He Whose Name I Shall Not Speak ( Or Write )

The QB-Whose-Name-I-Will-Not-Speak: In these United States we have a Constitution which guarantees many rights; those who exercise some of those rights may not be ones we agree with, but I will defend those rights because they are included in our Constitution. That being said, a now-third string, over-rated, overpaid professional sports athlete made a decision to sit during our National Anthem prior to a preseason game, causing much furor and gnashing-of-teeth. He said he did so because he was "...standing up for oppressed minorities..." in America.

To borrow a rap-world term ( which I shal never, ever do again ), the third-stringer has no street cred.

Here is a man who is biracial, adopted by white affluent parents and raised as their own, wanting for nothing. His adopted father, Richard, is VP of Operations for a major dairy manufacturer. 3rd-stringer, to his credit, did actually graduate with a degree from his university but obtains his millions-per-year playing a sport which has nothing to do with that degree. How many underprivileged students...black, white, Asian, Hispanic...can't afford to go to college because they're not athletes, are denied the opportunity of higher education because their families are less-than-blue-collar income earners...if they even earn at all? Dining for generation upon generation upon the National Breast is another topic for another time.

Third-stringer knows nothing of national service, honor earned on an actual battlefield or sacrifice for country, the very things which our National Anthem's words embody. Those that have made the Ultimate Sacrifice did so to preserve this nation...AND its Constitution. Does he have the right to sit? Yes. Do the vast majority of Americans agree with 3rd-stringer's decision? NO.

And the very word 'oppressed'? I suggest 3rd-stringer travel to places like North Korea, Iran, Communist China and Africa or live among the populace of those poor Christians trapped in Islamic State-controlled areas. Then, and only then, might he have some actual understanding of the word...if he survived.

The sad things here are: because of his actions, third-stringer's team and team mates will suffer. They will be hated, ridiculed and derided on a national level because of one player. Millions across the sports world will hope his team loses all sixteen games. ( No, 3rd-stringer does not play for the Browns ). Also, was this 'oppressed minorities' topic the actual driving force behind a decision that third-man-on-the-depth-chart made....or does he realize that he is becoming irrelevant in the world of professional football and, by immersing himself in controversy, people would take note of him again? I mean, even the Browns had a chance to pick him up during the off-season; how badly does that make him feel being rejected by Cleveland, a word in the Native American world that stands for 'place where quarterbacks go to die without honor'?

Patriots stand up for and defend their country....not sit during the playing of the National Anthem. Third-stringer's name should never be mentioned in the same breath as 'patriot'.

Ever.