I think at this point, if the players want the message to continue to resonate in a positive way, they are going to have to change the method they convey that message. Kneeling for the anthem now is causing the message to be lost.
Originally Posted by grean
Over the long haul, if the players persist with this "protest", not only will the message lose its substance, the players themselves will inevitably lose., as well The Golden Rule will prevail (ie: He, With the Gold, Rules). These multi-billionaires (all 32 of them, last count) will put a stop to this simply by colluding, first, then one by one, blackballing the individuals who choose to make kneeling during the anthem an issue. It'll take some time to purge them but rest assure, the owners can make that happen.
And don't think it can't. Big Picture: when you get down to the core of the matter, the owners don't give a flying rat's ass about any of these players' politics or their social (justice) causes.....truly.
All that matters to Goodell and the owners who pay him is keeping butt$ in the $eat$, $pon$or$ happy, and the (TV) rating$ arrow pointed up while Growing the $hield. Anything outside of that (ie: this anthem protest) is an undesired irritation....and the owners will not tolerate having their pre-game shows hijacked for much longer.