To the NFL Players - national boycott on Nov 12
An open letter to the NFL players.
You graduated high school in 2011. Your teenage years were a struggle.
You grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Your mother was the leader
of the family and worked tirelessly to keep a roof over your head and
food on your plate. Academics were a struggle for you and your grades
were mediocre at best. The only thing that made you stand out is you
weighed 225 lbs and could run 40 yards in 4.2 seconds while carrying a
football. Your best friend was just like you, except he didn’t play
football. Instead of going to football practice after school, he went to
work at McDonalds for minimum wage. You were recruited by all the big
colleges and spent every weekend of your senior year making visits to
universities where coaches and boosters tried to convince you their
school was best. They laid out the red carpet for you. Your best friend
worked double shifts at Mickey D’s. College was not an option for him.
On the day you signed with Big State University , your best friend
signed paperwork with his Army recruiter. You went to summer workouts.
He went to basic training.
You spent the next four years living in the athletic dorm, eating at the
training table. You spent your Saturdays on the football field, cheered
on by adoring fans. Tutors attended to your every academic need. You
attended class when you felt like it. Sure, you worked hard. You lifted
weights, ran sprints, studied plays, and soon became one of the top
football players in the country. Your best friend was assigned to the
101st Airborne Division.. While you were in college, he deployed to Iraq
once and Afghanistan twice. He became a Sergeant and led a squad of 19
year old soldiers who grew up just like he did. He shed his blood in
Afghanistan and watched young American's give their lives, limbs, and
innocence for the USA .
You went to the NFL combine and scored off the charts. You hired an
agent and waited for draft day. You were drafted in the first round and
your agent immediately went to work, ensuring that you received the most
money possible.. You signed for $16 million although you had never
played a single down of professional football. Your best friend
re-enlisted in the Army for four more years. As a combat tested
sergeant, he will be paid $32,000 per year.
You will drive a Ferrari on the streets of South Beach. He will ride in
the back of a Blackhawk helicopter with 10 other combat loaded soldiers.
You will sleep at the Ritz. He will dig a hole in the ground and try to
sleep. You will “make it rain” in the club. He will pray for rain as the
temperature reaches 120 degrees.
On Sunday, you will run into a stadium as tens of thousands of fans
cheer and yell your name. For your best friend, there is little
difference between Sunday and any other day of the week. There are no
adoring fans. There are only people trying to kill him and his soldiers.
Every now and then, he and his soldiers leave the front lines and “go to
the rear” to rest. He might be lucky enough to catch an NFL game on TV.
When the National Anthem plays and you take a knee, he will jump to his
feet and salute the television. While you protest the unfairness of life
in the United States , he will give thanks to God that he has the honor
of defending his great country.
To the players of the NFL: We are the people who buy your tickets, watch
you on TV, and wear your jerseys. We anxiously wait for Sundays so we
can cheer for you and marvel at your athleticism. Although we love to
watch you play, we care little about your opinions until you offend us.
You have the absolute right to express yourselves, but we have the
absolute right to boycott you. We have tolerated your drug use and DUIs,
your domestic violence, and your vulgar displays of wealth. We should be
ashamed for putting our admiration of your physical skills before what
is morally right. But now you have gone too far. You have insulted our
flag, our country, our soldiers, our police officers, and our veterans.
You are living the American dream, yet you disparage our great country.
I am done with NFL football and encourage all like minded Americans to
boycott the NFL as well.