NFL: Now the No Freedom League

I grew up in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before they had satellite TV. As such, on the Monday after the Super Bowl, everyone on the entire base would try to get through the day without knowing who had won the game. That night, after a tape of the game had been flown down from the U.S., we'd watch the game and be riveted to our TVs. The military TV stations weren't allowed to show private commercials, so we would all greet a Pepsi or McDonalds commercial that might slip by the censors with wondrous applause. The NFL was my passion, along with my sainted Dolphins, with Gods Bob Griese and Dan Marino at the helm.

Today, however, I doubt I'll watch another NFL game, and I most certainly won't spend a penny on NFL merchandise.

Why? It's simple. The NFL, helmed by men who are ostensibly some of the smartest businessmen in America, literally helped bring America to the brink of revolution, maybe even led the way. We're talking about Kaepernick and Black Lives Matter.

The NFL, and to a lesser degree MLB and the NBA, used to be oases from which all Americans could seek refuge from the slings and arrows of daily life. Monday at the office used to be "Did you see that catch?" or "The zebras blew another one!" Since Kaepernick started his grandstanding, however, the conversations became more about who was kneeling, what star was lecturing America about this grievance or that, and ceased to be about the excitement or pain or joy of the actual games.

In a sad irony, Charlie Daniels once wrote an anthem called "In America" where he used an NFL team to demonstrate Americans' unity.

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