By: Jefferson Weaver
As I have noted many times before, I’m not a big sports fan. With a few notable exceptions, I don’t care which team wins what when. In some respects, I find it truly offensive that people are willing to pay a couple hundred bucks to watch a ball game, yet scream when a police chief wants a 10 percent pay increase for his officers. At the same time – it’s a free market for sports fans, and a free country for taxpayers.
In the case of the former, of the market didn’t support paying athletes six- and seven-figure salaries, the owners of the teams would have to adjust. In the case of the latter, if taxpayers want to spend more or less money on services like public safety, they have the power to do so, by influencing their elected officials, or voting in new ones.
In each case, the power is in the individual, and the individual’s right to choose. Yet with each choice comes a different effect. The voter refuses to increase pay to keep quality officers on staff, and the safety of a town – along with its economy and quality of life – go down. The owner of a ball team refuses to adjust prices even if attendance drops off, and he loses money.
And if an athlete feels the need to make a statement like he throws a football, he had better be ready to deal with the defense, if you’ll pardon the athletic analogy. He might make a touchdown, or he might be sacked.
Colin Kaepernick has the right to protest against the National Anthem; it’s a free speech thing, and we are guaranteed the right to express ourselves, not be free from other people’s expression of opinion.
At the same time, Mr. K needs to realize that with his actions come consequences. Depending on which media outlet you believe, NFL teams are either seeing a widespread backlash from Mr. K’s American Shame, or they are receiving kudos bordering on tickertape parades.
Personally? I think he should be ashamed of himself. I get tired of seeing people who earn millions by being a good ballplayer demanding that somebody do something. As of the writing of this column, I haven’t found a foundation, business, school or scholarship that Mr. K has founded. I am sure my critics will find some such before they finish reading these words, and I congratulate them for doing so.
Now, look – I don’t expect anyone to impoverish themselves for an often ungrateful world at large just because they have been successful. Nor do I think that someone who has done well owes anybody a dang thing. Showing that one cares for one’s community is a personal decision, whether it be motivated by a role model, the Apostle Paul or Uncle Sam’s IRS.
I do, however, reserve the right to sneer at those who scream the loudest for social change yet do nothing to effect that change, outside of whining and earning some media time. For Pete’s sake, support a terrorist group if nothing else – at least that way I can respect your sincerity, if not your common sense. But hollering about power to the people via your IPhone behind the walls of a gated community, guarded by the folks who you say oppress you—that’s just silly.
But it’s your right.
The NCAA, if its governing board so chooses, has every right to protest North Carolina’s Bathroom Bill, however the board so chooses. So does the National Basketball Association.
I was threatened – with an hint of physical violence, no less – over House Bill 2 a while back. I’ve received two cussin-outs so far, and via the joys of social media, any number of dissenting opinions that ranged from well-thought-out to just plain nasty.
Again—regardless of the cause—such comments are, for the most part, protected by the same First Amendment that protects Mr. K.
I haven’t yet responded with insults, much less the vile accusations that several made. Nor do I plan to. Suffice to say, while I don’t think the General Assembly should have gotten involved, I have no particular problem with protecting children in restrooms and showers.
So, what do I do to express that opinion? I write a column, which some of my subscribers won’t run, since they disagree with my positon. That’s their right, too. I try to be informed, and strive to be able to make a reasoned argument, based in my faith and judicial statistics, if someone wants to open the ball.
Businesses whose owners condemn my home state for the General Assembly’s decision may or may not get any of my business. By the same token, I will try to support those whose owners have expressed opinions similar to mine – or better still, have maintained neutrality as a corporate body.
Some groups really hurt themselves more than anyone else when they take a stand on a political or social issue, unless they’re willing to put their money where their corporate mouths are. For that reason, they really should stay out of the fray—unless they are willing to accept, without whining, the societal and economic effects of their actions.
Governmental agencies, however, are subject to the same standard as anyone else who is elected to represent the entire population. If I disagree with them, and I have reason to do so, I’ll make it known. Again, without vulgarity or grandstanding.
I am not going to shove my opinion down someone’s throat, call names, or physically threaten them for disagreeing with me. They have the right to disagree with me, just as I do with them. Passion is no excuse for imprudence, because as my mother always said, shake a finger in the wrong face, you might draw back a nub. There again – cause and effect, or as one of my favorite philosophers put it, Comprehension de Destreza. Although he was writing about swordfighting back in 1681, de la Vega’s writings could easily apply to modern society. Those who ain’t afraid of blood, literal or metaphorical, are the ones who can win.
So for the record – while I don’t support his opinion. Mr. K has every right to protest the National Anthem, and descry the country that allows him to make millions for playing football. The NCAA and NBA, if they so choose, have every right to choose to support the LGBT community over thousands of faithful fans in North Carolina. Perhaps their actions will cause Tar Heels and Wolfpackers alike to rise up and overthrow the General Assembly in favor of the LGBT community.
Those are rights guaranteed us by the Constitution of a country whose official national song addresses the courage, resilience and freedoms that make it a place where everyone has the right to express an opinion, and the opportunity to make a difference.
As for me? I could care less which sports team you support – and thankfully, that’s my right.
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