I don't have much respect for athletes or anyone who doesn't respect the national anthem or the flag of the United States. My ancestors have fought in every single war since the revolution, fought so that everyone can live in freedom in our great nation. They put their lives at risk. Some lost their lives.
Why?
America is worth fighting for. It's worth dying for. It's the one nation on earth that overthrew its oppressors and changed the world, at a time when that looked impossible.
Do we have problems in America now? Of course. We have tons of problems. So does every country in the world.
Should we have elected Trump? I don't know.
I do know this: refusing to be respectful when the national anthem is played, refusing to honor our flag -- those are actions which are empty. Nothing is accomplished by those actions. Nobody is helped by those actions.
Here's what I want to say to Colin Kaepernick and all those athletes who take a knee rather than stand for our anthem: PUT UP OR SHUT UP.
You don't like the way things are? Change them.
Angel McCoughtry is a professional athlete. I love this story about how she opened an ice cream store in her neighborhood. She puts people to work.
What about feeding the hungry? Jason Brown was a highly paid football player and now he is a farmer.
Ex-NFL player who made $25 million quit football at age 29 to become a farmer
He is helping the hungry and making things better.
Shaquille O’Neal Raises $5.8 Million for Charity with Toys”R”Us
Shaq is making things better.
Athletes are in a unique position to use their celebrity and influence to help people. The ones who do so have my respect and admiration.
The ones who simply "take a knee" should be thankful they live in a country where it's okay to protest. We have freedom of speech. We have freedom to speak and write what we like. We have those freedoms because men and women who love America risked their lives and some DIED for them.
You may not like everything that happens in this country, but you should still respect the flag, the anthem, the office of the president. It's basic courtesy.
