President Trump has every right to his opinion, just like we do

Just when you thought the actual playing of football would silence all the talk of what players should be doing during the National Anthem, comes President Trump's
speech saying players who don't stand should be fired. The crowd responded with chants of "USA" while the NFL owners responded with statement of revulsion and the players more determined than ever to take a stand by not standing.

In fact, the Pittsburgh Steelers except for veteran Alejandro Villanueva decided as a team to remain in the locker room during the anthem. You know what? That's exactly what NFL players did until 2009 as Stephen A Smith points out here. Smith points out the love the NFL has for the military or should I say the military money. Ask the Jets who were actually paid $377,000 by the Department of Defense and New Jersey National Guard over four seasons to honor the military at MetLife home games. The Jets, by the way, chose not to take a stand on the President's anthem comments.

For the longest time the NFL didn't televise the anthem at games, electing instead to run more commercials. Only recently, as the kneel downs and other shows of solidarity grew did the league deem it worthy to show it. One has to wonder if those who are doing the filming of the players are being disrespectful since they are working through the anthem. Then again, comedians like Robert Klein and Albert Brooks have been making fun of it for years.

But who can forget New Jersey's own Whitney Houston singing it in Tampa as the Giants faced the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV with the planes flying overhead while we were at war with Iraq? No one was talking a knee then. We fought that war so that we could have the freedom to decide whether or not we wanted to stand for the anthem or take a knee.

Just like the owners, the players, the media, and "we, the people" get to have an opinion, so does the President and he's just expressing his. Personally, I appreciate the honesty. I'd rather know exactly how a person feels than deal with an endless stream of political correctness. Also personally, it really doesn't bother me what the players are doing. Up until 2009, we had no idea.

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