President Trump canceled the invitation to the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles for a White House ceremony, apparently because, according to one source, no more than five players were planning to come.
Why should the players come, especially the black ones, when last fall Trump had called them sons of bitches, and as a result called their mothers bitches.
Interestingly, these two teams break along partisan political lines. The New England Patriots have extensive ties to Trump. The owner, Robert Kraft, and the quarterback, Tom Brady, are longtime friends of Trump. The coach, Bill Belichick, endorsed and supported Trump for the presidency.
On the other hand are the Eagles, a team that has several players among the leaders of the national protest actions. The Eagles, whose owner is critical of Donald Trump, are also hailed as the most socially conscious NFL franchise.
Why does Trump keep harping on the players’ protests during the national anthem, especially since no player for the Eagles knelt last year? According to some in the media, the purpose is to invigorate his base, which likes the race-baiting that Trump continues to do. His complaints about the players not honoring the flag and the military cannot be taken seriously as Trump in effect dodged the draft.
At least two issues about this fuss bother me. I do not quite understand why a team winning a national championship merits a white house visit. As I see it, it would be more logical to invite a national (United States) team that wins an international sports event.
The second issue is playing the National Anthem at a sporting event. As a youngster, I often wondered why sing or play the National Anthem at the beginning of sports events. It seemed an odd practice to my way of thinking. I thought the Anthem more appropriate at civic events, e.g., military events, government events, Fourth of July festivals and parades, and even at PTA meetings. But sporting events? I never saw a connection, even though I love sports, and was a high school and college athlete. Later I learned that like many matters in our society, a business reason influenced this practice.
For nearly a century Baseball was THE sport in America, the so-called national pastime. No wonder they played the National Anthem to kick-off the World Series during World War I and occasionally played it at holiday games. However, the Anthem was not played on a regular basis–before every game–until World War II. As many citizens and industries geared up for the WW II “War Effort,” Major League Baseball team owners wanted to continue playing (and of course making money), but they wanted to do so without being criticized for not helping the war effort. So they solicited from President Roosevelt what became known as his “Greenlight Letter” suggesting they continue the games to give Americans a way to have recreation during the difficult period of the war.
To show that they were being patriotic and supported the country while at war–while during nothing else differently—the Major League owners hit upon the idea of playing the National Anthem before each game. And the rest, as the saying goes, is history. Through the years, other sports followed baseball’s Anthem practice, and now it’s institutionalized.
As reported by sports analyst Stephen A. Smith, until 2009 NFL players did not stand for the anthem because they routinely stayed in the locker room until it was over. The NFL started having players be on the field during the anthem because “it looked more patriotic.” Business dictated this decision as well, as the U.S. Department of Defense pays the NFL to stage on-field patriotic ceremonies as part of military promotion and recruitment.
A crass business ploy is masquerading as a civic moment.