So many times we are educated – and exposed – by our exercises.
What we are – more often than we care to admit – is reflected in what we do. Our most recent example from the sports realm came Monday night in Cleveland, as close to a dozen Browns knelt during the National Anthem. Among them was Seth DeValve, who became the first white NFL player to take a knee during the pregame patriotic ceremony.
DeValve, who is married to a black woman, told reporters after the game, “I myself will be raising children that don’t look like me, and I want to do my part as well to do everything I can to raise them in a better environment than we have right now. So I wanted to take the opportunity with my teammates during the anthem to pray for our country and also to draw attention to the fact that we have work to do.”
(Side question: If 12 players organized a prayer before a football game, shouldn’t the ACLU and the Freedom From Religion people being investigating? Here’s betting they skip this one, right?) Anyhoo, these protests are not new. And, they are not going away.
In fact, the numbers will grow to a place that the next barrier is which team will have more kneelers than standers? Which team will stay in the locker room as a team as a matter of protest? To be sure, the NFL, which famously charged the branches of the military a few years ago for the tickets to the game and the time before the game to “honor” our brave soldiers can hardly be too outraged by this.