Black Coaches United issue a reality check to TN GOP

[Tanuki]

TN GOP legislators have been making threatening noises about punishing student athletes, the coaches and administrators who defend them, and entire athletic programs, as the young players continue to take the knee during the pre-game national anthem. The TN GOP may not care much about the First Amendment, but a boycott from potential recruits may very well get their attention and make them back off.


https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2021/02/26/black-coaches-union-tennessee-senate-gop-national-anthem-letter/6835094002/

"
A Black coaches advocacy group has a message for Senate Republicans in Tennessee:

Ban athletes from kneeling during the national anthem and watch your top college athletics programs pay the price. 

In response to a letter sent by Senate Republicans this week asking colleges and universities to prevent athletes from kneeling during the anthem, Black Coaches United, an advocacy group for Black coaches at every level of men's and women's basketball, urged college prospects on Friday to weigh the lawmakers' stance before committing to play for an athletics program in Tennessee.

“We want to impress upon student-athletes that they have a tremendous amount of power in their voice and in their decisions,” Black Colleges United executive director Paul Hewitt, a former Georgia Tech basketball coach and current coach of the L.A. Clippers' NBA G League affiliate, told Yahoo Sports. 

“If the state of Tennessee wants to take away the most basic of American rights, which is the right to peacefully protest, then while we don’t want to tell kids where to go to school, it has to factor into your decision."...(more at link)

[Cirque du So-What]

1. That'll get them to back down

No politician wants to hear from pissed-off college sports fans.

[Oldem]

13. Or lose revenue from major college programs.... If top-flight black athletes

won't come to UT, Memphis, and Vanderbilt, fans will find something else to do, and the money will dry up. It's the loss of millions of dollars the politicians will fear.

[Wounded Bear]

17. Yeah, good luck fielding an all white team...

[Oldem]

21. I remember a Bear Bryant story. It goes like this.

Some SEC team had a black running back named Leroy something. He ran rings around the Crimson Tide. So Bryant said, "We've got to get ourselves a Leroy." The rest is history.

(Who would thought that Bear Bryant would have played such a major part in desegregating southern football. I love irony!)

[Ferrets are Cool]

2. K and R

[Iliyah]

3. A lot of these republicans approve of what happened on 1/6/2021 . . .,

The unpatriotic tone resonances how uttering blind when it comes to "white" and "black" perceptions of patriotism.

[lark]

4. Only good thing is this will ensure that the Vols are never ever again good.

As a Gator fan, the last parts' fine with me, but what TN legislators are doing is heinous and unconstitutional. If they do this stupid thing, it probably will be ruled unconstitutional but in the meantime TN will pay a terribly steep price in the loss of competitiveness of all their college sports.

[Tanuki]

5. It is most definitely unconstitutional and will surely be adjudicated so if it gets

to the point of legislation.

[sarchasm]

9. 'Heinous and unconstitutional' is the TN GOP MO.

[Traildogbob]

14. Well

With Desantis, Florida may never have a team healthy enough to field. Tennessee is doing just fine sucking without political help. And with my daughter’s out of state Tuition from 2008-2012, I am part owner of Tenn Football. They fired Fulmer her first year and have been a shit show of coaches since. Tennessee republicans have made the State a shit show. Take a look at the abortion bills in the last few weeks.

[lark]

19. Both of our states have awful leaders.

FL actually didn't do too bad with Covid, surprisingly, but that certainly was not because of anything that Death Sentence did. Only reason FL is getting more vaccinations now is because of Fed govt. DS was taking lots of the vaccines before that and giving them to his rich friends and the rich counties and leaving little for populous but diverse Jax.

[Traildogbob]

22. I am

Actually North Carolina. Thank God for Dem Gov but we gave the nation Cawthorne, Tillis, Burr, and the worst of all, nation wide, Meadows.

[keithbvadu2]

6. Would the GOP be happy if athletes (dis)respected the anthem like Trump does?

Would the GOP be happy if athletes (dis)respected the anthem like Trump does?

Here he is during the National Anthem at Mar-a-Lago Super Bowl party.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-national-anthem-video-super-bowl/

Instead, Trump can be seen gesturing and pointing at others in the room. When anthem singer Demi Lovato hits the “rockets’ red glare” line of the song, Trump puts both hands up and twirls them like an orchestral conductor. The president then turns to the side and aggressively points at someone - twice - on the other side of the room.

[keithbvadu2]

7. Trump supporter Roseanne gives it the same respect that Trump does.

Trump supporter Roseanne gives it the same respect that Trump does.

[NoMoreRepugs]

8. I've been saying this for nearly a decade.

McDonalds HS All-American AA boycott attending Universities in states that restrict their mothers rights to vote it would change EVERYTHING. Think Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, etc.

[AllaN01Bear]

10. where is it written that we must stand and stand for the national anthem?

where is it written that we must stand solomy. where is it written that we must say the pledge of aleigence before city counil meetings . is this a written law?

[Fla Dem]

11. If they ban "taking a knee"they should also ban any clothing item made as a reproduction of the flag

I cringe anytime I see some idiot in a pair of shorts made from material representing the flag. Swimming trunks, women's bathing suits, bikinis, underwear. To me it shows tremendous disrespect for the flag to have it wrapped around your dick, pussy and tits.

Oh and on edit, it was totally disrespectful of that numb nut DeSantis ordering the flags in Florida lowered in honor of that anti-government loud mouth Limbaugh.

[Traildogbob]

15. Also ban

Beating cops with the flag, and adorning the flag with Trump shit imprinted.
As a veteran, I will not stand or be silent or respect the flag under its current acceptable misuse.
With our current patriotic warped displays, I get sick just hearing the chanting of USA.
We really got great these last 5 plus years.

[RVN VET71]

20. I'm with you.

I keep my respect for the flag silent. I hate to see it on clothing, because it is disrespectful to everything I think the flag ought to stand for. And, dammit, I believe in my heart of hearts that the flag does, yes it does, "stand for” kneeling, and the right to kneel in protest.

Kneeling during the anthem renders honor and respect to the flag when the country redounds with racist offenses by government officials, namely the police, murdering American citizens.

Kneeling with eyes lowered in sad contemplation while thousands of chattering buffoons stand, holding their beers and hot-dogs, while the loser 45 humps the flag to the applause of mindless cultists, while men in blue with Stars and Stripes patches on their uniforms beat to death a black man for petty crimes or no crime at all, riddle the body of an innocent woman with bullets as she attempts to rise from her own bed in her own home.

Kneeling thinking about the men and women, ignored despite their bravery and sacrifice in combat while serving under that flag, ignored while gross liars, draft dodgers and perverts receive recognition, medals of freedom, and accolades from the administration for their sycophancy to a leader who hid behind his father’s wealth to avoid his country’s call. Ignored and called suckers and losers by the leader of the nation, while the flag flies so high and proud.

I admit it: sometimes I cry for my flag as one does, kneeling before a headstone.

[Traildogbob]

23. You said it well

Ditto here with every word you typed.
Like John Prine said, “your flag decal won’t get you, into heaven anymore”.
When I perform it, I change it to “Your Flagged Lapel won’t get you into heaven anymore”.
Just look at the treasonous, coward, phony Jesus politicians, proud to display the flag on their lapel.
As believable as trump holding a Bible upside down for a photo op.

[llashram]

12. this

[BobTheSubgenius]

16. I'm very glad they used the non-specific, but very pointed "peacefully protest."

It's obvious who is in the right here, but there is no sense antagonizing a powerful group for what amounts to no gain.

[plimsoll]

18. Don't you just hate this cancel culture.

Eom