Some years ago, the NFL was criticized from both ends of the political spectrum. The Left accused the NFL of not paying enough attention to impoverished minority communities. The Right criticized it for not cracking down on those who knelt for the National Anthem. This may seem like an old issue right now, but in reality it has just taken on different forms. For instance, now Amazon is promoting a show about Black quarterbacks, which only rekindles the issue. If you're waiting for a show about White running backs, don't hold your breath.
This is not about equality, which the Left would tell you. It's not about America either, which the Right would have you believe. It's about freedom, which is a pre-requisite of equality and the quintessential pillar of America. It's about freedom because only a free society can have a social environment that supports the dignity of each human person. Without freedom, a society becomes subject to the whims of the ruling class and whatever paradigm or ideology they wish to promote.
Religion and Football
People may wonder what connection football has to the Catholic Faith. It's quite simple. Again, it's about freedom. The Catholic Church built Western Civilization. It's no coincidence that Western countries enjoy more religious freedom than those that do not have a Western heritage. Christian nations promote religious freedom so much that today they are in jeopardy of no longer being Christian nations.
Like religious diversity, football is a fruit of our free society. Freedom in our society led to private enterprises, which led to private universities, which led to prosperity, which led to more time for leisure activities like inventing new games and sports.
As I mentioned in another post, the goal of a Christian society is to build a civilization of love and leisure. Christians---many of them saints---built a civilization of love over many generations. They built it through blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice. Many lives were lost, but the West prevailed. Many sports inherit this spirit of perseverance, this diehard mentality, but I would say football inherited it the most. Its formations and tactics resemble those of a battlefield; its players don their team's uniforms like knights, armor and all. On the gridiron, the players practically re-enact the battles that built the West.
Chess is not just a game from Medieval times. It was a strategy board for rulers. No sport today resembles chess more than football, with its:
play-by-play structure
its players who each have specific roles and abilities
its combination of single and symmetric units that line up on two levels (the line and the backfield)
and its grid-like field which is often even called the "gridiron".
The original designers of the game of football must have had chess in mind. Now, I know chess originated in India, not the West. But the form we know today with knights, bishops, a king, and a queen, developed in the 12th century and is definitely from Medieval Europe.
Some people may think the values of America and the Catholic Church are very different. They're not, though. In Medieval times, there were kings who made Catholicism the official state religion, but the story of America changed the game. America declared itself to be a land of religious freedom, and as a result Catholic immigrants flocked to the states to escape from the persecution of the Church in Europe. America was a land of refuge for many Catholics who wished to stay true to the Old Faith as Europe grew more Protestant.
You may still be asking what the heck this has to do with football. It all goes back to freedom. Just as America flourished due to its religious freedom, it also flourished due to its economic freedom. The two even complement each other. Business owners who express their religious faith through their business may anger some, but they encourage more. Even if I don't practice the same religion as the business owner who is sharing their faith through their business, I still appreciate the fact that they can share it in this country. It helps build an environment where we can all express what moves us.
Football is the same way. Just about every football coach I had in Pop Warner and high school football shared their faith in Christ in some way. It's what motivated them more than anything else, and they wanted to pass on that motivation to their team. A great deal of my faith was sustained by the masculine examples of faith shown by my football coaches. They weren't afraid to share it because they knew the First Amendment allowed them to do so.
Even on pubic high school teams, coaches were not afraid to share their faith with their team. It was not seen as establishment of religion. It was just seen as a guy expressing his belief in Christ. Christianity was not the official religion of the team or the school, and that was understood. It was just something that motivated our coaches. That's because football was born in 19th-early 20th century American culture, when Christianity was an integral part of American life; so the Faith is part of football's DNA.
Times have changed, and we may be seeing less and less religious expression on the football field. That's why I say, the suppression of people who wish to express their beliefs on the field is an attack on the sport of football, or any sport where it occurs. A person may not find motivation through faith in Christ, and that's fine. But no one has a right to take away another person's right to share the faith they do have, if that's what motivates them. In my experience in playing the game, I have found that the Christian faith is a vital component. Both require great sacrifice, strong brotherhood, fortitude, and great resolve. I would not have persevered in my faith if it were not for the will power I learned through football. I would have found no reason to persevere in football if not for the strength I received from my faith.
It's All About Freedom
Religious freedom and economic freedom are closely related, because they both contribute to the distribution and balance of powers, which is another pillar of America. Religious freedom has allowed just about every religion to flourish in America. Economic freedom has allowed many businesses---large, medium-sized, and small---to flourish as well. For centuries, religious and economic freedom have fortunately made it difficult for the government to maintain a firm grasp on the people. Football contributes to that balance of powers by being a formidable and free organization (meaning not subject to government regulations). Let's hope it stays that way.
Many people may not know, the National Football League is not the parent company of the league's franchises, as is the case for a handful of the startup leagues that have emerged in recent years. The franchises in the NFL function as independent entities and are only regulated by the NFL. The NFL serves as a trade network that enables the 32 teams to compete in a fair and balanced manner. But, as many people do know, many of the teams in the NFL existed in their own right outside the NFL. If the NFL collapsed, the franchises would most likely continue to exist with their own private owners, their own budgets, their own staff, and everything they need to be self-sufficient. If the NFL went under, the franchises that did not sink with it would probably simply form a new league or join another league. This is a very American concept, and socialists don't like it---because they don't like anything that is multi-layered, independent and hard to tear down or bring under one umbrella, their umbrella.
Another thing about the NFL: It's a private trade association---meaning it can penalize its members in ways it chooses without falling under the scrupulosity of the government. So, for instance, it can fine players for taking or distributing drugs it does not approve even if they're approved by the FDA. Socialists do not like this either, because it limits what they can do to implement drastic change in the league. If the NFL decides that certain behavior jeopardizes the competitive balance or the professional culture of the league, it can tell its members not to do it, whether a government tells them to or not.
Keep Matriculating Down the Road to Success
Another aspect of football that supports the American Way is the fact that it often takes a long time to score. As Kansas City Chief's 1973 head coach and Super Bowl champion, Hank Stram, would say, perhaps the surest way to score in football is to "keep matriculating down the field, boys!" This strategy lines up well with the most common road to success in America, the road of hard work and patience.
In this video, billionaire Warren Buffett tells the story about two friends of his who spent 20 years building their fortune, starting with only $2,500 dollars. In a similar way, each football drive starts with four downs and 11 players, but any drive could end in a touchdown. Some may say, not really. If there's only five seconds left in the game and the team gets the ball on their own five yard line, chances are they won't score a touchdown. But it's the spirit of competitiveness that drives them on anyway, and you could bet that the team is going to try and score a touchdown in that situation if they're losing. That competitiveness is what earned them a spot on the field, and they wouldn't be there if they didn't have it. It's the same way in America. If you want to prosper, you have to keep trying even when the odds are against you. Eventually, the tides will turn in your favor.
Teamwork and the American Way
Lastly, football is a team sport. Yes, teamwork is necessary in many other sports. But you literally can't even get a play off without the help of at least one other teammate in football. This again plays off the American Way quite well. Another key to success in America is helping others out, and being humble enough to accept their help, trusting that ultimately you have a similar goal: making society better for all of us. In today's society, we do have many successful people who are just after accumulating wealth for themselves, but---I would argue---that is not the traditional American Way.
Unlike the urban sprawl development we see today, American towns used to develop through community collaboration; in other words, through teamwork. It was neighbors helping neighbors. We see vestiges of this in certain areas of America today, like in Amish Country, but it's not common enough. Local business owners used to help local churches, and vice-versa. This is why, like many other professional and college sports teams, the love for the local team is rooted in their love for their city. And it's palpable. The fans root for their roots.
The NFL has its flaws like any other human organization. Politics just complicate the matter, but the principles in this article are not political. They are American, and they are Catholic. By supporting football, we support the most American sport, local cultures, and the Catholic Social Teaching principle of subsidiarity. The love of American freedom compels me to say that I am just fine with athletes kneeling for the National Anthem. The people who have died for our country died to give its citizens the right to criticize it when they think it's not living up to its own values. However, any official espousal of those same criticisms would be equivalent to establishing an official religion for football. Personal expression of religious or political views on or off the field is part of the privilege of being American. But once the institution officially expresses those same opinions, flags should be thrown.
"End Racism"
When people are willing to work toward a goal as a team, personal expressions are welcome if they do not conflict with the goal. But when an organization decides to paint an expression of a cause in their endzone that does not help the organization reach its goal, that expression can breed disunity through the organization.
Thus, if "End Racism" is on helmets it is basically just a personal expression like "My cause, my cleats." There should be room for personal expression in the NFL, to a degree. But if the phrase is in the end zone, that's a whole different matter. When it's painted in conspicuous places on the common field where all the players play, it becomes a collective political statement. The organization is saying they expect all their players and personnel to adopt this cause.
People may ask what's wrong with the phrase "End Racism"? Don't we all want to see an end to racism? What's so political about that?
It's political because it presupposes that racism is a serious problem in our society, and that is a political view. I don't like racism any more than the common American. In fact, I despise it. So to say or imply that racism is prevalent in the country that I love is to mock my country.
The NFL has a healthy mix of players from various backgrounds. Racism really is not a thing in the league, and the league is a reflection of our society. Teams haven't achieved some special awakening by simply giving a starting position to the best player available, no matter what ethnicity they may be. That reality is just a reflection of how society at large functions. If someone is the best person for a position, they get the position. Why? Because the average American, including those who hire people, is not concerned about racism as much as they are about hiring the right person for the job. The NFL is not special in that regard.
Implying that racism is a serious problem in our society makes a mountain of a molehill. It fuels the kindling it intends put out, making it a flame. Yes, there is racism in our society. But there are many problems in our society. That's why we have politics: to provide a public arena where we can discuss political problems. Let's not turn the football stadium into a political arena. There is a time and place for everything. When I am watching football, I want to forget about all the problems in our society for the time being. That's why we have sports: to disconnect, to have fun with other Americans no matter what their political opinions may be.
Dredging up the problem of racism, making it seem worse than it is, is a socialist tactic. The goal of the tactic is to divide and conquer. Football unites Americans. It is a common game that we can enjoy together while cheering for our local team. When people try to make the football stadium into a political arena, it looks as stupid as if someone tried to play hockey on a football field. But socialism has a history of seeping its way into everything. Socialist leaders want to remake everything in their image. Don't let them. Uphold your freedom and celebrate football for being football. It doesn't need to be politically correct in order to be socially relevant.
To wrap this all together, let's circle back to kneeling for the Anthem. It is also a political statement. But it is done by individuals, not entire organizations. If the owner, coach or manager of a team said the entire team has to kneel at the Anthem in protest, that would be an issue. But that's not what was happening. It's a personal expression, and we have to leave some room for that. It's not disrespectful to kneel for the Anthem as an individual. It would be tyrannical to require everyone to do so. Likewise, it would be tyrannical to require everyone to put their hand on their heart or salute if they're a veteran. The freedom to do so or not to do so out of our own free will is what makes America great.
If the flag stands for freedom, we have to give people the freedom to at least honor it in the way they see fit. By kneeling for the Anthem, they are not disrespecting the flag. They are in fact upholding the centuries-old American tradition of protest, because they perceive a problem in society that they believe is serious. As Americans, they have a right to air their concerns in this way. They have a right to bring attention to themselves to raise curiosity, so people ask them why they knelt, thereby giving them a chance to share their concerns. This is a very American way to air one's grievances. It's peaceful, it's individualistic. It's not compelling anyone to agree or disagree.
Would I ever do it? No, because I do not think the football field is the right place to air our political grievances. But if I say they can't do it, I am disregarding a foundational principle of our country: freedom. It is a bit of a conundrum, no doubt. Nevertheless, while I personally would not protest in that way or place, the most American reaction is to let them do so.
At last, this popular quote---which is often misattributed to Voltaire but still captures the essence of his words---sums up my position on the matter at least somewhat:
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
While I often do not agree with Voltaire, I do heed his portent to watch out for authorities gaining too much power. While we may not approve of certain personal expressions, to forbid people from expressing themselves lawfully is worse. This is why we have laws that are passed through a representative, democratic, constitutional republic. If an issue becomes so severe that it is seriously and apparently damaging society at large, a law or rule should be made to curtail it. If kneeling for the Anthem severely damages us as an American people, then we have a sensitivity issue in our society. But then again, if NFL organizations feel the need to place "End Racism" in the end zones when racism isn't even a serious problem, maybe American society really is too sensitive.
Ah, I get it. "End racism" in the "end" zone. How am I just seeing that now? I'm content to boil down this whole issue to just that: a bad pun. 'What a fuss about an omelette.'
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