We're not supposed to be comfortable...but we are supposed to move forward

Leave it to Marshawn to sit for his own anthem, but stand for the host country's....and that's his right. We don't really know what he's thinking since he had not spoken about it. Sports Illustrated and Jack Del Rio in their own ways had something constructive and thought provoking to say (Athletes are not going to 'stick to sports' and that's an admirably American thing | SI.com). Contributions that at least try to invite perspective and move a discussion on.

But the rest of us live in the world of President Trump, who cannot hold his tweets and can only work in tweet length absolutes. Amusingly enough, he found another self promoter in the next sporting spat around basketball players shoplifting in China. (Why Donald Trump Loves Calling Out Black People Like LaVar Bal)

At what point does our society realize that a race to the cultural bottom is no race to win? The dissonance of sexual harassment claims multiplying while our "pussy grabbing" President moves from tweet to tweet gives me a migraine.


Why Donald Trump Loves Calling Out Black People Like LaVar Ball: "Ball is wrong to try to downplay the offense his son committed—he says it’s no big deal; he’s dead wrong—but ultimately, Ball’s a private citizen using petty hype to try to make a buck and maximize the impact of his boys getting to the highest levels of basketball. Trump is, unbelievably, president of the United States. He’s supposed to take care of all Americans, whether or not we support him, but he’s openly tribalist and weaponizes national division in order to rally his base....Black people are the neck that Trump stands on to seem taller to white people."

Athletes are not going to 'stick to sports' and that's an admirably American thing | SI.com: "In short, if you're going to perform national anthems, you're going to have politics. And if you have politics, you're going to have political statements and, this being the United States of America, those statements are not always going to make everyone comfortable."

Raiders' Del Rio responds to Trump tweet on Lynch and wife's retort: "“My stance on the whole thing with Marshawn is, and all of our players, I’ve told them how I feel. I love this country. I think it’s a great honor to be able to play football, coach football for a living,” Del Rio said. “And so, my thought is, that everybody should pay respect to the flag and stand at attention and that’s how I feel about it. But it is America, and everybody can make their choice. And I’ve made that clear too.” Del Rio declined to comment on the President’s assertion that Lynch should be suspended. “I’m not going to get into all that,” Del Rio said. “That’s not for me.” Lynch has never addressed his decision to sit for the anthem with the local or national media since he returned to the field this season after a year in retirement."