I Actually Found Someone Boycotting the NFL Because of National Anthem Protests

I officiated a wedding this past weekend, and maybe I'll get into the highlights of that experience later on, but ultimately, this was my biggest takeaway. I somehow found myself debating a woman about NFL players taking a knee during the National Anthem. It was both amazing and stupefying all at once.

It all started when I was actually having a pleasant conversation with some old broad that was somehow related to the bride or groom. Somehow, I mentioned that I was a Bears fan, and she asked, "Oh, are you still watching the NFL?"

The question made me pause, because why wouldn't I be watching the NFL? My second thought was, oh shit, is this lady more liberal than I am? Is she worried about the concussions and CTE that players are suffering? Maybe she's boycotting the fact that there are many players that sexually, mentally, and physically assault women. That would be another very good reason to boycott the NFL. Was it possible that this lady was more woke than I was?

I responded, "No, I'm still watching," and then she showed that she's an ignorant dumbass and said that her and her husband have stopped watching because of the flag protests. This caused a pivotal moment. I could excuse myself from the conversation and let her go on thinking that this is actually a reasonable stance, or I could stand and present what an intelligent person would reason. I knew that the former was the easy choice, but I just couldn't help myself, so I chose the latter, even though I knew that anyone with that stupid of an opinion was not going to be swayed by reason.

I never thought I would have this conversation as I generally avoid hanging in the same social circles as these folks. But just imagine this conversation in your head. It's fucking stupid, right? Well, trust me, it was even dumber in person. I'll just run through her talking points as well as my responses.

It's disrespectful to our troops.
No it's not. Since troops fight for our freedom, it is actually more respectful to kneel during the anthem as you are taking advantage of the freedom that they fought for. There are some troops that think you should stand for the national anthem; there are some who don't. Guess what? You could replace troops with literally any other occupation, and the sentence would still be accurate. It's okay to do shit that people don't agree with if you're not hurting anyone. Kneeling during the anthem doesn't hurt anyone.

They should be thankful since they are millionaires. 
They worked harder and were better than anyone else in an incredibly competitive field. They deserve their money. And I'm sure many are thankful for things, but that doesn't mean that they need to just smile and act nice because they came from little and managed to make successes of their lives. If anything, it should be the opposite.

Well, sports and politics shouldn't mix, so they should just be out there on the streets if they want to protest.
They have a platform; they are using it. This makes a far larger impact on their cause, because people are actually noticing. And more importantly, politics shouldn't be mixing with sports. The fact that conservatives are still trying to use Pat Tillman's death to prove their point is insane, because even he thought the Iraq War was bullshit, and I can just about guarantee that he would support the flag protests as he was a man who believed in freedom of speech.

They don't even know what they are protesting.
They are protesting police violence towards blacks. They definitely know what they are protesting (it was at this point that I had to refrain from calling a spade a spade and flat out calling this lady a racist).

They should actually try to do something instead of just protesting.
Uh, they are. I then gave multiple examples of players helping in their community (Michael Bennett, Marcus Peters, and yes, even Colin Kaepernick), but, of course, she didn't know any of these things, because she lives in a small bubble where it is easy to avoid the truth and only find other people that agree with your own opinion.

Well, if I had a son that came home in a box, I wouldn't want to see them kneeling.
You have boycotted the NFL, because of a hypothetical you were able to imagine. Congratulations, you played yourself.

This conversation was painfully long, but I just couldn't let someone get away with thinking this sort of bullshit was acceptable behavior. I knew I wasn't going to change her opinion, but I'm happy that I at least took a moment to call her out and make her question her idiocy. Sometimes that's good enough.