NFL PLAYERS TAKE A KNEE ON THE SEASON

NFL PLAYERS TAKE A KNEE ON THE SEASON

As we know, Colin Kaepernick ignited a nationwide protest when he began kneeling

for the national anthem before NFL games in 2016. Four years later and those

profound reverberations are still being felt throughout the sporting world.

Last year, the NFL powers that be unanimously approved a new national anthem

policy that required players to stand should they be on the field during the anthem

while at the same time giving others the option to remain in the locker room for the

anthem if they preferred. Yet kneeling out in public remained firmly taboo. The

policy was in any event rescinded before the season even started.

However, since the brutal killing of George Floyd at the hands of the police in May of

this year, the NFL conducted a noticeable U-turn and have announced that taking a

knee is a perfectly acceptable way of protesting systemic US racism and police

brutality. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said:

“We were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier, and encourage all to speak

out and peacefully protest”

This of course infuriated our wink-wink, dog-whistle white supremacist president.

Which in all honesty, is always a good thing to do. Yet we need to ask the question –

why did it take the murder of George Floyd to cause Goodell and the NFL to make

that U-turn? There had been endless examples of police persecution of black

Americans, many of which were also caught on camera. Was it simply the highly

graphic nature of his death, that “tipped the scales”?

For so long there had been an NFL policy that specifically blocked black athletes from

speaking about injustice. That merely showed that Goodell and Co. were a million

miles wide of the mark that kneeling during the anthem was actually honoring the

flag by highlighting issues that must be resolved to make our country more just and

equitable – the very essence of what the Great Republic is meant to be.

That this issue fixated Trump’s White House was then no surprise. What has been

baffling were Trump’s comments claiming that he was open to suggestions from NFL

athletes as to who to pardon next. This is simply insulting. It is nothing more than an

attempt to blackmail NFL athletes into standing down on police brutality. So, we’re

not taking Trump’s racist carrot. Not now. Not ever. Colin Kaepernick originally took

a knee for those black men who were lynched by gunshot, chokehold or, ironically,

the knee. We will continue to take a knee and we will never be stopped from doing

so.

Democratic Presidential Candidate, Mayor Pete Buttigieg defended the protestors, saying:

“The flag that was on my shoulder when I served represented, among other things,

the right to free speech. You don’t have to like it but one of the reasons we served

was to defend that right, the right to peaceful protest and the idea that we can

protest what is wrong with our country. I didn’t think of the flag as something that

itself as an image was sacred. I thought of it as something that was sacred because of

what it represented. One of the very things it represented is the freedom of speech,

and that’s one of the reasons I served.”

Compare that to how Trump continues to attack peaceful protestors for exercising

their right to free speech. Buttigieg had the prefect riposte for that, stating that if

Trump had served in the military:

“Maybe he would feel a little more strongly about those freedoms.”

As if Trump’s racism and blackmail weren’t rotten enough, consider this. The

Innocence Project estimated that between 2.3% and 5% of all incarcerated

Americans are innocent. With the American prison population at a staggering 2.4

million, that means that as many as 120,000 people are behind bars right now. That

in its own right is a national scandal and is wholly unacceptable.

Justice is not a lottery and pardons are not the same as meaningful reform. By no

means should any NFL player be pressured to entertain the idea of selling their soul

to please Donald, J. Trump and the release of a few unjustly imprisoned people.

Alternatively, we must wage war to liberate the unjustly imprisoned and eradicate

the for-profit prison pipe-line that serves the select few and not the many. Just as

how our ancestors had to fight to free the slaves.

Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln and millions of African slaves

and union soldiers all gave their lives for the right to peacefully protest, so that

Americans could take a knee if they so wished. Their spirits and legacy have been

waiting for the day the Confederacy is truly eradicated as it is the root cause of

America’s numerous generational race issues. Yet the NFL’s decisions, including its

U-turn, clearly shows us that we are not there. Consequently, TIP political party is

kicking off Civil War II-Cyber Edition.

We are declaring war on those whose economic privilege is deeply rooted in and

built upon generational slavery. The 13 original slave-holding Confederate states

must atone for their treason and crimes against humanities (cities with Democratic

mayors are exempted).

When we are victorious, we will ensure the full funding for every Confederate statue

on federal or public lands to be removed. We will rename all streets and schools that

are named after Confederate traitors and ensure that textbooks have accurate

information on slavery. In short, we will mirror what Germany did to eradicate Nazi

history. Just as the US military has now, finally, decreed that all Confederate flags

and symbolism are to be removed from all military bases and sites. There will be no

compromise when it comes to ending the legacy of the Confederacy. Long may it

perish in the bowels of Hell.

Under no circumstances will we allow Republican voters to hide behind their elected

official without inflicting pain on their economies. Likewise, we will not allow Trump,

Roger Goodell, Jerry Jones and the owners of the NFL to continue to blacklist Colin

Kaepernick and terrorize other athletes with the threat of being benched or fired.

Our athletes are not pawns to be used in political warfare. They are simply taking a

knee for justice. Consequently, we are boycotting the NFL.

In a shout out to the NFL players out there, Kanye West was ludicrously wrong when

he said that slavery was a choice. But today you do have a choice. If you don’t

unequivocally support Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid, to name but two, you let

Trump and his racist base win. Which means you’ll be taking up a seat in the back of

the NFL bus while all the time that make billions off your talent and ability.

The women are already organized and marched. Just think of MeToo for example.

Now we need our men to do the same and stand up against tyranny, Trump, white

supremacists and racist NFL owners who believe that players belong to them. Your

actions today will either keep Kaepernick in street clothes or ensure that he’s kitted

out to throw another touchdown. What you will do will either perpetuate apathy or

embolden a new generation of freedom fighters.

In 2020 it is beyond question that any NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL or WNBA player should

not be proscribed from taking a knee in protest of police brutality, especially against

unarmed people of color.

Pain can always be a two-way street. Our #FeelThePain travel boycott is designed to

block tourism to red states, cripple their trillion-dollar tourism industry, redirect that

money into progressive places, boost our shared economy and unite Democrats,

progressives and the world against oppression.

This boycott gives us, the People, real leverage over the end result as well as over the

horrific alt-right. We will start the boycott against the real enemies of progress and

racial harmony – the nauseating sons and daughters of the Confederacy. We can no

longer wait year after year for the government to intervene. It took the entire world

to stop the Holocaust and the South African system of apartheid. And while we need

that global help again, you as an individual can make a difference, today, right here,

right now. We ask each of you not to visit or support the places that oppress us,

both as an act of solidarity and for your own safety – something that can now be in

real jeopardy if you visit the ruby-red heart of Trump’s America.

Red states, by their racist and xenophobic behavior, clearly do not warrant our

continued economic support and tourism dollars. We therefore refuse to give that

to them. Add to that how this movement is growing. When California ends all

official travel to the Confederate states, others will follow. Likewise, when New York

ends all official travel, even more will follow. America and citizens of the world, this

is our generation’s Montgomery bus boycott and South African apartheid embargo!

We will be the generation to finally eradicate the Confederacy. In doing so, we will

dismantle the lingering economy era of slavery and unshackle millions of Americans

by legalizing cannabis, embracing the shared economy era, making our gun laws

make sense and guaranteeing universal basic income and healthcare for all

Americans.

Special message to NFL players:

You played football all your life not only because you love the game but for the

financial rewards. But many of you are also suffering. According to the NFL Players

Association the average career length is just 3.3 years and a new study reveals that

96 percent of former NFL players show brain damage.

Cannabis has been shown to increase blood flow to damaged areas of the brain and

can help keep tissue healthier by improving circulation. However, despite all the

proven medicinal benefits of cannabis, it’s still a federally banned substance. The

reality is that you are taking all the risks for a short career, a lifetime of headaches

and, sadly, more serious medical conditions.

Here’s the deal. Colin Kaepernick took a knew for the many oppressed of

contemporary America. Yet consider also taking a knee for your health. Don't make

the impending boycott only about police brutality or NFL owners blackballing

Kaepernick and Eric Reid—make it about making the game safer, taking cannabis off

the prohibited list, hiring more black executives and coaches and mirroring the NBA’s

revenue-sharing model.

Special message to NBA players:

You know that in his dark heart of hearts, Trump mocks you, loathes you. Your

culture, your background, your upbringing – all are anathema to him and his MAGA

creed. Not only are you warriors on the court, you are warriors for socio-economic

justice also.

Trump-inspired racist America doesn’t see sport for what it truly is – a noble,

inspirational way of life. They see it as nothing more than a twisted means to their

vapid, hollow end. Stand with your brothers and sisters in not only the NFL, but all

sports – across the country, across the world.

The future of travel:

Currently, Airbnb is valued at $30 billion. We are launching “Afrobnb” and family to

not only get into a lucrative industry, but to ensure that black destinations worldwide

are NOT recolonized by the tourism industry. We’re also launching the Travel in Peace

(TIP) Political Party to ensure we have a seat at the table when policies are being

made. We reimagined Marcus Garvey's vision using today';s technology. We welcome

all NFL players to join our team, because in 2020, pain is a two-way street. And the

NFL will #feelthepainBOY. When you take a knee this season, you'll ignite the birth

of Travel in Peace Nation.

The Civil War ended in 1865. The DNC has had 155 years to eradicate the

Confederacy, yet we have the reincarnation of everything that was wrong with the

Confederacy, Donald Trump. Consequently, we will no longer blindly follow the DNC

off the cliff to irrelevance. We are done fighting a cyberwar with WWll and Biden’s

tactics. In lieu of reparations, Tip Political Party considers Andrew Yang's Universal

Basic Income of $2,000.00 a month for every American to be more than equitable as

well as universal single payer healthcare. Fellow Americans, we must heal old

wounds and prepare for future technological advances. Today, fellow progressives,

we declare ourselves citizen-warrior corporations with the formation of TIP Political

Party.

About the BnB Liberation Movement:

The BnB Liberation Movement seeks to disrupt both travel and politics by making

them one and the same. We’re redirecting our travel dollars away from places that

oppress us and toward places that support freedom, equality and peace for all. We

vote with our dollars to put economic pressure on lawmakers and communities to

stand up for civil rights and support progressive causes.

The BnB Liberation Movement will morph into the Travel in Peace (TIP) Political Party

and help to usher in the Blazin20s. Our mission is to take back the White House and

dominate the US tourism industry. We will use the revenue from increased tourism

to fight for peace and prosperity around the world!

We are at a technological crossroads. We have the opportunity to disrupt the

traditional travel industry and destroy regressive politics as usual. The travel side of

our business is collectively known as TIP Nation. This is a platform for managing and

growing shared economy communities. These communities are instrumental in our

mission to promote Travel in Peace Politics. Within these world-wide communities,

we are creating political action committees and finding candidates who will fight

anti-BnB and anti-tourism legislation.

We are also providing economic opportunity through our TIPBnB, TIPcruises, and

TIPtours. Each community will have their own hosts and tour guides managing each

destination, strengthening our brand, and supporting small, locally owned

businesses—including independently owned hotels (via TIPhotels).

We chose this approach after we watched in amazement as the Democrats shut

AirBnB out of the New York City market. AirBnB has been facing multiple legal

challenges from municipalities around the world. These lawsuits are funded by the

hotel industry—and the billionaires who run it. NYC politicians have given us the

incentive to form a political party. One that will fight for a homeowners’ right to use

their home as they wish. We will support, fund, and elect our own candidates. We

will go straight to the people--bypassing the expensive lobbyists and lawyers.

Finally, we are a political party that understands “wanderlust.” A political party that

will protect the right to travel, a party that will defend civil rights, a party that will

stand for progressive ideals. We are a party that will deny lobbyists a seat at the

table, we will reject the money of billionaires. We are the TIP Political Party! Inspired

by #7.

The Pandemic is the game changer.