Bingo Bango Bongo said:

---

I think it's a mob looking for any excuse to be offended. Absolutely I do. I don't need them to apologize to me though.

As far as your Wendell Pierce quote goes, Brees is actually trying to extend the respect to Pierce's father that he didn't get back then. But hey, we live in a world where the message below is now offensive. Awesome

Quote:

---

"I believe we should all stand for the national anthem and respect our country and all those who sacrificed so much for our freedoms," Brees said via text message. "That includes all those who marched for women's suffrage in the 1920s and all those who marched in the civil rights movements and continue to march for racial equality. All of us ... EVERYONE ... represent that flag. Same way I respect all the citizens of our country ... no matter their race, color, religion.

"And I would ask anyone who has a problem with what I said to look at the way I live my life. Do I come across as someone who is not doing my absolute best to make this world a better place, to bring justice and equality to others, and hope & opportunity to those who don't have it? That's what I meant by actions speak louder than words. ... My ACTIONS speak for themselves."

---

---

No, Brees is not extending that to Wendell's grandfather. You are completely missing the point being made.

And you might want to at least try and register that it makes Blacks even more frustrated when whites try to tell them how they should 'take something'. The root of the entire issue that that more people need to listen and close their mouth.

Bingo Bango Bongo said:

---

But hey, we live in a world where the message below is now offensive. Awesome

Quote:

---

"I believe we should all stand for the national anthem and respect our country and all those who sacrificed so much for our freedoms," Brees said via text message. "That includes all those who marched for women's suffrage in the 1920s and all those who marched in the civil rights movements and continue to march for racial equality. All of us ... EVERYONE ... represent that flag. Same way I respect all the citizens of our country ... no matter their race, color, religion.

"And I would ask anyone who has a problem with what I said to look at the way I live my life. Do I come across as someone who is not doing my absolute best to make this world a better place, to bring justice and equality to others, and hope & opportunity to those who don't have it? That's what I meant by actions speak louder than words. ... My ACTIONS speak for themselves."

---

---

This is actually you being the snowflake. You are offended that Kaep took a knee during the national anthem when it actually had nothing to do with the anthem and the flag.

There is an incredible amount of projection going on.

I rest my case regarding having the ability (or will) to listen.

And I think you are using hyperbole in saying these comments are the 'headline of the day'. It's a part of the larger picture going on and it's significant because he is incredibly high profile in the league and his history with the struggles of NO and his involvment in those.

Bingo Bango Bongo said:

---

I'd say the root of the issue is that there is a bunch of talk and blaming and looking to be offended vs actual doing to improve things. Brees has been great at the latter and he's getting torn down over some words by guys who haven't actually done a sliver of what he has.

---

This is a huge assumption on your part.

Another example of speaking before understanding the whole picture.

https://www.themalcolmjenkinsfoundation.org/

https://www.richardsherman25.com/pages/foundation

J. Walter Weatherman said:

---

Macarthur said:

---

J. Walter Weatherman said:

---

Question for the OP - if he was blackballed solely because of racism/the protest why have other players like Eric Reid and Kenny Stills, who knelt multiple times and made their viewpoints very clear, been able to get signed?

---

I think a lot of that has to do with his position. I agree with many of the posts here that talk about teams doing the risk reward calculation in their head and it falling on the side of not signing him due primarily to him being a QB.

Those other positions are much easier for a guy to fade into a team and not be a lightening rod.

I still stand by my origninal point that he was a much better QB than many of the guys on NFL rosters at that time.

---

Right, but it doesn't matter how much better he is than any random team's qb if he is both 1. Demanding a much higher salary than a backup or rookie qb, which we know from the contracts he turned down and 2. Has a skill set that would require an offense to be redesigned if the starter went down

Personally, my opinion is that he never actually wanted to sign or play and that's why he made his demands so high. If he gets signed and is as bad as he was when he got benched for Blaine Gabbert then his martyr status is suddenly gone.

---

There is a lot of misinformation out there about this.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/08/nfl-broncos-john-elway-colin-kaepernick-contract-collusion-case

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/john-elway-blames-colin-kaepernick-for-no-job-had-his-chance-to-be-here-omits-key-fact/

Kaep turned down the trade because it was going to cost him $5million which he had every right to do. So isn't it funny how the Broncos had interest in him and the very next offseason, they had no interest. You telling me he all of the sudden couldn't play?

Those guys have every right to criticize what Drew said. What he has done in the past has no bearing what so ever on his comments about the current situation.

Drew had every right to say what he said, also, but boy did he make an abrupt 180....So is Drew wrong today, but he was right yesterday? He said himself he was wrong....

03_Aggie said:

---

Macarthur said:

---

J. Walter Weatherman said:

---

Macarthur said:

---

J. Walter Weatherman said:

---

Question for the OP - if he was blackballed solely because of racism/the protest why have other players like Eric Reid and Kenny Stills, who knelt multiple times and made their viewpoints very clear, been able to get signed?

---

I think a lot of that has to do with his position. I agree with many of the posts here that talk about teams doing the risk reward calculation in their head and it falling on the side of not signing him due primarily to him being a QB.

Those other positions are much easier for a guy to fade into a team and not be a lightening rod.

I still stand by my origninal point that he was a much better QB than many of the guys on NFL rosters at that time.

---

Right, but it doesn't matter how much better he is than any random team's qb if he is both 1. Demanding a much higher salary than a backup or rookie qb, which we know from the contracts he turned down and 2. Has a skill set that would require an offense to be redesigned if the starter went down

Personally, my opinion is that he never actually wanted to sign or play and that's why he made his demands so high. If he gets signed and is as bad as he was when he got benched for Blaine Gabbert then his martyr status is suddenly gone.

---

There is a lot of misinformation out there about this.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/08/nfl-broncos-john-elway-colin-kaepernick-contract-collusion-case

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/john-elway-blames-colin-kaepernick-for-no-job-had-his-chance-to-be-here-omits-key-fact/

Kaep turned down the trade because it was going to cost him $5million which he had every right to do. So isn't it funny how the Broncos had interest in him and the very next offseason, they had no interest. You telling me he all of the sudden couldn't play?

---

Well his bad decision ended up costing him a heck of a lot more than the $5 million he would have forgone to join Denver at $7 million.

The Broncos interest in him was at $7m/year. He essentially said thanks but I'm worth more. Why would they pursue him again knowing that he isn't going to sign at that amount?

Or are you saying Kap didn't have any interest at playing at $7m/year but he did the very next offseason?

---

If that were the best offer he would have gotten the next offseason, he probably would have taken it. You are using hindsight that he did not have. He was asked to take a $5 million cut in pay...not a single one of you would have done that given those circumstances.

You see, in the world we live in today, everybody has to go with what the belief of the day is.

You can't have your own beliefs otherwise you might have to leave Europe for a new place.

And in Couple 100 years, leave again. And again. And again...

CK and Brees have different beliefs on respecting the flag. I lean with Drew but accept CK.

To answer, CK was simply a threat to the owners bottom line and was blackballed. Period.

Bingo Bango Bongo said:

---

Macarthur said:

---

Those guys have every right to criticize what Drew said. What he has done in the past has no bearing what so ever on his comments about the current situation.

Drew had every right to say what he said, also, but boy did he make an abrupt 180....So is Drew wrong today, but he was right yesterday? He said himself he was wrong....

---

He learned that it's better to just keep quiet. I'm not sure how that improves anything as far as people understanding each other, but that's where we are these days. Lots of landmines out there waiting to blow up on opinions that are not unreasonable. Bad timing for him, but he was asked a question and guilty of being dumb enough to actually answer it honestly, all with a track record of there clearly not being a racist bone in the guy's body.

---

But that's the thing. I don't think anyone of those guys that criticized him think he's racists. You can be kinda tone deaf and not fully get it and still not be racists.

Again, the thread by Wendell Pierce is dead on....There were many many black men that fought for our country and came back to being treated as second class citizens. So what they are protesting has nothing to do with the flag or the anthem itself.

Again, it was decorated war veteran that suggested what Kaep did as a way to bring attention but not be disrespectful.

Question...do you always stand and take your hat off at home when the anthem comes on a game you are watching on TV?

Macarthur said:

---

03_Aggie said:

---

Macarthur said:

---

J. Walter Weatherman said:

---

Macarthur said:

---

J. Walter Weatherman said:

---

Question for the OP - if he was blackballed solely because of racism/the protest why have other players like Eric Reid and Kenny Stills, who knelt multiple times and made their viewpoints very clear, been able to get signed?

---

I think a lot of that has to do with his position. I agree with many of the posts here that talk about teams doing the risk reward calculation in their head and it falling on the side of not signing him due primarily to him being a QB.

Those other positions are much easier for a guy to fade into a team and not be a lightening rod.

I still stand by my origninal point that he was a much better QB than many of the guys on NFL rosters at that time.

---

Right, but it doesn't matter how much better he is than any random team's qb if he is both 1. Demanding a much higher salary than a backup or rookie qb, which we know from the contracts he turned down and 2. Has a skill set that would require an offense to be redesigned if the starter went down

Personally, my opinion is that he never actually wanted to sign or play and that's why he made his demands so high. If he gets signed and is as bad as he was when he got benched for Blaine Gabbert then his martyr status is suddenly gone.

---

There is a lot of misinformation out there about this.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/08/nfl-broncos-john-elway-colin-kaepernick-contract-collusion-case

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/john-elway-blames-colin-kaepernick-for-no-job-had-his-chance-to-be-here-omits-key-fact/

Kaep turned down the trade because it was going to cost him $5million which he had every right to do. So isn't it funny how the Broncos had interest in him and the very next offseason, they had no interest. You telling me he all of the sudden couldn't play?

---

Well his bad decision ended up costing him a heck of a lot more than the $5 million he would have forgone to join Denver at $7 million.

The Broncos interest in him was at $7m/year. He essentially said thanks but I'm worth more. Why would they pursue him again knowing that he isn't going to sign at that amount?

Or are you saying Kap didn't have any interest at playing at $7m/year but he did the very next offseason?

---

If that were the best offer he would have gotten the next offseason, he probably would have taken it. You are using hindsight that he did not have. He was asked to take a $5 million cut in pay...not a single one of you would have done that given those circumstances.

---

Hindsight he didn't have? He asked to seek out trade opportunities because he knew he was going to be released by the 49ers at the end of the season. He found no suitors at the salary level he was making at that time. He had at least one suitor at $7m a year and he turned it down. If he didn't have any inkling that he might struggle to sign a contract at, or above, the one he was being released from then I'd have to say that is on him or his agent.

Macarthur said:

---

J. Walter Weatherman said:

---

Macarthur said:

---

J. Walter Weatherman said:

---

Question for the OP - if he was blackballed solely because of racism/the protest why have other players like Eric Reid and Kenny Stills, who knelt multiple times and made their viewpoints very clear, been able to get signed?

---

I think a lot of that has to do with his position. I agree with many of the posts here that talk about teams doing the risk reward calculation in their head and it falling on the side of not signing him due primarily to him being a QB.

Those other positions are much easier for a guy to fade into a team and not be a lightening rod.

I still stand by my origninal point that he was a much better QB than many of the guys on NFL rosters at that time.

---

Right, but it doesn't matter how much better he is than any random team's qb if he is both 1. Demanding a much higher salary than a backup or rookie qb, which we know from the contracts he turned down and 2. Has a skill set that would require an offense to be redesigned if the starter went down

Personally, my opinion is that he never actually wanted to sign or play and that's why he made his demands so high. If he gets signed and is as bad as he was when he got benched for Blaine Gabbert then his martyr status is suddenly gone.

---

There is a lot of misinformation out there about this.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/08/nfl-broncos-john-elway-colin-kaepernick-contract-collusion-case

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/john-elway-blames-colin-kaepernick-for-no-job-had-his-chance-to-be-here-omits-key-fact/

Kaep turned down the trade because it was going to cost him $5million which he had every right to do. So isn't it funny how the Broncos had interest in him and the very next offseason, they had no interest. You telling me he all of the sudden couldn't play?

---

Of course he has every right to turn down a pay cut. But doing so forfeits his right to then turn around and argue that he's being blackballed when he decided to bet on himself and hold out for more money. No one is paying that for a backup qb (who again, got benched for Blaine Gabbert) with the way the cap works.

Do you really think someone as "woke" as Pete Carroll is was worried about the anthem protests when the Seahawks decided not to sign him?

Well, Carroll says it's not because he couldn't play....

https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/pete-carroll-lauds-colin-kaepernick-protest-which-seahawks-nixed-visit

J. Walter Weatherman said:

---

And yet, no contract offer.

---

There are reasons on both side of the ball, no pun intended, Kap isn't in the NFL.

One of these guys is good at football, and the other is a stupid SOS, period.

Maybe he should consult a marketing firm before his next bold protest. Perhaps they can help him find a way to effectively make his point in a way that people understand, embrace, and would act upon to improve things. But some would rather just inflame and then play the victim. At a minimum, you might want to be better at your job so they'll put up with you anyway. But hey, he made his business decision and the owners made theirs. Freedom, aint it great

The only way this country is going to get through this mess is public discourse, which just isn't going to happen if one side is silenced every time they try to express their opinion by being called racist and other insults (things like tone deaf).

Is it really any wonder that Trump won the 2016 election, and the left and media didn't see it coming? One side isn't willing to publicly state their opinions because people like expresswrittenconsent in this very thread imply that others are racist for not agreeing with them.

It's ironic that you accuse people on this board of not listening to the other side when you aren't listening to the other side yourself and are completely dismissing their point of view.

Many of us had fathers and grandfathers that fought for the freedoms of this country. For many of us, that flag represents what they fought for. Kneeling during the anthem whether intentional or not is disrespectful to the flag and by extension our families. Dismissing our feeling on the subject is not going to bring us to the table for a discussion, which is going to doom the whole process to failure.

If it truly isn't about the flag as you say, then this protest could have been done at any other time or in any other way. Kaepernick and the others are all multimillionaires with platforms provided to them by the NFL/media that they could have used to make this message heard.

He would have definitely been more successful if he had thought about his intended audience and tried to appeal to them differently, and it certainly couldn't have hurt to have him actually vote in the election for the change he wanted as well.

Quote:

---

You consider the NFL players that have disagreed with him as 'nancy-ass'?

---

Yes.

Macarthur said:

---

J. Walter Weatherman said:

---

Macarthur said:

---

J. Walter Weatherman said:

---

Question for the OP - if he was blackballed solely because of racism/the protest why have other players like Eric Reid and Kenny Stills, who knelt multiple times and made their viewpoints very clear, been able to get signed?

---

I think a lot of that has to do with his position. I agree with many of the posts here that talk about teams doing the risk reward calculation in their head and it falling on the side of not signing him due primarily to him being a QB.

Those other positions are much easier for a guy to fade into a team and not be a lightening rod.

I still stand by my origninal point that he was a much better QB than many of the guys on NFL rosters at that time.

---

Right, but it doesn't matter how much better he is than any random team's qb if he is both 1. Demanding a much higher salary than a backup or rookie qb, which we know from the contracts he turned down and 2. Has a skill set that would require an offense to be redesigned if the starter went down

Personally, my opinion is that he never actually wanted to sign or play and that's why he made his demands so high. If he gets signed and is as bad as he was when he got benched for Blaine Gabbert then his martyr status is suddenly gone.

---

There is a lot of misinformation out there about this.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/08/nfl-broncos-john-elway-colin-kaepernick-contract-collusion-case

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/john-elway-blames-colin-kaepernick-for-no-job-had-his-chance-to-be-here-omits-key-fact/

Kaep turned down the trade because it was going to cost him $5million which he had every right to do. So isn't it funny how the Broncos had interest in him and the very next offseason, they had no interest. You telling me he all of the sudden couldn't play?

---

The Broncos spent a lot of energy and time expressing interest in him and putting together what they deemed a fair offer. He did not accept.

Why would anyone in that situation put themselves through that a second time only to be rejected again?

They have no reason to believe that Kaepernick would accept their original offer the next season. In my opinion, it was up to Kaepernick at that point to humble himself and let the team know he would accept that lower offer. If he didn't do that, then that's on him and not the Broncos.

AggieDore said:

---

The only way this country is going to get through this mess is public discourse, which just isn't going to happen if one side is silenced every time they try to express their opinion by being called racist and other insults (things like tone deaf).

Is it really any wonder that Trump won the 2016 election, and the left and media didn't see it coming? One side isn't willing to publicly state their opinions because people like expresswrittenconsent in this very thread imply that others are racist for not agreeing with them.

It's ironic that you accuse people on this board of not listening to the other side when you aren't listening to the other side yourself and are completely dismissing their point of view.

Many of us had fathers and grandfathers that fought for the freedoms of this country. For many of us, that flag represents what they fought for. Kneeling during the anthem whether intentional or not is disrespectful to the flag and by extension our families. Dismissing our feeling on the subject is not going to bring us to the table for a discussion, which is going to doom the whole process to failure.

If it truly isn't about the flag as you say, then this protest could have been done at any other time or in any other way. Kaepernick and the others are all multimillionaires with platforms provided to them by the NFL/media that they could have used to make this message heard.

He would have definitely been more successful if he had thought about his intended audience and tried to appeal to them differently, and it certainly couldn't have hurt to have him actually vote in the election for the change he wanted as well.

---

You know, it is a bit of a tough sell for white folks to complain to POC that their voice isn't getting heard given history.