Stand Up for Your Right to Kneel Down!

I’m wading into some uncomfortable territory here. But I believe I need to speak up.

I am a proud native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. While I no longer live there, I still consider it home. My heart remains in that little white house on the end of the cul-de-sac.

And my heart was ripped in half on April 27, 2011.

On that day, the largest tornado outbreak in American History was taking place. From April 25-27, there were 362 confirmed tornadoes. And on the 27^th, an F-4 twister hit my hometown and traveled up toward Birmingham. It did over $2 billion in damage, 64 people were killed, and 1500+ were injured.

While I no longer lived in Tuscaloosa, my heart was ripped in half that April afternoon.

There’s no doubt in my mind and in my heart that Alabama’s 2011 college football national championship helped to salve the wounds of that day and to heal Tuscaloosa’s and Alabama’s broken heart.

While the Yankees didn’t win the 2001 World Series, I believe that being part of that classic ’01 series helped repair New York’s heart after 9/11. And despite what you may feel about former President Bush, his ceremonial first pitch before game 3 was a moment that no baseball fan – no sports fan – can forget.

And while I’m no NASCAR fan, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s win at the 2001 Pepsi 400 – the first race held at Daytona after seeing his father get killed at that same track – was an incredibly emotional moment for a sport’s broken heart. To say nothing of a son’s broken heart.

Here’s my point: sports can heal. Sports can unite. And sports can bring out the best in all of us.

But my favorite games have some big problems, and I’d be lying if I said wasn’t concerned.

Consider the NFL. CTE and ALS have become almost epidemic. The news that former NFL player Aaron Hernandez had CTE didn’t surprise me one bit. To say nothing of the domestic violence issues plaguing the league.

The National Football League took in over $13 billion in revenue for the 2015 season. And that number is only expected to go up. And with the exception of the two Los Angeles teams, attendance is up.

With all this in mind, can someone tell me why certain politicians are calling out pro athletes for not standing for the national anthem?

Come on! Why are we prioritizing this?

In North America alone, here’s what’s been going on outside of sports. And this has been just in the last month:

• Deadly hurricanes in the Caribbean and in Texas and Florida.
• Devastating wildfires in the American northwest.
• Horrific earthquakes in Mexico claiming almost 400 lives.
• And this is just for starters.

Again, can someone tell me why we’re focused on athletes not standing for the national anthem?

I never served. I never served in the military. Neither one of my parents served. But both my grandfathers did.

• Barney Hall – my paternal grandfather – was a Navy man. He served in the tail end of the Korean conflict.
• Melborn Ivey – my maternal grandfather – was an Army man. He fought in the South Pacific theatre and was wounded in combat and awarded the Purple Heart.

Both Barney and Melborn have passed away. But I can guarantee you that if you asked either one of them today, they’d say that they fought for these players’ rights to protest what the flag means to them just the same as them fighting for the American values they held dear.

Look, there are certain fears I’ll never know. I’ll never know the fear of being a black man pulled over by the police. I’ll never know the fear of being gay in an area of the world where it may not be as accepted and acceptable. I’ll never know the fear of being Muslim and going through airport security.

What I have said today, I see through the eyes of a man belonging to the most privileged demographic in the world – a white, middle-aged man.

Let’s face it, the only minority group I belong to is being left handed. And, being an Alabama and a college football fan in New York, but that’s less demographic than way of life.

If your heart believes in something, go for it. Don’t let anyone stop you. Don’t let anyone sway your opinion and conviction. Because the same soldiers (like Barney and Melborn and millions of others) who fought and died for the flag are the same soldiers who died to protect your right to protest what the flag means to you.

We need to see our brothers and sisters for who they are inside, not what they are on the surface. That’s the more difficult conversation, but it’s one we all…ALL need to have.

Just as I said after the Charlottesville tragedy in August, if we start to see what’s real instead of mere perception, we’ll be a lot better as a human race.

I support those who wish to take a knee. We have bigger fish to fry in this world.

Photo by Daniel Oines