Former Seahawk, Green Beret opens up about letter to America following protests

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The former Seattle Seahawk and U.S. Army Green Beret who had an unintentionally large hand in the genesis of the national “kneeling” controversy is back in Seattle.

Nate Boyer, a long-snapper for the Seahawks in the 2015 preseason, wrote a letter to Colin Kaepernick last year after the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback first sat during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality. Boyer and Kaepernick spoke soon after and found a common ground: Kaepernick would kneel as a sign of respect towards the military.

But in the year-and-a-half since, the issue has become as divisive as any in America. Boyer penned another open letter to “Every Single American,”earlier this week, pleading with Americans to be kind to each other. 

As NFL owners and players meet in New York City to debate how to rectify the debate about protesting during the national anthem, Boyer said he believes there is plenty of room for common ground.

http://www.king5.com/news/local/former-seahawk-green-beret-opens-up-about-letter-to-america-following-protests/483996679

[matt819]

1. The NFL can turn this around

Although there have been mixed signals coming from the NFL and the owners, the NFL - and the owners who choose to do so - can turn this around.

They can speak up every time there is a police shooting of an unarmed African-American - male, female, young, hold, rich, poor.

They can speak out when one of their own is mistreated by the police simply because they are black and in the wrong place at the wrong time.

They can initiate community involvement by setting up community programs in the worst communities, worst being designated as the cities and states where this happens more often than in other communities. You may not like football, but it has been a way out for many Americans of all stripes, so greater involvement could be valuable. And it doesn't have to be in only football. Fund community sports in all sports - pull in MLB, NBA, NHL. In the off season they can send out their players into communities nationwide to speak to schools and law enforcement. During the season, they can spring for free tickets for African American communities and, yes, law enforcement - sitting in the same place at the same time rooting for their home teams. Maybe this is pollyanna-ish, but you get the idea.

Engage the players who are kneeling and those who don't kneel but otherwise support their teammates. Engage those who have chosen not to engage in any protest. Learn from them. Why they do, why they don't. How they would like to make a difference. What a concept - owners and players working together on a common goal. Players can commit to funding programs from their own pockets, and owners can kick in at some agreed upon rate, along with NFL.

Create a public awareness campaign about what the protests are about. Change the narrative. Collectively, they have the power to do so.

I've read that the Russians committed no more than a few million dollars to turn this nation against itself to elect a disgraceful buffoon. Surely professional sports and professional athletes can find the resources to do something good.

It just takes thought, goodwill, out of the box thinking, and courage. If the players can kneel in protest of law enforcement shooting black people, surely the owners and the NFL can speak up and risk offending the buffoon in chief and rich white people.

Or not. And we'll be having this same discussion year after year after year.