Mike Rogers: Showing respect for our country
As you may have seen on the news recently, a sports organization that has been such a favorite pastime of our country, the National Football League (NFL), has become a complete and utter embarrassment to our country. I have been appalled by the recent and ongoing disrespectful acts by some of the NFL players that refuse to stand to honor the American flag during the playing of the National Anthem. These disrespectful protests only serve to divide us and do nothing to foster unity. It is a display of such disrespect to kneel during the playing of our country’s National Anthem. The playing of the Star Spangled Banner should be a time we show respect to those who have put everything on the line to fight for America. It is a time we should show respect for all of those families who forever mourn the lives of loved ones who died fighting for our country. And a time we should show respect for each other. Those few minutes during the National Anthem is a time when we all stand together – no race, no sex, no status – just Americans standing with hand over heart. I applaud President Trump for standing up against this obnoxious behavior. I agree with him 100 percent. The NFL should be ashamed it allowed these despicable actions to take place. Everyone is afforded the right to protest. But these protests should be on their own time and not during the playing of the National Anthem. Last week I was proud to cosponsor H.Res. 532, introduced by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that persons present who are not in uniform or are not members of the Armed Forces or veterans “should face the flag and stand at attention with their hand over the heart.” The National Anthem and the American flag are symbols of all that makes America great in our never ending effort to become a more perfect union. May God continue to bless our great nation. I want to hear from you on this or any issue. Please sign up for my e-Newsletter by visiting mikerogers.house.gov. To stay up to date, you can also like me on Facebook at Congressman Mike D. Rogers, follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram at RepMikeRogersAL, on Tumblr at repmikerogersal.tumblr.com and you can also subscribe to my YouTube page at MikeRogersAL03. ••• Mike Rogers is a member of U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District.
Donald Trump to NFL owners: Fire players who kneel during anthem
President Donald Trump has some advice for National Football League owners: Fire players who kneel during the national anthem. He’s also encouraging fans to walk out in protest. And the president is bemoaning what he describes as a decline in violence in the sport. “They’re ruining the game,” he said during a political rally in Alabama on Friday night that veered beyond politics. Several athletes, including a handful of NFL players, have refused to stand during “The Star-Spangled Banner” to protest of the treatment of blacks by police. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who started the trend last year when he played for the San Francisco 49ers, hasn’t been signed by an NFL team for this season. Trump, who once owned the New Jersey Generals of the U.S. Football League, says those players are disrespecting the American flag and deserve to lose their jobs. “That’s a total disrespect of our heritage. That’s a total disrespect of everything that we stand for,” Trump said, encouraging owners to act. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, you’d say, ’Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired,” Trump said to loud applause. Trump also predicted that any owner who followed the presidential encouragement would become “the most popular person in this country” — at least for a week. Trump, who was in Alabama campaigning for Sen. Luther Strange, also blamed a drop in NFL ratings on the nation’s interest in “yours truly” as well as what he contended was a decline in violence in the game. He said players are being thrown out for aggressive tackles, and it’s “not the same game.” Over the past several seasons, the NFL and college football have increased penalties and enforcement for illegal hits to the head and for hitting defenseless players. A July report on 202 former football players found evidence of a debilitating brain disease linked to repeated head blows in nearly all of them. The league has agreed to pay $1 billion to retired players who claimed it misled them about the concussion dangers of playing football. During his campaign, Trump often expressed nostalgia for the “old days” — claiming, for example, that protesters at his rallies would have been carried out on stretchers back then. He recently suggested police officers should be rougher with criminals and shouldn’t protect their heads when pushing them into squad cars. It’s also not the first time he’s raised the kneeling issue. Earlier this year he took credit for the fact that Kaepernick hadn’t been signed. Television ratings for the NFL have been slipping since the beginning of the 2016 season. The league and observers have blamed a combination of factors, including competing coverage of last year’s presidential election, more viewers dropping cable television, fans’ discomfort with the reports of head trauma and the anthem protests. Ratings have been down even more in the early 2017 season, though broadcasters and the league have blamed the hurricanes that hit Florida and Texas. Still, the NFL remains by far the most popular televised sport in the United States. Trump said the anthem protest was the top reason NFL viewership had waned. “You know what’s hurting the game?” he asked. “When people like yourselves turn on television and you see those people taking the knee when they’re playing our great national anthem,” he said. Trump encouraged his supporters to pick up and leave the stadium next time they spot a player failing to stand. “I guarantee things will stop,” he said. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
House passes resolution to commend Ken Stabler’s Pro Football HOF induction
Alabama’s House of Representatives passed HJR42, a resolution brought forth by Rep. Randy Davis (R-Daphne) to posthumously commend Ken Stabler for his recent induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Nicknamed “The Snake,” Stabler played quarterback for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide from 1965 to 1967, winning one National Championship and solidifying his place in Alabama football history with the legendary “Run in the Mud.” Stabler went on to play in the National Football League (NFL) from 1970 to 1984. During that time, Stabler played for the Oakland Raiders, the Houston Oilers and the New Orleans Saints where he racked up 194 touchdowns, 2,270 completions and a 75.3 quarterback ranking. After retiring from the NFL, Stabler worked as a commentator for CBS and then alongside Eli Gold calling Alabama football games over the airwaves. Stabler died of colon cancer in July 2015 at the age of 69. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year alongside famed Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and others.
