Police union boycotts Browns flag ceremony after players' anthem protest

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association say players ‘disrespected flag’
NFL players were part of movement protesting against racial injustice
Associated Press
Sunday 3 September 2017 15.47 EDT

Members of unions representing Cleveland police officers and paramedics have said they won’t hold a US flag during ceremonies at next Sunday’s Cleveland Browns season opener after a group of Browns players knelt during the national anthem.

Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, cited his service in the US Navy when he told WKYC-TV he was astounded that Browns management knew of the protests but allowed it to occur. “I am not going to participate or work with management that allows their players to disrespect the flag and the national anthem,” Loomis said.

Nearly a dozen Browns players knelt in a circle and prayed in silent protest during the anthem before a preseason home game on 21 August against the New York Giants. A smaller group of players placed hands on the shoulders of their kneeling team-mates.

A team spokesman issued a statement at halftime that said the organization has a “profound respect” for the national anthem, the US flag and those who serve in the military.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/sep/03/police-union-boycott-cleveland-browns-national-anthem-protest-nfl

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Protest is not something respected by the right in this country, unless they are the ones

doing it.

cops unions are of course on the right...weird that, unions are something they are usually against

[AJT]

2. Police and firefighters unions are never under threat by the right.

[Eliot Rosewater]

26. All others are hated by the imbeciles, amazing how stupid they all are.

[raging moderate]

3. Because they SHOULD, TOO, kill Black people

for saying bad words to them. Or running away from them. Or disobeying their orders. Or obeying their orders. Or standing there. Or sitting there.

[left-of-center2012]

4. "players disrespected flag"

I agree.

Refusing to stand for our National Anthem is just another part of tearing down the 'fabric' of America.
It may be legal and constitutional.
But it's wrong.

In my humble opinion.

[busterbrown]

12. My Opinion? You're Wrong..

They are protesting peacefully...they are not doing it on the field..
What are they are Protesting? the unwarrented shooting of Blacks in our Countrty.?
Well... I’m surprised at your opinion.

How did they disrespect the Flag by the way.. By not standing?

[Doreen]

65. I agree with you.

It is not like they are throwing the flag on the ground and stomping on it or burning it. Can't support a flag that does not support us.

[chelsea0011]

76. I agree with you. This has become hugely out of proportion. The amount of media

devoted to a very few amount of players quietly protesting a very serious issue has taken on a life of it's own. Like your post you would think that they were running on the field with burning flags and burning effigies.

[DK504]

18. In the words of the white cop to the white lady

he pulled over: "We only shoot black people we don't shoot white people."

Yeah, that was said. We should all be protesting the flag ... it doesn't mean shit any more.

[Gravitycollapse]

21. Your "humble" opinion is wrong.

[Owl]

48. Agreed

[aeromanKC]

25. Players are RESPECTING the FREEDOM the FLAG represents

It's what the Flag represents that gives them the Freedom to express their opinion in a non violent way. What a country!! (and Flag)

[tblue37]

27. Such idolatry over a flag and a song. What about the *rights* they stand for--like the right to

freedom of expression or to petition those in power for redress of grievances?

[raging moderate]

39. Yes, correct!

Plus the right to keep breathing even if a police officer doesn't like the way you look!
No other advanced country in the entire world has our high number of police killings.
It's just wrong!

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

54. +1

It's similar to when the Iraq Invasion protests were going on. I was told by a co-worker that "Well, in Iraq they can't protest like we can here, so maybe these un-American idiots should know that. The troops are fighting for our freedoms."

I responded "So...in order to protect the freedoms we have, we should...not use them?"

She stormed away swearing at me.

[HAB911]

73. +++++

[duhneece]

86. Love it...and love that they don't stand

There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people. Howard Zinn

[crosinski]

30. You must think America is made from really weak fabric!

I think we're made from a tougher weave of hope, tears, blood, compassion, vision, love, laughter, tenacity, and the courage to kneel and pray with your brothers during the National Anthem to make a point.

Now that's America!

[pangaia]

31. True, the flag is a piece of fabric.

And the national anthem is all about war and bombs ...

[ProfessorGAC]

51. This Is Satire, Right?

I hope so, because if you're serious then that's sad!

[Gore1FL]

55. I would argue the fabric is made of better material than superficial expressions. nt

[Raster]

57. Dude, it is just a piece of cloth and just a song...

...Both are just representations of a concept. And that concept was founded on protest.

"...tearing down the fabric of America."???

[Dustlawyer]

77. Not taking part in the National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, or burning a flag is

the strongest form of protest against government action or inaction. Free speech has one of the most famous cases from SCOTUS when they ruled that flag burning is "protected speech."

For too long police have violated the civil rights of minorities, especially black people. Since police represent and are part of "government" and the are the culpable actors here, protesting the anthem to place a spotlight on the problem is absolutely appropriate.

Civil rights should have been the discussion here, but TPTB did not want that so it became about the protest and the protestor and not the underlying problem. Taking a knee during the anthem is legal, police shooting unarmed black men and stopping blacks for made up, or I should say, Trumped up charges, are! The media as an extension of TPTB since they own the media and also control with threats of their advertising dollars, have made this about the protestor.

[mobeau69]

78. I'm with Molly Ivins

“I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag.”

[forgotmylogin]

80. People need to worry less about symbols printed on fabric

and more about the people that fabric represents.

Seriously, who cares about an actual physical flag. Its feelings are not hurt. You can always make a new one.

It seriously does not need a hug.





Um...or to be groped, Mister President.

[hatrack]

87. Maybe you could extend your tender flag fee-fees to the Constitution . . .

I think there's a pretty solid case to be made that it matters, oh, just a bit more than a freaking flag at a freaking football game.

[CurtEastPoint]

5. I have never understood what the f'ing FLAG and Jeebus prayers have to do with sports.

[Laurian]

7. +1000

[burrowowl]

16. Me either!

[Mr.Bill]

22. Neither could I.

I stopped going to SF Giants games because they demand that everyone stand and remove their hats at the seventh inning stretch while they play God Bless America. And that is not even the national anthem.

[stopbush]

41. The Yankees still play that stupid song during the 7th inning stretch.

I usually mute the damn TV.

[Mr.Bill]

43. It doesn't get televised here, at least.

They go to commercials during the seventh inning stretch. God may bless America, but ad revenue pays the bills.

The first time I went to a game about five years ago, when they did it, I thought really? In San Francisco? I guess it's a tradition that started after 9/11, or that's what I read somewhere anyway. All the teams started doing it. I wonder how many still are?

[stopbush]

59. Most have gone back to "Take me out to the ballgame."

You can sort of understand the Yankees as 9/11 happened in NYC for the most part. But it's 16 years. Enough!

I wonder if Steinbrenner issued some edict-in-perpetuity about it before he died.

[Owl]

46. I sit down during that crap.

[pangaia]

32. Just an excuse to brainwash...

[mcar]

40. Me either

This whole notion of a private sports enterprise as patriotic has always been stupid.

Couple that with the fact that no one objects to convicted rapists, child abusers, animal abusers being part of the NFL - Not to mention the health hazards- and it is even odder.

[bitterross]

6. Clearly he forgot why he served in the Navy

He served to protect the Constitution, not a flag. He served to protect the First Amendment right to protest. Not the Fascist right to squelch protest.

[former9thward]

79. Doesn't he have a right to protest also?

Or is it just one side? No one's right to protest is being "squelched",as you put it, by his actions.

[bitterross]

81. His actions are an attempt to get the NFL to take action against players. Not a protest.

He has a right to protest yes. He is not protesting though. He is reacting in a negative way to others' protests. His actions are calculated to cause embarrassment and bad PR for the NFL. His goal is, clearly, to get the players disciplined so their protests stop. Squelching their speech.

There are many, many productive ways to protest. Complaining about others' protests, taking your toys and going home if you don't get your way is NOT one of them. It is very Republican though and I'm surprised to see a defense of it here on DU.

[former9thward]

82. So when the Nazis want to protest

then others should stay away so as to not "squelch their speech". Because to do so would be "very Republican" wouldn't it?

[bitterross]

83. A bit of a false equivalency there

Those two situations are completely different and to attempt to even compare them with one another makes no sense.

[DinahMoeHum]

8. Fuck 'em: their loss, nobody else's

They won't be missed by the fans.

If those assholes want mandatory patriotism, let 'em move to North Korea.



And BTW, it's the police union that's boycotting, NOT the police themselves.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cleveland-police-union-browns-protest_us_59a9875be4b0b5e530fe4b79
(scroll down to last 2 paragraphs)

[dembotoz]

71. +1

[atreides1]

9. Not this crap again???

As a veteran, I am getting sick and tired of clowns like Loomis, always whining about the mythical disrespect to piece of colored cloth, by people who have the right to show that "disrespect"!

Maybe someone needs to point out that Americans have the right to burn the flag, if they choose, and Loomis swore to support and defend that right, citing his service in the US Navy!

[left-of-center2012]

24. "Americans have the right to burn the flag"

So let's start all football games with burning the American flag.
How patriotic.

[stopbush]

42. Actually, that WOULD be patriotic.

[Corgigal]

66. Tell it

This female veteran gets you, and my retired LEO husband does too.

Yo cops, you're not active duty military. You're cops, pick one job.

[HAB911]

75. +++++++++++

[markpkessinger]

10. The notion that kneeling is disrespectful . . .

. . . should come as quite a surprise to many Roman Catholics and Episcopalians, for whom kneeling is a posture of profound reverence!

[vkkv]

11. Perhaps the cops should fly the British flag.. or the Stars & Bars?

Or simply REMIND the POLICE that it's NOT ILLEGAL to kneel during Nat'l Anthem.

[JDC]

13. Perhaps we should skip the Anthrm all together at sporting events.

It seems like a completely unnecessary thing. I don't see the point.

In response to the flag bearers in this story, grow up. The players protesting during the anthem is a simple, peaceful protest of something that is a real problem in this country. To deny that is to bury your head in the sand and/or be complicit in the willful and selective ignorance that this country is becoming known for.

[Ligyron]

34. Don't play darn thing is right.

IDK why we have to have the pledge and sometimes a prayer at any freakin' non-civic event anyway.

and kneeling is not disrespectful.

[ProfessorGAC]

52. That'd Be My Solution

Just start the darn game!

[bluestarone]

58. yep

this

[underpants]

14. Side note - all but two Browns games are buried in the 1pm Eastern timeslot

I saw this a few years ago. The NFL just dumps all their games into the 1pm mix of games. They have a game at the LA Chargers at 4:35 and the are,playing the Vikings in London. Other than that they are just a wash in the highlights.

[dsc]

20. they are buried in that time slot because they are dreadful

has nothing to do with the protests. In the past two years they went 4 and 28.

[underpants]

23. Sorry I should have made that clear.

Yea they are there because they are horrible. Didn't mean to imply otherwise.

[Not Ruth]

15. Brown Lives Matter

[Dr. Strange]

17. Shame on the players for boycotting the anthem for their protest. Disgusting.

I applaud the police for drawing attention to this issue by boycotting the anthem.

[tblue37]

28. It's not the protesting players who should be ashamed! nt

[raging moderate]

36. "If the shoe doesn't fit, don't put it on."

That is my message to the Policemen's Union. These players are protesting the actions of police who are targeting and battering persons of color in a flagrant violation of their Constitutional rights. If you are NOT one of those policemen, then don't act as if you were the target of these protests.

[Dr. Strange]

60. Yes they should. It's shameful to use the anthem as part of their protest. So un-American!

I'm glad to see the police express their discontent by not helping out during the anthem.












Come on, work with me here.

[rgbecker]

84. I see what you did there, and it was beautiful.

[Dr. Strange]

85. Heh.

[bucolic_frolic]

19. The ship of state

should be steady as a rock, there for all, and all but invisible

[Plucketeer]

29. Aw, for shits sake!

It's a fucking GAME! I applaud anyone for speaking out against injustice. But these rebel jocks probably make as much in a year as does the whole police department. When wages are adjusted to reflect the real dangers a job carries, guess who'll get a higher wage??? But back to disrespecting the flag - I personally (as a proud VETERAN, no less!) don't care if these jocks wanna have a burger and fries while the anthem plays! When not standing for the flag is a prosecutable offense, I'll no longer live in "the land of the free".

[pangaia]

33. "I am not going to participate or work with management that allows their players

to disrespect the flag and the national anthem,” Loomis said. .."

OK...
See ya...

[SharonClark]

44. No free tickets for you!

[pangaia]

63. LOL,

[Afromania]

35. The visceral response to this seems to be more personal than it should be

for a lot of people. If Kaepernick is upset with his country that's his right. If he wants to peaceably protest the flag that's also his right. It's also the right of nit wits to complain about his protests because its part of the freedoms included as part of the bedrock of this country. However the difference is that the people running up against Kaepernick's protests come across at doing so because it affects them in some profound way that other more troublesome forms of animosity towards the U.S. and it's citizenry hasn't.

Oddly, we never see these sort of vitriolic responses to the Kaepernick protests towards anything that actually matters, injustices and political stances, that could actually undermine the fabric of the country. We have Nazi's literally marching in the streets but they will go to bat long and hard against flag kneeling because of the perceived slight to the United States. Nazi's in any form are the epitomoy of enemies to the United States and what it stands for, no protests there.

The Flag doesn't give a good goddamn what Kaepernick does or doesn't do. It was here before him and will probably be here after him. I say "probably" because the people so upset with Kaepernick are probably the exact same people that are eerily silent about the public return of white nationalism and Nazism to the mainstream conversation. What those people are trying to do is more dangerous this country that Kaepernicks protest and will do far more towards bringing about the eventual destruction of the Stars and Stripes and the democracy it represents. The end result being some form of government uniquely not American in origin.

[turbinetree]

37. Well I guess you don't support the Constitution there Mr. Loomis

and by the way the national anthem, let me tell you what it represents:

http://www.theroot.com/star-spangled-bigotry-the-hidden-racist-history-of-the-1790855893


And has for the "flag" it's not the Constitution, which you are suppose to defend and protect

[Ligyron]

38. Some RW acquaintances of mine were talking on Facebook about boycotting

Pro Football altogether over some unidentified outrage.

I couldn't figure out why exactly but one guy was canceling his special Dish Network Sports Package thingie so I figured it had to be something significant. It couldn't have been this tho'.

[Dawson Leery]

45. The players are the product that makes money, what people come to see.

What the HELL is some vile police "union" contributing here?

[Owl]

47. The CPPA have exposed themselves as a bunch of turds.

[Crowman2009]

49. Well these Police Patrolmen disrespected the life of Tamir Rice!

Along with every other resident they wanted to be an asshole to.

[Pinna]

50. Good Article

One group voiced their opinion regarding the anthem and the flag, as is their constitutional right.

Another group disagrees with their opinion and chooses to not participate, as is their constitutional right.

Both groups expressed their opinions peacefully during the event, no name calling, no one beat the crap out of someone else, set fires, or destroyed property.

Sounds like the way things are supposed to work.

(Edited for typo)

[Trust Buster]

53. Police and paramedics have every right to enjoy the freedoms that the players enjoy.

[Gore1FL]

56. It seems like it would simply be easier to not kill African Americans with reckless abandon.

That would solve the issue.

[LiberalFighter]

61. The national anthem and the flag does not belong to the fucking police or military.

As that jackass seems to imply.

[LiberalFighter]

62. What I would like to know is why does the national anthem need to be played

at sporting events. Or involve the flag?

[rpannier]

64. Their right to do so

I mean it's protected by the constitution
Something they all should read
I'm a US Army veteran and I'm cool with them kneeling
Be curious if he polled his (military veteran) members

[rockfordfile]

67. Good for the players. What the players are doing is what it means to be a American

[JI7]

68. if they had bragged about Grabbing Women that would be just fine with these officers

[JI7]

69. Their Real Complaint is about People Protesting Injustice against Black People

[DeminPennswoods]

70. A better question is

why do we even play the national anthem at US sporting events (outside of the Olympics or international competition)? They're just games involving no patriotism or politics.

[KG]

72. seems POC need to consult the police, military, and various butt-hurt white folk on the proper forms

protest.

[The Wizard]

74. Wasn't it a member of the Cleveland PD

that gunned down an 11 year old boy for having a BB gun? And what the hell does kneeling down in silent protest (aka exercising First Amendment rights) have to do with supporting the military. It's kind of like saying this is a militarized police state, follow orders or suffer the consequences. If you can't exercise Constitutionally guaranteed rights, what's the point in have a bloated military all over the world "protecting" our rights at home?