The left refuses to give Donald Trump credit for anything.
Trump issued a long overdue posthumous pardon to boxer Jack Johnson and recently pardoned convicted felon Alice Johnson after a years-long push for clemency.
Trump extended an olive branch to NFL players, asking them for pardon suggestions, and their response took many by surprise.
The NFL has been damaged by the anti-American anthem protests that alienated millions of viewers, perhaps irreparably.
As the disgraceful displays of kneeling persisted, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell chose to appease the offending players over fans that paid hard-earned money to enjoy football.
Fan participation dwindled, and some owners issued apologies in hopes to reclaim consumer confidence.
Only time will tell if the stadium attendance, television viewership, and advertising revenue will increase.
In the meantime, prominent anthem protesters have railed against Trump for his satisfaction with the new league policy that requires players to stand for the Star-Spangled Banner or remain in the locker room.
The majority of the American people are on Trump’s side, so it’s a losing issue for the league, even if the players refuse to acknowledge it.
However, Trump still chose to reach across the aisle and open a dialogue with the anthem protesters.
Trump asked the players for pardon suggestions. Many suspected the players wouldn’t respond, because none attended Trump’s summit on prison reform.
In fact, rapper Meek Mill was dissuaded from attending by music mogul Jay-Z.
It appears people on the left are more concerned with optics than actually getting things done.
Nevertheless, Trump is a doer, so he made the gesture despite the cold response from ideologically possessed athletes who don’t even have the courtesy to put aside politics and visit the White House.
But in a surprise twist, a delegation of NFL players responded to Trump’s pardon suggestions.
The players—Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin, retired wide receiver Anquan Boldin, Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, and New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson—penned an op-ed in the New York Times.
The players first commended Trump for his pardon of Alice Johnson, a grandmother who served 20 years in prison for selling drugs and suggested he go further in freeing other people incarcerated for drug offenses.
The players also included their boilerplate shouts of mass incarceration of black people being the result of “systemic” injustice:
“These injustices are so widespread as to seem practically written into our nation’s DNA. We must challenge these norms, investigate the reasons for their pervasiveness and fight with all we have to change them. That is what we, as football players, are trying to do with our activism.”
As usual, leftist complaints are vague and unassailable.
The crux of the players’ complaints revolves around people in prison for nonviolent drug offenses; especially felons over 60 years old (like Alice Johnson).
According to the players, approximately 79,000 of 185,000 federal prisoners are in federal detention for drug offenses, and 28% of the prisoners are elderly.
Most would agree the war on drugs has been an epic failure, but Trump would have to be incredibly cautious before even considering blanket pardons.
The people convicted of federal crimes are no angels. Many of the “nonviolent” offenders pled down to less serious crimes. Also, distributing mass quantities of narcotics requires organization, and drug enterprises that are rarely nonviolent.
Perhaps the players made a good-faith offer to Trump, and it will be interesting to see what his response will be.
Regardless of what happens, the left undoubtedly won’t give Trump credit if he were to reach a compromise with the players.
They will continue to demonize him despite his accomplishments and worship Barack Obama, who made virtually zero progress on criminal justice reform.