Woke Professional Sports: Ruining Professional Sports Enjoyment

I’ve been a professional sports fan since before I even cared about politics. I have always thoroughly enjoy watching games on TV and going to them in real life. I’ve been numerous professional sport events ranging from Major League Baseball to the National Football League, in addition to both the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League. I never remember much politics being involved within the sports environment. The high political action was usually done at the beginning of the game with the national anthem. But nowadays, almost every league is quite literally cancelling games in the name of political action. I’ve written about Colin Kaepernick before when he first took the knee. I wrote about it again when Kaepernick settle his lawsuit with the NFL over allegations of purpose blocking him from getting a QB gig. (If we’re honest, his QB skills weren’t up to par when he last played.) It seems that Kaepernick’s attitude has spread throughout the leagues.

In my personal opinion, politics and sports do not mix. I think they each serve different purposes. Politics serves to fill the greed and self interest of politicians who don’t give an actual fuck about you. Meanwhile sports is supposed to be wholesome competition and entertainment. Whether or not you enjoy sports, I think everyone can agree that sometimes activities are best without weird and unnecessary interruptions like political movements. Imagine if you’re favorite activity got cancelled for a political movement. You would probably feel the same way. You might be thinking “ok dude, but aren’t athletes allowed to have opinions and thoughts off the field, plus what if I agree with them?”

Yes, athletes can believe whatever they want, they can hold opinions and thoughts without any of my criticism. However, keep those political opinions off the field or court of play. Let me be clear: I don’t care if any particular athlete is communist, democrat, republican, BLM… it doesn’t matter. Just don’t push your philosophy on me in the sport you play. I don’t watch sports to get politically assaulted by politics that I do not partake in nor want to hear propaganda for. Play ball and keep your politics off the field. Sports is purely entertainment so if you aren’t gonna play sports then go retire to do politics. I really DON’T care.

So I haven’t addressed what exactly I’m referring to when I say “woke sports”. Recently the NFL, NBA and MLB all have adopted the policy of allowing players to take a knee and wear political messages on jerseys. In the case of the NBA, there have been games cancelled. The next logical question about all this is why is it such a problem now? I think woke sports has come about for two main reasons and one lesser reason. The first reason is money. Professional sports is a trillion dollar industry. Nearly every league makes billions of dollars. The owners of the teams are extremely wealthy. Professional sport garners huge TV contracts and billions in advertising revenue. Having all this money involved means it comes from somewhere. In this case of the NBA, the money comes from China which is a huge market share. Its the reason why you see Lebron James bending over for Chinese political interests. The second reason is influence. Nowadays, professional athletes have more influence than they ever have. They have social media platforms with millions of followers. They are on TV which can be streamed anywhere and anytime. There is a third lesser reason which is the background of these athletes. Many of them grew up poor and struggling to just survive. This garners a lot of empathy from public. The last ingredient that brings all the money, influence and empathy together is the political climate today.

We know that politics has changed recently into being much more toxic. I believe this is due to people adopting politics into their personality. It also has a lot to do with the technology that brings us news and happenings instantly around the clock. I’m on twitter and every time something crazy like riots happen, I literally can’t look away. Every event is being politicize and instantly streamed or uploaded to social media. Its a real shame that access to events and information is used the complete wrong way. Instead of accessing useful information to help make informed opinions, people would rather just react and give uninformed opinions. I think that sports was insulated from the politicizing of events until Kaepernick starting taking that knee. He was the Trojan horse. Every league had (yes had, in the past tense) rules against political messaging and political protests on the field. Now every league is bending to mob mentality over fear of being cancelled or losing fans who pay the money.

To conclude this post, I think the only and very unfortunate way to help sports league get the message that some or possibly a lot of people don’t like their politics in sports, is by not watching or buying jerseys. This will be really hard for most of us, including myself. But I think if fans are unhappy. we should vote with our wallets and viewership. If the political messaging bullshit stops, I would gladly tune back in. Sports is for entertainment. Politics is toxic and stressful. In all honestly, the ruining of sports by woke makes me blame the government even more. There no reason why we need a president for people to protest. Self ownership and voluntarism could easily replace the current system if people actually realized its never going to change.

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Colin Kaepernick Settles Out Of Court

I wrote about Colin Kaepernick quite awhile ago when he first started to kneel during NFL games. You may or may not be aware that I’m a Jets fan and generally love to watch football. I rarely care about what players do in their personal time. Many of my favorite players are amazing human beings. Unfortunately, when people started to overreact to Kaepernick kneeling that’s when I decided to write. This will be my last post about this, I hope.

Confidentially Agreement

A few days ago, the news broke that the NFL and Colin Kaepernick settled their grievance case outside of court. Rumor has it that Colin made out with around 80 million dollars. However, aside from drawing criticism from being a sellout, there is another interesting and confirmed detail about the whole thing. A confidentially agreement was put in place as result of the settlement. This means that the NFL and Kaepernick can’t say anything or release any public information on the trial.

NFL Wins The Case?

Upon hearing about the settlement and confidentially agreement, I immediately thought that NFL had won this case. The NFL makes BILLIONS of dollars, about 8.1 billion according to google.  So imagine Kaepernick only received a mere 1 percent of their yearly revenue. Even better for the NFL, that got a confidentially agreement so Kaepernick or Eric Reid (other player involved) can’t make the NFL look bad. This is a pretty solid win for the NFL because although it is a first amendment right to kneel, the NFL is owned privately. What this result leads me to ask is what exactly were the motives of Kaepernick and Reid?

Money Motives?

If I were to replace myself as either Kaepernick or Reid, I don’t know that I would want to settle out of court even with 80 million on the table. Unless money was my objective. I was tricked, as were we all, into thinking that they wanted to make a political statement against the NFL. They wanted to show that the owners are racist. They wanted to prove that there is some kind of inside conspiracy against them because of their political activism. I’m not gonna say they were wrong about anything because the jury is still debating and won’t come to a decision since they settled out of court. However, you have to wonder why settle unless you knew could crush the NFL? So just maybe, they had no case or a poor case and decided to settle to save embarrassment. I’m just speculating here, but it seems to me that this grievance case either had no weight or they just wanted a payday. Now you could argue NFL put a confidentially agreement to protect whatever evidence they had. I’m sure there was some but it doesn’t matter because that will never be public.

Lesson Of Day

Let’s face it, taking down an 8 billion dollar corporation isn’t gonna be easy. Also if you want to prove a point you don’t settle out of court for money. Its really unfortunate because I thought Kaepernick actually had some balls and real motivation. I think that the NFL has a lot of problems especially in handling big name public relations scandals. They tend to just throw money at it until it goes away. Then they bury or destroy the evidence. I think the NFL handling of the concussion suit that it was hit with a few years ago wasn’t great. For years they denied that concussions were even a dangerous thing. In the lawsuit they settled on like a billion dollars for the healthcare of former players. Of course, in recent they have changed the game to make it safe. But to many purists, its tainting the competitive nature and changing how its play. Its complicated because players get paid a lot and the NFL has no health plan for them. In addition, players choose on free will to play football. So every person has a different opinion on how much responsibility the NFL actually owns for its player safety.

Obviously its an ongoing debate. There are some new football leagues like the Alliance of American Football and XFL which are installing rules that fit player safety standards from the start. Things such as no kickoffs and less full speed contact. Another positive for the AAF is that they actually have a health plan for the players. I think the NFL is gonna have make similar changes especially with other football leagues doing it. Granted, these leagues aren’t directly competing because they run in the spring.

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P.S Tomorrow will be Part 5 of History Less Traveled: Cold War. Check out Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4   (Click the Number!)

Hiatus Break: NFL Protests and Tax Reform

I have previous written about the original NFL protest by Colin Kaepernick. This post basically tells Kaepernick to put his money where his mouth is. He did exactly that. Now the protest has spread around the league. President Trump has tweeted, spoke and commented on the protest on multiple occasions. In apparent backlash, NFL ratings are down pretty significantly. The owners and players are seemingly at odds. (I’ll get into this more) I won’t just be talking about the NFL protest in this post. I also want to touch on tax reform which is currently the hot issue in Congress. I hold an extreme belief about taxes. I mean extreme by that its a position that isn’t possible in today’s circumstances. However, it doesn’t mean its not achievable eventually through some means. I will lay out my own set of tax reforms in the second part of this post.

I have been an NFL fan my whole life. Quite literally since I was in second grade I remember watching the Jets. I remember wearing Jets jerseys (I still have them). I absolutely love football. Although I never played in an organized manner. If I was athletically gifted I would be a Quarterback in the NFL. Generally I’m one of those people who doesn’t care to mix politics with anything but politics. So when Kaepernick started his protest I wasn’t that happy. Its not that I don’t care about the issues he is protesting or that I dislike him. Its just I watch football to watch football. I don’t care about the political leanings of the players or owners or coaches. Aside from that, they all get paid handsomely (Players) or are extremely wealthy to begin with (owners).

The problem with the protest now is that its gotten way out of control. At first it wasn’t too crazy. The craziest comes from a unlikely source in President Trump. Now Trump himself isn’t shy about creating controversy or saying incredibly inflammatory things. However, the President of the United States typically doesn’t pour gas on a fire like he did with the NFL protests. I basically have two issues here and the main issue is Trump’s position on this. Trump wants the owners and NFL to force the players to stand for the anthem. I think that many conservative thinking people probably agree. They think its disrespectful to the flag and the military. Which I don’t fully disagree.

However, the constitution has a bill of rights. In that bill of rights there is a first amendment. The first amendment is the freedom of speech. Over the years the Supreme Court has ruled that speech isn’t just talking, it can also cover symbolic speech and others. In this regard I have disagree with Trump, he or the government can’t make a law forcing them to stand. Its the players right to protest and there is nothing that Trump or the government can do. However, the NFL could do something like fire the players. But they won’t do that. Let me tell you why they won’t: Backlash would very bad for the NFL probably twice or three times as bad it is now. However, the NFL could force players to stand, its not a violation of first amendment rights. The reason is because the players represent the NFL as brand and the NFL has right to protect its brand from being unnecessarily tarnished especially by its own employees. The NFL also has a collective bargaining agreement which apparently does state that players must stand. If its true, then its over because the players agreed to that agreement and therefore would have to follow it or be fired.

In my opinion, I think that players should stand because of the ratings and money. I mean they are only affecting their own livelihood. If the owners still feeling the pinch then so will they. In the end, its better if they stand and try to protest in a different way or become an activist and use all those millions to do something about the problem. I don’t think anyone can deny that police oppression is real. However, I think the solution lies within criminal justice reform. I won’t get into this because I’m not an expert and I didn’t do any research yet. However, look out for future posts.

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Tax reform is one of my favorite topics to discuss. Its because they are a lot of solutions to a problem that seems to never go away. I think one thing that is always missing from the tax reform debate is spending reform. You might say that’s a totally different reform! But actually taxes are based projected government spending.  For example: the government spends approximately 600 to 700 billion dollars on the military each year. In order to cover that they need to raise that in taxes.

Generally the federal government’s budget is anywhere from 2 to 4 trillion dollars. It is supposed to be a certain percent of GDP or gross domestic product. (I have a post dedicated to this subject of GDP) So my ideal tax reform in a perfect world would zero taxes. You may have heard taxation is theft. If you haven’t then its pretty plain what that means. Yes the government is stealing from us. This is a very extreme way to view taxation but its not as crazy as you think.

Originally the US government didn’t really collect taxes. In fact, the US government taxed products and used tariffs up until about 1913. So our government was able to run entirely without any income tax. Income tax is now the largest category of revenue of the US government. Its also the worst way to fund the government. Income tax really sucks. There will never a true, fair way to split up the weight of paying it. Its awful. However, there is no way the government could survive with 20 trillion dollars of debt and absolutely no tax income. That insane.

My proposal is essentially this get rid of the current tax format. Install a universal basic income (See this post). Then install a flat tax starting around 15 percent. No more brackets. No more loopholes. My plan does a lot of things but the two main things is that it cuts spending and will eventually lower taxes! So with basic income it would cut out most of social welfare programs and replace it with a government check to everyone over 18 and not a criminal. This saves approximately 200 million dollars a year. Each year for about 10 years you fix or pay off the debt. Plus the 15 percent over ten years would generate enough income to really pay off the debt and run the country. After ten years you lower the tax rate to 10 percent for another 10 to 15 years. Essentially the goal is to make the government so lean that it won’t need tax money. Its definitely possible over time.

This a simplified version which I think is good start. The details and actual numbers would have to be worked out by someone in a math oriented field. I can only hope that this tax plan eventually happens. Its not a popular one because usually conservative politicians advocate flat taxes. Basic income isn’t too popular either because it sounds a little crazy. But I feel like the two very different approaches really balance each other out. Also you can’t possibly say a flat tax isn’t fair. Its fair by nature. Also it still ensures that the poor pay less and the rich pay more. Which is why I don’t understand why people don’t like it. I guess they would rather get fleeced by the current system.

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Colin Kaepernick: Oppressive Irony?

I love football. It is my favorite sport. I have been a diehard Jets fans for nearly 20 years now. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick recently made headlines for something not football related. I love football, however when a player or players bring politics into it. I have a problem. You might say why not politics in football or what’s the problem he was doing something right! To preface my take on Colin Kaepernick and his refusal to stand during the national anthem. I want to say something about the NFL and politics.

The NFL and politics have long been intertwined. The NFL is the beneficiary of politics that promote economic growth. The NFL is worth over 9 billion dollars. Local and state governments both help facilitate NFL teams and their ability to operate within their state and city. Even the federal government loves football, in the 1970s, the NFL was able to get non-profit status. Usually reserve for charities and churches, the NFL runs like any for-profit business. Under the non-profit tag, they receive huge tax breaks. The NFL with the help of the government also has a monopoly on its brand. With no anti-trust laws restricting it. So you could say the NFL has benefited politically. The way stadiums are built and teams are supported is through taxpayer money. The politics around the NFL center on economics. So why do I have a problem with Kaepernick?

My problem is that Kaepernick took political stance during an NFL game. There’s a saying that goes “don’t mix sports and politics”. The reason for this saying is that politics is real life issue and it tends to divide people and takes away from the fun of the game. If you go to an NFL game or watch it on tv then you probably aren’t interested in the political views of the players or coaches. In addition, I think it’s a little ironic that Kaepernick who has contract worth approximately 114 million dollars to trying to fight oppression. I applaud him for realizing that oppression is a real thing and that it exists. However, I find his sit down to be less effective. Sure, he has brought nationwide publicity to the issue. That’s still not enough to fix it.

Oppression or the feeling of oppression is a common thing among minorities. The best way to fight it, is by being fair to everyone. Helping people out by doing charity work or donating money. I hope the irony isn’t lost on Kaepernick that he has the ability to make real change. Many people who are oppressed are not rich. The oppressed tend to be poor because they have no influence or because of their sexuality. Typically money gives one influence, but in historical cases your skin color matters more. Rather than just sitting down in civil disobedience, Kaepernick should take it a step further. He should donate to charities that help minorities and poor people. Unfortunately for him, civil disobendience in the world of sports is looked down upon. In any other situation, that would be a noble thing to do.

I want to applaud Colin Kaepernick for his motives in sitting down. However, I think he should put his money where his butt is. (pun intended) I think that if he were to donate to charity he would see a lot more good. Standing up for people is one thing but an act of kindness is a totally different thing. Next time he feels the need to put politics into football maybe he should just do it in the offseason, less backlash for him. Just my thought.

Thanks for reading! Part 2 of my economic series is coming soon!