So, the owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, has made headlines this week for what he said during the traditional start of training camp press conference, and it touches on an issue we’re all familiar with by now; the NFL’s anthem issue.
Whether you stand for the anthem or kneel, it’s important for us to take notice of the bigger issue here.
Since this all started, I have had one simple remark to the entire anthem controversy in the NFL: to the players I say, “do your damn job.” It’s not out of callousness for the issues they kneel to support, or the delusion of “white privilege” either. I don’t feel this way because I disagree with players taking a stance on social issues.
Hell, I think these guys should do more to raise awareness, but there are basic truths in life, both in general and for NFL players specifically, that someone needs to point out.
Free Speech Isn’t Free
Yes, this argument holds true as a basis for standing for the anthem in the first place, but that’s not the point I’m making. It’s been made. When I say “free speech isn’t free,” what I mean is that one’s words and actions have consequences, whether positive or negative, and that those consequences are inescapable.
If someone wishes to walk into a church loudly proclaiming that God can eat a dick, they are free to do so. The church is free to bar them from the premises as well.
If a white guy wants to stroll into the Oak Cliff neighborhood in south Dallas throwing around the words “thug” and calling everyone his brother, he is also free to do so. He better be prepared to face the largely non-white population in that neighborhood, though.
Every right comes with responsibility.
We set minimum age restrictions for gun ownership and alcohol consumption for that very reason; both are your right, but in order to exercise a right you must be mature enough to bear the responsibility that comes with it.
Jerry Jones: King Of The Castle
The Dallas Cowboys football team is a business, it is a franchise of the NFL for which Jerry Jones has paid license and provides operation. The team is his.
What do you do with something you own? Whatever the fuck you please.
If you borrow my car, I have the absolute authority to demand that you not drive it recklessly. You either drive it my way or don’t drive it at all. You get no say. You have no power over my vehicle. The only power you have is to get your own and drive it how you want.
If you borrow my blender, you absolutely cannot put anything but food in it. No rocks, no mud, no edible panties…
If I loan you a shirt, I expect to get it back in the same condition I lent it. If I don’t, I expect a brand new replacement in return. You break it, you bought it!
If you don’t follow my rules, you don’t get to use my shit.
That’s a concept so simple that it’s perhaps one of the first we ever truly learn. Ever heard a 2-year-old scream, “MINE!” They get it.
Jerry Jones, as the owner of America’s Team, has decided that his Dallas Cowboys will stand and respect the national anthem before every game. He made this decision as the leader of a group of employees under his charge. He has every right to terminate employees for violating company policy, and it doesn’t even matter if that policy is good or not.
If a white player were to drop a racial slur about a black teammate during a one-on-one interview with Jane Slater, for example, Jerry Jones would be completely justified in firing that employee. Right?
He wouldn’t need to ask for permission because you don’t ask permission to alter things you own, and he would likely be praised by fans for firing a racist POS.
Does it not make equal sense that Jerry can disallow a player kneeling during the national anthem at the beginning of a National Football League match?
Jerry has chosen to run his club in the spirit of the rule book and American values. He values the American way that gave his family the opportunity to be richer than god, so why wouldn’t he want that honored?
As for players, football is not exclusive to Jerry’s team. There are 31 other franchises in the NFL, so players are free to quit. I’m sure that Jones, the league, and the union would all be very happy to terminate a contract without penalty to resolve an issue such as this.
The point is, when you work for someone else, following their rules is the biggest part of the job.
Exposure Extends Beyond The Field
These players are multi-millionaires for playing a game on TV. Not to be a dick or anything, but they have it pretty damn good. They work hard for what they have, make no mistake, but they don’t exactly live in the same world as the rest of us.
Part of the gig when you play for the NFL is dealing with the media. Sports journalists are everywhere and always hungry for a soundbite, so it’s not at all difficult to find someone willing to broadcast a player’s message. And yet, players choose to only protest when the media can’t get within earshot of them. Why?
Well, optics is a good place to start.
Players taking a knee on the sideline during the anthem is equivalent to the slow clap; it’s dramatic and symbolic. You only need to open your eyes to see it. As far as political overtures go, it’s one hell of a visual. I can’t argue that. It’s also not the only way to go, not for celebrity the likes of which NFL players are in America.
Call a press conference on the block.
Schedule an in-depth interview to discuss the social ramifications of being a black man in the NFL and the pain of watching black men experience turmoil on the streets; any reporter would take that interview so they’d have their pick.
Hell, talk about the issues during locker room interviews.
A player could even get major play with apparel manufacturers for protest clothing ala #BlackLivesMatter.
And the list goes on and on and on…
There are so many ways these players could be getting their message out there, and yet they don’t utilize them.
Players choose to perform the actions that cause the most drama, which again, I get. But look what it’s done to the country. The message behind kneeling is hardly discussed, not when compared to the kneeling itself.
It’s divisive, which seems ironic as fuck for a movement dedicated to equal treatment.
Why not take full advantage of your fame AND keep your job at the same time? Go out, speak, visit, bring every camera you can find. Get your message out there. Just don’t pretend that you have no other resources besides kneeling during the anthem. It’s just not true.
No one faults the players for what they’re doing, because it is a noble cause.
But so is honoring the men and women who fought and died so that you could kneel in front of millions of people.
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Whether I think Jones is right in his demand to stand doesn’t really matter. I can love it or hate it but neither changes the simple fact that I have no say. It’s not my team, even if it is my team.