To: All Black NFL Players
From: Rob Parker
Re: Jerry Jones Edict
Dont get punked.
Dont be pushed around.
Dont let the big bad owners scare you.
Think about all the things you have overcome to make your dream a reality, playing in the NFL. There were many obstacles, hardships and sacrifices along the way.
Most great things are worth fighting for. So is the right to peacefully protest what you believe in.
We all know the stance isnt against the flag or the military.
That is just a distraction from the truth, the issue at hand. Its about social injustice, racism and police brutality.
Donald J. Trump on Twitter
It is about time that Roger Goodell of the NFL is finally demanding that all players STAND for our great National Anthem-RESPECT OUR COUNTRY
Those are the issues worth fighting for, not a football game. That, in the big picture, doesnt really mean a hill of beans in life.
It sounds harsh, but its real talk.
But how could playing in a league that doesnt respect your rights as an American citizen feel good?
Those rights should never be superceded, even by an employer. Many have fought and died for your right to express yourself, to protest what you believe to be unjust. Ask most honest military members. They will tell you.
Thats more American than any NFL game on Sunday.
Others will try to tell you otherwise, scare you to fall in line. Its been done over and over for years. That is as American as apple pie, too.
What Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is trying to do is just plain wrong. On Tuesday, he took a hardline stance on national anthem protests. He threatened his players point blank. Jones said he wouldnt play any player that didnt stand for the anthem.
The NFL then chimed in. It said it hoped that all players would stand, but also said it has not suggested to teams that they force players to stand.
On Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter to all 32 teams urging them to find a way to move past the controversy surrounding the national anthem.
It was reported that the owners will consider a rule change that would ban players from kneeling during the anthem.
FOX & friends on Twitter
Roger Goodell in letter to NFL team owners: “Everyone should stand for the national anthem. We want to honor our flag and our country
This is wrong. Its illegal.
And plenty have come to support you and your rights.
A Texas labor union reportedly filed a grievance against Jones. According to ESPN, Local 100 of the United Labor Unions said Tuesday that Jones statement violated the National Labor Relations Act because it showed he is attempting to threaten, coerce and intimidate all Dallas Cowboys players on the roster in order to prevent them from exercising concerted activity protected under the act by saying that he will fire any players involved in such concerted activity.
The NAACP is on your side as well. It made a statement saying that Jones statements are a public commitment by an NFL owner to violate his players Constitutional right to free speech.
NACCA interim President and CEO Derrick Johnson added in a statement, This is not an issue about our flag, this is an issue about police brutality, racism, and the ability of members of the NFL whose communities are disproportionately impacted by police misconduct to peacefully say enough.
Plus, legally, the wording in the leagues operations manual backs your right to do as you please. The manual says that players must be on the sideline and should stand for the anthem.
If you kneel, you are definitely not breaking any rule in the current CBA.
Lastly, remember that the owners will meet next week and try to come up with a solution.
No doubt they will try to convince the players union to do what they want to appease some fans not happy with what is going on.
Please dont take their money. You know it will come down to that. Its the oldest trick in the book, to get black people to sell out their people and community for a check.
Tariq Nasheed on Twitter
The Roger Goodell NFL letter in a nutshell= “Hey Black Americans…stop making a fuss about white racism and learn to suffer in silence
Life is bigger than a check.
And dont believe there arent fans out there that support you, especially in our community. Theyre fans of the NFL, and love even more that you are willing to fight for whats right.
Be strong. Fight on. You can win.
