TRUMP TWEETS FOOTBALL WHILE AMERICA BURNS

In the teeth of provoking North Korea into a nuclear war, ignored human hurricane catastrophes, especially in Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, another defeat on the most cynical attempt at Obamacare repeal, his daughter, son in law and several advisors having committed the same e mail crimes as “crooked Hillary” and the Mueller investigation relentlessly marching on, Trump focussed his attention on bringing down the TV ratings and attendances of the National Football League, (NFL). His vehicles were a partisan diatribe at a Trump supporter jamboree and a twenty tweet storm. In this endeavor he has turned, what was, rightly or wrongly, regarded as a forgettable protest event into a major cause celebre. 

Taking on sport the way he has The Donald will achieve greater divisiveness at best. The POTUS has lately concentrated his thrust on the NFL which more than any enterprise captures America’s undivided attention. He has declared war on the most celebrated institution in America. If Karl Marx was still around he would describe Football as the opium of the American masses.

The fact that the POTUS described some of those, exhibiting their first amendment rights in the Neo- Nazi anti semitic rally in Charlottesville, as fine people who were protesting in favor of their heritage while he has characterized those protesting racial inequality as “sons of bitches”, has not passed unnoticed. 

With a mid term defeat bearing down on what is left of the original Republican Party the latter fluff around rudderless, content to see their once proud party morph into inane and sometimes dangerous tweets. In the Republican legislators funk they will be holding no Congressional hearings on the Security breeches of Ivanka and Jared nor will Session’s Justice Department investigate them.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

The controversy that provoked Trump’s  tirade started with an average quarterback, NFL player Colin Kaepernick, kneeling down during the pregame rendition of the National Anthem. He was doing so in protest against the prejudicial treatment of African Americans by the police.

The event caused a temporary storm at the time and was barely in the conscious as Kaepernick was no longer playing not having been put on the roster of any team this year. However, The Donald changed the narrative while rallying the faithful at one of his Nuremberg style rallies in Alabama, in support of a candidate in the Republican Primary. Trump is in search of a victory, any victory. He cares not of the substance. His candidate winning in a GOP Primary would compensate, in his mind, the failure to Repeal and Replace Obamacare. Breaking the NFL lock on American viewership would counter being forced to back down to North Korea’s Rocket Man. Trump’s candidate in the race in Alabama may well lose so he had to have a back up plan. 

Trump, whose brain is in his gut, thought he couldn’t lose if he resuscitated the Kaepernick beef, as who could countenance those who desecrated the American National Anthem? In addition he could ride on the back of the already lowered ratings of the NFL that had  dropped four percent this season. (The reason for this phenomenon had been put down to media over exposure with American Football which is now on all week on several modalities. There is High School Football - Friday Night, College Football - Saturday all day, NFL - all day Sunday and Sunday Night, NFL -Monday night and now on Thursday night as well. It is viewed on alternative media as well such as on line, Netflix, Yahoo and even Twitter which might have accounted for the small decrease in TV ratings). 

So The Donald gave it a full go. He exhorted Americans to leave the game if his advice was ignored. He argued in addition that the current decrease in viewership was because of him, The Donald. He also had a gratuitous plea for more violence to be brought back into the game. He yearned for a return of the senseless aggression that has been shown to increase chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

ALL THE DONALD SAID IN ALABAMA ABOUT THE KAEPERNICK CONTROVERSY

 It is instructive to repeat word for word the President of the United States’s diatribe in Alabama .

“Wouldn’t you love to see if one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired. He’s fired’.  You know some owner is going to do that. He’s gonna say, ‘That guy, he disrespects our flag, he’s fired.’ And that owner, they don’t know it. They don’t know it.

They are friends of mine, many of them. They don’t know it. They will be the most popular person for a week. They’ll be the most popular person in this country”.

“When the NFL ratings are down massively, massively. The NFL ratings are down massively. Now the number one reason happens to be they like watching what is    happening, with yours truly. They like what’s happening.  Because you know if you hit too hard. Fifteen yards! Throw him out of the game! They had that last week. I watched for a couple of minutes. Two guys, just really a beautiful tackle. Boom, 15 yards. The referee get’s on television, his wife is sitting at home, she is so proud of him. They are ruining the game. They are ruining the game. That’s what they want to do. They want to hit. They want to hit. It is hurting the game”.

“But do you know what is hurting the game more than that? When people like yourselves turn on the television and you see those people taking the knee when they are playing our great national anthem. The only thing you could do better, is if you see it, even if it is one player, leave the stadium. I guarantee things will stop. Just pick up and leave. Pick up, leave. Not the same game anymore”

So spake the leader of the most powerful and richest nation in the world.

THE FINANCIAL MIGHT OF THE NFL AND SPORT IN GENERAL

Trump has landed himself in the middle of an issue that is not only about First Amendment Rights but big big money. He is right that several of the NFL owners are his friends and some even donated handsomely to his campaign but he would be the first to agree that they have the right to defend their investments and hopefully what they believe is right.

The NFL is THE biggest entertainment entity in America. Notwithstanding the four percent rating decrease this year, last week, four NFL games were in the top ten most watched programs on all television. Key matches occupied the first two rating slots. The annual Super Bowl has the greatest audience of any program in America and is watched by over a hundred and ten million annually. A thirty second commercial costs close on five million dollars and advertisers spend as much on their production. The value of NFL franchises are the most for any Sports Team in the world. The Dallas Cowboys team is valued on close on five billion dollars as compared to three and a half billion for the likes of Real Madrid that has a world wide appeal.

It is obvious that sport, worldwide,  is becoming a license to print money. There is the apparel and equipment either worn or used by the fans or the players such as in golf and tennis. Sponsorship is through the roof. Federer is about to sign a ten year deal with Nike for thirteen million a year, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are the richest sportsmen ever as a result of their deals. The top NFL players, without sponsorship earn over twenty million dollars annually. The owners of NFL teams are garnering about a one hundred million dollars a year while the value of their franchises increase. Sponsorships such as the naming of stadiums are usually long term deals. The New York Jets and New York Giants have just signed a four hundred million dollars contract for the naming of their Football Stadium after the MetLife insurance company. Incidentally TV and media sponsorship payments are close to eight billion a year.

WHAT HAPPENED THE SUNDAY AFTER TRUMP’S ALABAMA

Roger Goodell, the twenty four million dollar a year Commissioner of the NFL, set the tone of response to the Trump intervention which had extended a one man protest to near unanimous support by all the constituencies of the NFL. He claimed that, “Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, and a great game and all great players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities". 

Then the players almost to a man, in one way or another, regardless of their viewpoints, supported Kaepernick and the right to protest. Teams either did not take the field for the anthem while others locked arms in support of those who bent their knees. They were joined on the field by the coaches and the owners themselves.  All of the clubs have protested in one way or another Trump’s statements.

Trump extended the fight to basketball attacking the Golden State hero, the classy Stephen Curry, withdrawing his invitation to the Whitehouse as the sharpshooter was hesitant at accepting the honor. This drew an articulate response from the number one basketball player, James Lebron who claimed that the protest was not about the flag but about inequality. LeBron had already labelled the President a bum when he cancelled his invite to the Golden State champions. He further opined that the people run this country not the President. 

Perhaps the most effective of the many NFL player statements supporting the protestors, was Tom Brady probably the greatest participant ever, having been the quarterback in five winning SuperBowls. Brady had been considered a Trump supporter. He categorically disagreed with Trump echoing Goodell’s criticism of divisiveness.  

The national newspaper USA called for one of the owners to put Kaepernick back on the NFL roster.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

* Another point that was emphasized in this bohaai was that Trump picked on sports that had a large percentage of African American involvement - Football and Basketball. He then pointedly praised NASCAR racing and the winners of the National Ice Hockey League whose participants are mainly lily white. 

* Whether this will fizzle out or not only time will tell. Jay H. Ell believes that it won’t simply because Trump is unlikely to let it go. He believes he is, finally, onto a winner knowing that regardless of whether Americans support the protest the majority are not comfortable with the method. In addition his intolerant approach resonates with his base. 

* One matter is certain - the fans will not abandon the game regardless of what the POTUS says or does. 

* Read again the POTUS’S rant in Alabama and reflect that this megalomaniacal violent abusive divisive sophistry was made in the context of having just risked a nuclear war with similar irresponsibility. 

• So far Trump has delivered his voters nothing - no tax reform. infrastructure, no wall, no high paying jobs, no improved cheaper healthcare…. All he has done is, spitefully, see to it that Obamacare would become more expensive. 

* Just because African Americans have been successful doesn’t mean that they have to “more grateful” than their white counterparts and shut up.