Posted on Oct 15, 2017
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GLad someone gets it!
There have been a bunch of millionaire athletes protesting the national anthem as of late across a number of sports in North America, but one athlete who made it clear he would "never" kneel may have just raised the bar for each and everyone of those athletes.
Regardless of what side of the issue you may fall on, it's clear that the national anthem protests have achieved nothing but creating more division and now rather than protest the anthem, Nashville Predators superstar P.K. Subban will be working to bridge that divide.
From the Nashville Predators official announcement:
During every Nashville Predators home game this season, Subban will host his new P.K.'s Blueline Buddies program, bringing together a member of the Metro Nashville Police Department and their guest with a mentor or representative from a local organization and an underprivileged youth.
Subban takes care of the game tickets, dinner and meets with the group prior to and after the game to lift their spirits and give them a few hours to forget about everything on the outside.
Rather than using some kind of symbolic gesture or venting his frustration in the media, Subban is letting his actions speak for him. Much like when he made a massive commitment to the Children's Hospital in Montreal, Subban is setting a high bar for other professional athletes to aspire to.
"I think it's important for athletes to set a tone in a way that we're looking to build bridges," Subban said. "That doesn't take away from anybody's right to do what they want to do or how they want to exercise their rights as an American citizen, but I think it's really important for us to be role models in terms of building bridges and being a part of the solution to social issues and different things that go on in our community."
Regardless of what team you may cheer for, it's hard not respect a man who is using his influence to try and do good in the world.
There have been a bunch of millionaire athletes protesting the national anthem as of late across a number of sports in North America, but one athlete who made it clear he would "never" kneel may have just raised the bar for each and everyone of those athletes.
Regardless of what side of the issue you may fall on, it's clear that the national anthem protests have achieved nothing but creating more division and now rather than protest the anthem, Nashville Predators superstar P.K. Subban will be working to bridge that divide.
From the Nashville Predators official announcement:
During every Nashville Predators home game this season, Subban will host his new P.K.'s Blueline Buddies program, bringing together a member of the Metro Nashville Police Department and their guest with a mentor or representative from a local organization and an underprivileged youth.
Subban takes care of the game tickets, dinner and meets with the group prior to and after the game to lift their spirits and give them a few hours to forget about everything on the outside.
Rather than using some kind of symbolic gesture or venting his frustration in the media, Subban is letting his actions speak for him. Much like when he made a massive commitment to the Children's Hospital in Montreal, Subban is setting a high bar for other professional athletes to aspire to.
"I think it's important for athletes to set a tone in a way that we're looking to build bridges," Subban said. "That doesn't take away from anybody's right to do what they want to do or how they want to exercise their rights as an American citizen, but I think it's really important for us to be role models in terms of building bridges and being a part of the solution to social issues and different things that go on in our community."
Regardless of what team you may cheer for, it's hard not respect a man who is using his influence to try and do good in the world.
Breaking: P.K. Subban sets an example for all the anthem protestors.
Posted from hockeyfeed.com
NHL
Athlete
Sports
Hockey
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 3
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A number of things come to mind because of the click-bait styled headline in use here.
As has been mentioned here already, P.K. Subban is Canadian. The NHL has not had any players do any protesting during either of the Anthems that they typically are exposed to (American and Canadian). Most players in the NHL are not American - many are Canadian and many are from European nations, so the fact that they generally stand for the American (and/or Canadian) Anthems is indeed a show of respect for those nations and their heritage/history/culture.
The biggest issue that I have with the article is that it implies that the situation discussed in the article is the exception, rather than the norm. A great many professional athletes (across most sports) do a tremendous amount of community outreach and interaction. I will say that the NHL in particular does a great job of advertising that to its fans, and the NFL, NBA, and MLB seem to do so in much smaller doses.
Many of the NFL players who are protesting during the Anthem are also heavily engaged in their communities and do a tremendous amount of outreach and charity work. The true problem is that none of that is as compelling where headlines are concerned as "NFL Linebacker arrested on suspicion of murder." The 24/7 news media has to fill airtime, and negative and scary news headlines get more attention than positive, uplifting stories which are usually tiny segments on television news or relegated to page 6 of newspapers.
I'm not taking anything away from P.K. Subban. I haven't met him personally (though I have met quite a few NHL players and other pro athletes in my time), but by all accounts, he is genuinely a stand-up guy who does indeed do a great deal for the community - as he did in Montreal when he played there. I would simply like to see the other athletes (especially those protesting) getting the same "feel good" coverage.
The NFL players certainly have a right, and some might even argue that they have a responsibility, to bring the issues of racial injustice to light, because they have a forum to do so. The questions of freedom of speech while working for a private corporation is one that many want to focus on, and I tend to think that is a legitimate argument. Let's face it, any of us here are comfortable with the notion that our employer has the right to restrict our speech and activities while we are wearing the uniforms that represent our respective employers.
I do feel that Colin Kaepernick really went about his protest in the wrong way initially, and it has now simply ballooned beyond what it was supposed to be. Let's face it, more people talk about the protests than the reason for them. That is not a sign of an effective protest to me. I think he would have been smarter to simply wear black shoes/wristbands/headband/gloves, or place a piece of black tape visible across the front/back/top of his helmet while playing.
Doing so would not have caused the disruption to the game that the kneeling has done. It would also have led to him being fined by the NFL for uniform violations. Being fined for uniform violations by the NFL is almost guaranteed to generate fan support for the player, and it also ensures that the player will be asked "why did you do it?" by the media. That would have given him and others an opportunity to truly talk about the issues. That is something that kneeling during the anthem does not provide. It simply rubs many fans the wrong way, negatively impacts the league (and their bottom line as a business entity), and creates controversy.
Imagine the discussions that would be generated by the NFL fining hundreds of players for wearing black tape on their helmets, and all of them speaking to the media about oppression while it was happening. I think it is a far more productive narrative than what we see today, but there is no going back at this point in time. What's done is done.
As has been mentioned here already, P.K. Subban is Canadian. The NHL has not had any players do any protesting during either of the Anthems that they typically are exposed to (American and Canadian). Most players in the NHL are not American - many are Canadian and many are from European nations, so the fact that they generally stand for the American (and/or Canadian) Anthems is indeed a show of respect for those nations and their heritage/history/culture.
The biggest issue that I have with the article is that it implies that the situation discussed in the article is the exception, rather than the norm. A great many professional athletes (across most sports) do a tremendous amount of community outreach and interaction. I will say that the NHL in particular does a great job of advertising that to its fans, and the NFL, NBA, and MLB seem to do so in much smaller doses.
Many of the NFL players who are protesting during the Anthem are also heavily engaged in their communities and do a tremendous amount of outreach and charity work. The true problem is that none of that is as compelling where headlines are concerned as "NFL Linebacker arrested on suspicion of murder." The 24/7 news media has to fill airtime, and negative and scary news headlines get more attention than positive, uplifting stories which are usually tiny segments on television news or relegated to page 6 of newspapers.
I'm not taking anything away from P.K. Subban. I haven't met him personally (though I have met quite a few NHL players and other pro athletes in my time), but by all accounts, he is genuinely a stand-up guy who does indeed do a great deal for the community - as he did in Montreal when he played there. I would simply like to see the other athletes (especially those protesting) getting the same "feel good" coverage.
The NFL players certainly have a right, and some might even argue that they have a responsibility, to bring the issues of racial injustice to light, because they have a forum to do so. The questions of freedom of speech while working for a private corporation is one that many want to focus on, and I tend to think that is a legitimate argument. Let's face it, any of us here are comfortable with the notion that our employer has the right to restrict our speech and activities while we are wearing the uniforms that represent our respective employers.
I do feel that Colin Kaepernick really went about his protest in the wrong way initially, and it has now simply ballooned beyond what it was supposed to be. Let's face it, more people talk about the protests than the reason for them. That is not a sign of an effective protest to me. I think he would have been smarter to simply wear black shoes/wristbands/headband/gloves, or place a piece of black tape visible across the front/back/top of his helmet while playing.
Doing so would not have caused the disruption to the game that the kneeling has done. It would also have led to him being fined by the NFL for uniform violations. Being fined for uniform violations by the NFL is almost guaranteed to generate fan support for the player, and it also ensures that the player will be asked "why did you do it?" by the media. That would have given him and others an opportunity to truly talk about the issues. That is something that kneeling during the anthem does not provide. It simply rubs many fans the wrong way, negatively impacts the league (and their bottom line as a business entity), and creates controversy.
Imagine the discussions that would be generated by the NFL fining hundreds of players for wearing black tape on their helmets, and all of them speaking to the media about oppression while it was happening. I think it is a far more productive narrative than what we see today, but there is no going back at this point in time. What's done is done.
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TSgt Joe C.: Joe, I really don't understand this kind of behavior.
I salute during the National Anthem.
-Love, Margaret
I salute during the National Anthem.
-Love, Margaret
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