Jesus, this is just spectacular stuff. Well said.
As interesting as Steven Seagal’s views on the recent ‘bend the knee’ protests were, there’s always room for healthy debate on any issue of this magnitude.
Given the fact that sports anchor Dale Hansen has been a regular contributor on Texas television for over three decades, he’s more than capable of providing an insightful opinion about the sociopolitical movement that’s spreading across the NFL.
Hansen, a veteran of the Vietnam War, used his most recent broadcast to speak out against President Trump by articulately and accurately explaining what these protests actually mean, why they’re important, and why every American deserves the right to protest.
Yes, that also includes the fact that President Trump’s views – and anyone that feels these NFL players are misguided – are equally as valid, but Hansen just nails the culture of hypocrisy that the US president is epitomising.
How can the one protest be good and another bad?
As you may know, these protests took root last year when former 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, refused to stand during The Star-Spangled Banner. Kaepernick felt that his actions would help draw attention to the police brutality and racial injustice that was prevalent in US society.
At a recent speech in Alabama, Trump said: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!'”
During his recent broadcast, Hansen succinctly said: “The young black athletes are not disrespecting America or the military by taking a knee during the anthem, they are respecting the best thing about America. It’s a dog whistle to the racist among us to say otherwise. They, and all of us, should protest how black Americans are treated in this country, and if you don’t think white privilege is a fact, you don’t understand America. Maybe we all need to read the Constitution again.”
Hansen adds: “It has not gone unnoticed that Trump has spoken out against the Mexicans that want to come to America for a better life, against the Muslims, and now against the Black Athlete. But he says nothing, for days, about the white men who marched under a Nazi flag in Charlottesville, except to remind us that there were good people there. And when he finally tried to say the right thing, not one of them was called a SOB, or should be fired.”
Kudos also for the excellent Chris Rock reference.
This is spectacular TV.
Clip via – WFAA
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