How to Stop NFL Players from Sitting During the National Anthem

So, many people have been struggling with the NFL allowing its players to sit during the national anthem. The NFL apparently is pushing this in the "Free Speech" territory, but lets be realistic, when was the last time someone who worked for the NFL was like, "Yeah, I think that referee must have been blind or bribed to have called that play that way." The fact of the matter is, players have to wear whatever the NFL wants them to wear. On the sidelines, we see them in all sorts of NFL-wear and we see product placements almost as frequently as a commercial. When it is breast cancer awareness month, all the players wear pink whether they want to support breast cancer or not- why? Because the NFL has an image that it has carefully researched and when players sign on the dotted line, they are signing to do just that. If a quarterback comes off the field and says something that even slightly doesn't go with the NFL agenda, he would get fined.

In the past, we have seen the NFL tap a certain quarterback on the wrist for abusing a woman in the ladies restroom. We have seen another player be severely suspended for hosting dog fighting contests. To me, the NFL is saying loud and clear that dogs are more important that women.

Recently, another player was accused of misconduct, but the court system said the evidence did not support the charges. The NFL, in typical fashion, decided they would turn the case into a circus and went above the law (innocent until proven guilty) and suspended the player. The courts overturned it, but did the NFL care? Probably not, they already had the publicity from it.

This is just another case of where the NFL is trying to go above the laws of the United States and press its agenda. So, here is what I propose. Football fans need to shut their televisions off next weekend. From Thursday to Monday, don't watch. Don't join any new fantasy leagues; don't buy any merchandise; don't even make any friendly bets on any of the games. Don't visit the NFL websites; clean your cookies before you visit any NFL websites. And just for one week, do not purchase anything from the top-NFL sponsors. If you are really brave, call your cable company and cancel the NFL ticket for next year-- when they ask why, tell them you think that if the players really want to sit on the bench, they can do it for the whole game.

See, its all about money. When the NFL players are in the news for their spontaneous choice to sit in protest, they are still in the news. They are generating free advertising for the NFL. So, the only way to really send a message to the NFL is not by protesting on Facebook, but by refusing to use a Visa for a week, or eat at McDonalds, or purchase any Pepsi products. I am not asking for saints to permanently protest, just a simple one week refusal. At some point, the NFL may go the way of baseball and irritate its fans so much everyone switches to a different sport, but until then, giving the NFL and its top sponsors a one week pay suspension should let them know it needs to meet the demands of its fans more than the demands of its own agenda.

Look at it this way: The NFL is entertainment. Just like Miley Cyrus is an entertainer, football players are also entertainers. If Miley Cyrus wants to twerk across the stage exercising her "freedom of speech"-that is her choice. However, that is not what her fan base wants to support, so in doing so, she has ruined her career. It should be the same for any NFL player that decides to use a football game to express his "freedom of speech."

Of course, the biggest problem I have with the "First Amendment" cop-out, is that the First Amendment is NOT about anarchy. Unfortunately, that is what people have recently tried to say it means.In all actuality, the First Amendment is about protecting free speech WHEN IT COMES TO RELIGION. Read it:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Note the semicolons. Semicolons mean the ideas are all connected. If the freedom of speech were separate from the freedom of religion, the founding fathers would have made another amendment. However, the freedom of speech, the freedom of assembly, the freedom of petitioning the government for setting right unfair situations--were all given in terms of how the government might stifle religious freedoms. Sadly, the Supreme Court members of late spent too much time in law classes and not enough time in English classes.