Rich Spoiled NFL Players Have the Right to Trash the American Flag and National Anthem, but not the Right to Demand That Americans Watch or Pay for Their Ignorant Show

TODAY'S REAL NEWS IS ABOUT ALEJANDRO VILLANUEVA. Frankly, I am sick and tired of being told by the mainstream media, and now by the National Football League, that refusing to stand up while the US National Anthem is being played is protected free speech. Let's talk about an American football professional who deserves our respect and thanks for his sacrifice as a soldier in the service of America and her values of freedom and liberty. • Alejandro Villanueva was born at the Naval Air Station Meridian in Meridian, Mississippi, on September 22, 1988. He is an American football offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Villanueva, a graduate of The US Military Academy at West Point, was a Captain in the United States Army, in which he served as an Army Ranger. Villanueva was decorated with a Bronze Star for valor. He played college football for the Army Black Knights, being recruited at one position and playing three others during the course of his career. After serving three tours of duty in Afghanistan, he signed a contract with the NFL Philadelphia Eagles on May 5, 2014. • Alejandro Villanueva's parents are Ignacio Villanueva, a Spanish Naval officer who worked for NATO, and his Spanish wife Matilda Martin. Alejandro was the eldest of the family's four children, including siblings Paloma, Iñaki and Carmen. During his childhood, he lived in Rhode Island, Spain, and Belgium. In Spain he learned to play rugby, which, for a time, he preferred to football, which he began to play in Belgium. It was while he was attending SHAPE High School in Casteau, Belgium that he was recruited to play American football. • Villanueva was not drafted by an NFL team in 2010, and, although he received a try out with the Cincinnati Bengals as a tight end, he did not make the team and went back into military service. Two years later, he made a second attempt to play in the NFL again as a tight end. He was given a tryout and practiced with the Chicago Bears, but was not signed. After finishing his last tour with the Army Rangers, Villanueva decided to pursue his NFL career again and began working out at Savannah State College. In March 2014, he paid $245 to attend a regional NFL combine in Flowery Branch, Georgia. During this time, the NFL held ten regional combines nationwide and had over 3,000 prospects attend. In April 2014, he was one of 240 prospects invited to the NFL super regional combine in Detroit and met with representatives from the Philadelphia Eagles. On May 5, 2014, he was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles for an undisclosed contract to play as a defensive end. Villanueva said that if he did not make an NFL roster, he planned to serve a fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan. He commented : "I see this as a win-win situation. Obviously, I’m trying to get to a team and contribute. But if I can’t, then I can't wait to get back to the Army and serve in the same manner that I have." On August 21, 2014, during a pre-season game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Villanueva was spotted by Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin, who was impressed with his size and athleticism. Eight days after he was waived by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed him to their practice squad on August 31, 2014. On October 25, 2015, Villanueva received his first NFL career start at offensive tackle since his sophomore year at Army in 2008. Villanueva continued to play left tackle and started the last 12 games of the Steelers' season, including two playoffs games. Villanueva was named the starting left tackle position to begin the 2016 season and finished the season ranking as the 23rd best offensive tackle in the league. From Week 11 to the AFC Championship, he performed well enough to rank as the best offensive tackle in that span. On July 27, 2017, Villanueva signed a four-year, $24 million contract extension with the Steelers. • • • ALEJANDRO VILLANUEVA STANDS UP FOR THE US National Anthem. On September 24, 2017, prior to a game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, Villanueva was the lone member of the Steelers to appear outside the team's locker room for the National Anthem, standing conspicuously in front of the entrance tunnel for the performance of the National Anthem while the rest of the team remained in the locker room. The Steelers reportedly did not take the field for the National Anthem in order to avoid getting caught up in the controversy surrounding some players kneeling or displaying other signs of protest around the NFL. Head coach Mike Tomlin stated that he wished to simply play the game and not allow for any show of support one way or the other on the issue. • • • ALEJANDRO VILLANUEVA'S MILITARY CAREER. After graduating from the United States Military Academy, Villanueva was commissioned into the United States Army on May 22, 2010 as a second lieutenant in the Infantry. Directly after being commissioned he attended the Infantry, Airborne and Ranger Schools, all located at Fort Benning, Georgia. After completing the three courses he was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, and was deployed for the first time for 12 months to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan as a rifle platoon leader. As a result of his actions during this deployment he was awarded a Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for rescuing wounded soldiers while under enemy fire. When he returned from his deployment, he was reassigned as a company executive officer. Villanueva volunteered for the 75th Ranger Regiment's Ranger Orientation Program in 2013. He was assigned to the 1st Ranger Battalion. His roles within the Battalion included plans officer, platoon leader, and company executive officer. He was deployed two more times to Afghanistan for a total of eight months between both deployments. Alejandro Villanueva's military awards and decorations include -- Bronze Star Medal with "V" device and one oak leaf cluster, National Defense Service Medal, Bronze star Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Service Ribbon, and NATO Medal. His US military badges include -- Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, and US Army Airborne basic parachutist badge. • In the fall of 2015, Villanueva enrolled in Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper school of business to earn his MBA. As of January 2017, he is still a part-time student at Carnegie Mellon. • Alejandro Villanueva showed the kind of courage and patriotism that Americans have come to admire and honor in their military heroes. He must have felt lonely but not alone when he was standing for the flag on Sunday before the Steeler game. Villanueva knew troops who died for that flag. He made patriotic statements well before the current sorry state of NFL affairs. He refused to disrespect the flag and the National Anthem by staying in the locker room, even though he was pressured into doing just that. The Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach, Mike Tomlin, said he was looking for "100% participation" in that locker room, and he was specifically asked about Villanueva. We may conclude that internal peer pressure is a significant part of all the kneeling and locker room hiding that's been driving audiences away from the NFL, but Alejandro Villanueva did not bow to that pressure. That Coach Tomlin thought he could pressure a man with Villanueva's record and background into falling into that line shows just how little Tomlin, and some of the NFL leasdership, understand about either the US military tradition or about America. What Villanueva did as a patriotic veteran was not unusual. But, in today's America, ravaged by Progressive Socialists and BLM fellow travelers who are lauded by the media, Villanueva's act of courage says worlds about what the real American culture is and how much it is respected by Americans who are tired of being labeled racist white supremacists. Here is a comment from a soldier in Afghanistan watching the game regarding #VillaNueva https://t.co/hWUY1Y5ooA. — SalenaZito (@SalenaZito) September 24, 2017 : "Watching football right now in Afghanistan shaking my damn head at America. Thanks to CPT V. He gets it." • Villanueva's teeshirts are already selling out -- if this doesn't send a message to the NFL about where its future lies, nothing will." • • • NFL TEAMS HIDING IN THE LOCKER ROOM. Fox News reported on Monday that three NFL teams stayed in their locker rooms during the National Anthem ahead of NFL games on Sunday, "as a growing number of players from other teams joined in protest by kneeling on the field. As the National Anthem rang out at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, neither the Tennessee Titans nor the Seattle Seahawks were out on the field. Earlier in the day in Chicago, all but one of the Pittsburgh Steelers remained in the locker room during the anthem ahead of their game against the Bears." In all, according to Fox News, more than 100 NFL players from several teams across the country kneeled or locked arms Sunday, after President Trump lashed out at the protesters and called for those who disrespect the flag to be fired or suspended. Most teams in the early afternoon games locked arms in solidarity. At least three team owners joined their players. Several New Orleans Saints players sat during the National Anthem. The Jaguars tweeted a photo shortly after the team's defiant message with the caption : “Unity.” Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti released a statement posted on Twitter after the incident, saying: “We recognize our players’ influence. We respect their demonstration and support them 100%. All voices need to be heard. That’s democracy in its highest form.” • • • PRESIDENT TRUMP CALLED OUT THE NFL KNEELERS. The Sunday display marked a tumultuous weekend between the NFL and President Trump, who called the players kneeling during "The Star-Spangled Banner" disrespectful. Trump took note of the incidents at the start of the games on Sunday, tweeting : "Great solidarity for our National Anthem and for our Country. Standing with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable. Bad ratings!" Earlier on Twitter the President said : “If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast....Fire or suspend!...NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN. Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country. League should back US." • Trump's criticism began on Friday during a rally in Alabama when he told his audience that players who disrespect the American flag should be suspended or fired : "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say 'get that son of a b ---- off the field right now? Out! 'He's fired! He's fired.' " • • • NFL'S GOODELL GETS IT WRONG AGAIN. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who usually gets it wrong when NFL players need to be disciplined for illegal acts, got it wrong this weekend about the US Flag and National Anthem. Goodell said Saturday that President Trump’s recent comments about players kneeling during the National Anthem are “divisive” and show a “lack of respect” for the pro football league and its players : “The NFL and our players are at our best when we help create a sense of unity in our country and our culture. Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities.” Goodell announced on Twitter Sunday that a video titled, "Inside These Lines" will air during Sunday night's game as a sign of unity in the league. If Goodell had disciplined former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick last year when he refused to stand during “The Star-Spangled Banner” to protest police brutality against the African-American community, the NFL might have been saved its now-growing brush withe suicide. Kaepernick has since become a free agent, but he has not yet been picked up by any team. • • • SAN FRANCISCO, WHERE IT ALL STARTED. The San Francisco Chronicler's Scott Ostler wrote in an article on Sunday that said : "If Sunday was the last day of the NFL -- if it implodes, or is disbanded by presidential decree, or is felled economically by boycotts from both sides -- the league went out with a bang. America went to war with itself Sunday, with fans and other citizens polarizing like crazy, taking sides for and against President Trump and the NFL players who protested in large numbers in the wake of his recent statements. It will take some time to sort out the winners and losers and assess where America stands on political/social protests by their sports heroes." On Saturday, the San Francisco Athletic’s rookie catcher Bruce Maxwell became the first baseball player to kneel for the anthem, a significant breakthrough in a sport not considered protest-friendly." Ostler reported that Rex Ryan, former coach of the Jets and Bills and now a TV analyst, said, “Let me tell you, I’m pissed off. I’ll be honest with you. I supported Donald Trump, but I’m reading these comments and it’s appalling to me.” Raiders’ owner Mark Davis said he had opposed player protests, but events of recent days have changed his heart and mind. (Niners owner Jed York has been a protest supporter all along, and his pro-player response was among the strongest league-wide.) Ostler may have got one thing right : "A cynic would wonder whether the owners backed the players out of pure sympathy for their cause and their rights, or because they fear alienating the 70% of league players who are black." • • • WHAT IS THE REAL ISSUE IN 'KNEE TAKING'? The American Thinker's Russ Vaughn wrote on Monday : "There's no question that President Trump tossed a live grenade into the NFL's locker room during his Alabama speech the other night that has set off countless secondary explosions throughout the league and across the media spectrum. Too many in the left-wing media want to play down the fact that this entire mess began with one player, Colin Kaepernick, radicalized by his lefty girlfriend, demonstrating his support for the Black Lives Matter campaign against America's police forces. The important consideration is that BLM's campaign against cops is not one that finds wide favor among the citizenry at large, the folks who support the NFL with their fandom." That, says Vaughn, is the issue : "The owners and the NFL commissioner chose to permit these demonstrations against America's police to continue despite of the fact that they further alienate a large segment of a fan base already disaffected by the injection of leftist political views into media coverage of their game broadcasts. If you think I'm exaggerating on alienation, just Google up some images of the recent SF 49ers-LA Rams game and look at all those empty seats. This may be the worst case of no-shows to date, but it's a growing occurrence at other stadiums, and television viewership is down as well. The American people are speaking, telling those defiant football players that America supports law enforcement, not black criminality, and the NFL owners and management ignore them to their ultimate peril. Readers need to keep this truth in mind as the liberal media, and that includes sports media, do their best to convince you this is some high-minded civil rights protest." • • • THE REAL ISSUES FOR BLACK AMERICANS. Another American Thinker analyst, Trevor Thomas, wrote on Monday that : "Foolish athletes (and their like-minded playmates) should direct their political and social ire elsewhere. Instead, they’ve joined their Hollywood cohorts as mouthpieces for the Democratic Party. Take Colin Kaepernick. His failed efforts at protesting during the National Anthem were predicated upon a lie. After his initial protest in the 2016 preseason, NFL Media reported : 'I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,' Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. 'To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.' In other words, Kaepernick has bought the lies of Black Lives Matter hook, line, and sinker. As I noted last year, the lie is this : There’s widespread and institutionalized racism inside America’s law enforcement agencies, and black Americans are especially targeted. This racism has led to the deaths of a disproportionate number of innocent black Americans. In order to stop this heinous activity, we need more gun control legislation, more wealth redistribution, more job and education programs, and thus Americans need to elect more Democrats." But, says Trevor Thomasn statistics tell anotehr story : "As has been refuted ad nauseam...few things are further from the truth. The tragic truth is, the most dangerous place for a black American is not in the presence of a police officer. The most dangerous place for a black American -- especially for young black males -- is a black neighborhood. Again, as a 2016 report by the Manhattan Institute reveals : In 2013, homicide was the leading cause of death among African-Americans aged 15–35. During 1990–2008, for 93% of black homicide victims, the perpetrator was also black. In 2009, in the 75 largest US counties, blacks were charged with 62% of robberies, 57% of murders, and 45% of assaults -- despite constituting 15% of the population in those counties. In 2014, in New York City, blacks committed 75% of shootings and 70% of robberies, while constituting 23% of the population. During 2005-2014, blacks were also responsible for 40% of murders of police officers nationwide. And perhaps the most shocking statistic of all : Black men in the US are half as likely to die if they are in prison than if they are not." Why, asks Thomas, are these black neighborhoods so dangerous? "Again, the breakdown of the black family. It has been widely reported for years now that the out-of-wedlock birth rate among American blacks is over 70%. Almost always, mothers are left to raise their children alone. In US cities, where the violence and poverty among US blacks is most pronounced, the out-of-wedlock birth rate is even worse. For example, in Chicago about 80% of black children are born to single mothers. Today, only 17% of American black teenagers reach age 17 in a family with their biological parents married to each other. In no state in the US does black family intactness exceed 30%. Among many other sad outcomes, fatherlessness is one of the leading predictors of future criminal activity. Children living with their married biological parents are the least likely to commit criminal acts. On the other hand, children from single-parent homes (almost always without a father) are more likely to...engage in questionable behavior, struggle academically, and become delinquent. Problems with children from fatherless families can continue into adulthood. These children are three times more likely to end up in jail by the time they reach age 30 than are children raised in intact families, and have the highest rates of incarceration in the United States. Far more rampant than any form of racist police discrimination is the plague of fatherlessness in the black community. Yet, when it comes to this grave matter, Colin Kaepernick and his NFL ilk are virtually silent. In fact, with their sexually immoral lifestyles and lack of devoted marriages, many of them are doing nothing but perpetuating the problem." • • • Thomas Lifson published an article in the American Thinker on Monday that takes on the equality of opportunity issue lurking in the NFL protests. Lifson writes : "The protesting NFL members certainly have a legitimate point. Skin pigmentation does seem to color the life experiences and professions of people. To change this, governments and corporations have in some cases undertaken affirmative action that requires racial hiring and preferences, even if this undermines genuine meritocracy. Professional sports have been examples of excellence for ourselves and our children. They have matched up the best players, regardless of skin color or ethnicity, and set the highest standard of human achievement that merits the respect of all Americans. Its champions have inspired and become heroes to all of us. But now, to advance equality and fairness, we must end this. We must, as in many other professions, replace merit with a different standard that reflects the makeup of America as a whole. This must be done by what civil rights rulings have called “disparate impact.” If a community is 12% Eskimo but a local company has less than this share of Eskimo employees, this is to be seen as clear evidence of racial discrimination. It must be corrected by preferential quota requiring hiring of Eskimos." Carried into professional sports, the evidence of racial discrimination is rampant. Lifson says : "African-American males, for example, are only about 6% of America’s population, yet they are so talented that they make up a very disproportionate share of some professional sports. NFL players are approximately 70% African-American males in a sport whose fans are 83% white and 64% male. Since the National Anthem controversy began, NFL football ratings have fallen dramatically. NBA basketball teams are approximately 74.4% African-American males. Caucasians comprise 23.3%, Latinos 1.8%, and Asian-Americans a mere 0.2%. By contrast, only about 7.7% of professional baseball players are African-American males, a share that peaked in 1981 at 18.7%. Latino players make up 27.4% of pro players, but “Latino” is an ethnic, not a racial, category; many players whose skin appears Black are Latinos, while other Latinos have blond hair and blue eyes. This is why it is absurd to accuse those who want to build a wall on America’s southern border of being racist. Latino is not a race." Lifson's somewhat tongue-in-cheek conclusion is that : "Painful as it will be to lose the excellence of pro football and basketball, these teams should be brought into line with America’s national racial profile. To do less would be racist. Our sports should be examples of racial equality not only in words and gestures, but also in fact. The NFL and NBA, to achieve racial equality, should be required to hire and fire players by race until by, say, 2020 each team fits the mix of America itself. In the most recent Census, the USA was 12.6% African-American, 16.3% Hispanic or Latino, 4.8% Asian-American, and 72.4% White. NFL and NBA players should reflect that same racial proportion. What do we want from professional sports? The ability to forget our cares and immerse ourselves for a few hours in a couch potato’s view of pure athletic excellence of games? Or do we want sports to be a continuance of the daily politicization and political correctness of everything by Leftists that is tearing our society apart? If our sports are to be politicized, then it is time we make merit and talent secondary, and impose racial quotas first and foremost. Sports should represent America’s proportion of races and a rainbow spectrum of ideas." • • • THE INSANELY TILTED LEFT. Why didn't the NFL players take a knee for Curt Shilling when ne was fired by ESPN for what he thought was protected speech. The speech is protected. But, access to a particular forum is not. So, just as NFL players should not and did not publicly protest during the National Anthem for Shilling, they should not use the commercial outlets that telecast pro football as protest platrorms. debating society? Daniel John Sobieski says : "Players who take a knee think they are being patriotic, when they are merely being elf-indulgent and selfish. Go rent out a stadium and invite people to pay just to see you take a knee and see if anybody shows up. The response by the NFL Players Association is disingenuous : 'The peaceful demonstrations by some of our players have generated a wide array of responses. Those opinions are protected speech and a freedom that has been paid for by the sacrifice of men and women throughout history. This expression of speech has generated thoughtful discussions in our locker rooms and in board rooms. However, the line that marks the balance between the rights of every citizen in our great country gets crossed when someone is told to just 'shut up and play.' Well, shut and play. That’s what people pay you handsomely to do, isn’t it? Although they are getting fewer as NFL ratings drop and outlets like ESPN lose viewers. Why not rename the teams and realign ideologically? Tune in Sunday and watch Black Lives Matter line up against Blue Lives Matter? That is why ratings for the Emmys and the Oscars are tanking as people grow weary of working hard to see movies and games only to see self-absorbed and self-righteous millionaires preach at them." • Chicago Tribune contributor Diana Goetsch recently wrote an op-ed defending rejected and unemployed former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his infamous taking the knee during the National Anthem. Then, Goetsch goes on to slam the National Anthem as a “pompous battle number” that wasn’t played before sporting events until 1942 in the dark days of World War II. Sobieski asks : "One wonders if the likes of Kaepernick and Goetsch have pondered the possibility that were it not for the sacrifice of veterans during World War II she just might be plying her trade writing her tirades in Japanese or German were it not for the fact that the Flag the National Anthem celebrates was raised at Iwo Jima and never stopped flying at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Just as Kaepernick has a First Amendment right to protest the National Anthem, NFL teams have the First Amendment right to choose not to sign him if they feel like his prior actions will negatively impact their product. That's how a free market works, whether Goetsch likes it or not. But most importantly, for Goetsch to refer to the anthem as "a pompous battle number" isn't just appalling, it's historically inaccurate. Francis Scott Key penned the anthem after witnessing the American flag prevail over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 when it initially seemed to him as if Britain was going to win the battle. That's what our National Anthem is all about : even during the country's darkest moments, America, the beacon of hope and freedom, finds a way to prevail in the end. That's why everyone stands for the National Anthem before sporting events -- it's a reminder that we are lucky to have the freedom to be able to attend such an event and we should honor those who died to preserve that freedom for us." Patriotism and gratitude to and respect for one's parents and teachers are conservative virtues. The Founders knew all about that, and so did Abraham Lincoln, who grew up in abject poverty and taught himself by reading great books, including those on political philosophy and the law, and, above all, the King James Bible. • • • DEAR READERS, it was inevitable that the media would turn the weekend’s sporting ‘protests’ against President Trump, focusing their coverage almost entirely on the talking point of ‘racism,’ with one media 'expert' even suggesting that the National Anthem itself is racist. Stephen Henderson, an editor for the Detroit Free Press suggested on NBC’s Meet The Press that the National Anthem is “white supremacist” while discussing the football and baseball players who are refusing to stand for it. Henderson made the comments after Rich Lowry of the National Review argued that race is being falsely injected into the narrative because neither the US flag or the National Anthem are “white supremacist.” Henderson chimed in to exclaim “some of the words of the National Anthem are white supremacist.” Lowry responded : "You think the National Anthem is racist?” and Henderson replied : “I think this is a country whose history is racist, whose history is steeped in white supremacy, and the anthem reflects that in its very words.” • At CNN, Brian Stelter, who has made it clear that he despises Trump, spent his entire broadcast suggesting that the President’s comments on the issue are ‘unmistakably’ racist. • ABC's White House Correspondent Mary Bruce suggested that “over the last 24 hours, [Trump] added fuel to the fierce debate in the country over race, intolerance, politics, and sports. Now, he’s again inserting himself into the debate over race in America.” Co-Anchor Dan Harris, talking with ESPN reporter Ryan Smith, stated : “Ryan, it’s hard to ignore the racial component here. The President went on this jag on Friday night in front of a largely white audience." Smith suggested that Trump was using racist code, stating : "I think a lot of people today are responding to the idea of his coded language.” • President Trump said on Sunday that the issue is not related to race in any way : "I think the owners should do something about it." On Monday morning, the President tweeted : "The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!....Many people booed the players who kneeled yesterday (which was a small percentage of total). These are fans who demand respect for our Flag!" President Trump's tweets got nearly 100,000 likes. • For many Americans, this past weekend was a low point in race relations -- but it was not about White racism-- it was about Black racism. We are bearing the brunt of 8 years of Barack Obama's deliberate attempt to gain support for his socialist programs by playing the race card, dividing America into White and Black camps and pitting them against one another for his personal agenda. These "lost" 8 years have left Americans of the two races unsure of their positions vis-à-vis the other. America has worked since the 1950s to improve race relations, give equal rights and opportunities to Black Americans, and banish the acceptability of racism in any form. We had made great progress. There is a thriving Black middle class, and the arts, sports, and the media itself, speak broadly of the acceptance of Black Americans into the mainstream of American life. But, there is a poison at work that has convinced the richest and the poorest of Black Americans that they are somehow the targets of visceral, unrecognized, yet deliberate, White racism. It is not true. Evidence of that must surely be acknowledged in the calm reticence with which White Americans have borne the attacks on their good faith and actions, while their tax dollars -- some $1 trillion by some accounts -- have been lavished on "civil rights" and "equal opportunity." • But, there are some things that are so sacred that Americans will not forgive even Black Americans, who receive much foregiveness from America, for trashing them. The American Flag and National Anthem are supreme among them. Americans, both Black and White, defend the Flag and proudly display it. They have died for its values all over the world when other nations were unable to respond to save their own national values. To watch as cossetted, rich young Black men who have had opportunities almost none of their fellow citizens will ever have trample on the symbol of the nation that gave them that opportunity is "a bridge too far." President Trump recognizes that truth. He spoke up for it. Americans are responding to his call by boycotting NFL games and the products of the companies that pay the astronomical salaries of NFL players and their owners. The refusal of White Americans to be kowed, to be demeaned, to be lied about, by rich young ignorant Black racists must continue. We made America. We continue to make it work. We pay its bills. We honor the Republic's Constitution and its Flag and its National Anthem. Those who do not may speak out. That is the right we Americans have fought to preserve through 250 years. But, they do not have any right to demand that we Americans continue to watch their madness or pay for their privilege.