and then. But I think the plan would be to get back to a normal schedule. I think that’s where we sit today on a Tuesday. It seems like there’s more than 24 hours in a day now, doesn’t there?”
Where do we go from here? We need to put these discrepancies to bed and this is a great way to do that.