Interesting quote here:
Washington State receiver Gabe Marks provided a thoughtful response when asked why there are fewer college football players involved in the protest movement started by Colin Kaepernick.
“College football players are more, if you could believe it, they’re more of a number than NFL players are even. You know what I mean?” Marks said. “The NCAA and schools kind of like can monitor everything that college athletes do. Twitter and stuff like that. It would be kind of scary if you are a college athlete and you tried to take a stand and then the athletic director or something like that, or your coach comes and says, ‘Hey, what are you doing? That’s super un-American,’ or something like that.
“You’d probably be scared of the consequences that could be enforced on you at that point and a lot of guys in college and in the NFL don’t really want to get into the trouble of it, you know what I mean? Because it’s a pretty big stance you take and there’s a lot of backlash that comes with that. Kids don’t want people hating them, let’s be honest. A grown man has more of a ability to be just like ‘Whatever, I believe what I believe in.'”
Leverage and control, baby. That’s what college football is all about. And that’s why what happened at Missouri last year generated the reaction it did.
Get The Picture 
Just a question, but doesn’t a lot it come down to the fact that college (and high school) teams are typically still in the locker room when the anthem gets played before games?
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“And that’s why what happened at Missouri last year generated the reaction it did.”
Are you referring to the massive drop in freshman applications and enrollments?
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worse…they lost to a CMR coached team
(I kid, I kid)
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I was “controlled” by my parents to some extent until I was 22 (had my own house) I was “controlled” by my employers who said don’t act like a fool. As for the NFL….been an avid viewer since I could see a TV. This year and into the future…..zero games. If it becomes a big deal in college I’ll do the same thing.
My point…actions will eventually have consequences in both directions. Sports is entertainment. It can always be replaced.
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NFL owners could and do have more control than a University actually. An owner could choose to bench or fire The SF guy…they just choose not too. Constitutional rights do not govern the employer / employee relationship. For some reason no one grasp this. (and even the owners don’t seem to understand or decide to ignore). Either way, the NFL players have way more to loose if only the ones who own the gold decided to enforce.
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The NFL is run by a buffoon, that’s the problem. Make standing during the national anthem part of the “game presentation”, then you can discipline player that don’t. The NBA addressed this literally over 15 years ago.
Instead, Roger the clown is playing games in London, games on Thursday that everyone in the league hates, legislating ball pressure, and fining guys for not wearing their socks high enough.
If Goodell was fired tomorrow, 0% chance he gets hired to a C Suite position for any other company. He is a hand picked puppet of the owners, that’s it..
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Don’t forget suspending a player for 1 game for domestic abuse and suspending another 4 games for football abuse deflation.
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That’s just it though. The owners want games in London. The owners want games on Thursday. The owners want to fine guys for not wearing their socks high enough.
You’re right, Goodell is a puppet. And that’s the way the owners want it. The owners run the league, not Goodell.
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Allegedly it is actually Jerry Jones that runs things.
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I believe the economic theory is “my money, my rules”.
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As taught by the Bobby Lowder economics chair at Jimmy Rane School of Business? 😉
I’m sorry (a little). There’s just nothing else for us to do this year than snark at our guests.
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Absolutely. Missouri’s “business savvy” president drives the university into a ditch, and somehow it’s the football team’s fault.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/race-not-only-mizzou-issue-1447206995
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It could be they aren’t racist and think being a minority does not give them a right to be above the law. Or perhaps they were taught before the age of six that resisting arrest is pretty stupid and has consequences, some severe Or they have taken an in-depth look and decided this country may not have always been perfect but it is far better than virtually any alternative. Some may have even decided that at age 20, or older, they can always renounce their citizenship and leave for those greener pastures to pursue their dream.
If they wish to participate with a peaceful protest on their own time, that is their option, but don’t bring your politics into the work place. NFL should have shut this down, they can control/fine players for messages on head bands but cannot take financial action on this? Whatever it is, the choice to not participate by college players is far better than the wealthy nfl fools biting that hand that feeds them. These are misguided, revolutionary wannabes blindly following the party line. A little time looking at where this path leads might make it obvious that burning the structure down isn’t the best solution.
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If it’s not a job for student-athletes, how can there be a work place?
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That particular comment was specifically about NFL, but you can certainly apply that behavior expectation to college as well regardless of where you draw the amateur/pro line. Let’s face it, there is some money, and other “things of value” involved whether everyone agrees on what is fair, or not.
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The NFL could stop the protest if they wanted to because its on the job. So long as athletes are on the job, and on scholarship, the schools can limit what they say. Of course, even on government jobs now, people are being fired for what they say on their own time (see the Atlanta fire marshal). Interesting times we live in.
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I’m legitimately curious and obviously not a lawyer, but it feels like being fired from a government job for language that is deemed unacceptable by your employer is slightly different than being arrested by the government for your language, at least with respect to what the First Amendment protects. I’m honestly not sure what the case precedent is for what IS protected under the First Amendment when it comes to government employment, but I know that no amendments are absolute.
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Issue is probably more a union issue than a constitutional one. If it isn’t forbidden in the players’ agreement, I doubt they can suspend or fine.
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Maybe college players realize the whole sit down during the anthem thing is a very cockeyed protest. The people of this country are less oppressed than most of the world and the oppressors are seldom a part of what the flag really stands for.
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Seems like a pretty clear first amendment issue between public school and the students that attend.
But many of these guys arent willing to die on that hill, which is understandable.
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