The Brown and Orange in the Red, White and Blue

I bleed brown and orange. I grew up on guys like Eric Metcalf, Kevin Mack, Ernest Byner, Webster Slaughter, Michael Dean Perry and Bernie Kosar, just to name a few. I stayed loyal through The Fumble and Red Right 88. I loved them with their 2016 record of 1 and 15. Every Sunday, I hope and I pray and then I cry and then I say, “See you next Sunday,” because they are my team. They are my Browns. Nobody could turn me away. Nothing could shake my resolve. That is, until now.

This past week, twelve of the Browns players knelt during the National Anthem. The National Anthem! Why? Jabrill Peppers, Brown’s safety, is being quoted as saying “There’s a lot of social and racial injustices going on in the world right now. We were just praying for everyone.” During the National Anthem? Can God not hear you before the game in the locker room? If what you want is the attention, would He not hear you right after the National Anthem? And racial injustice? Isn’t football the great equalizer? As Anquan Boldin just said in his retirement statement, “People from all different races, religions and backgrounds working together for one shared goal.” Shouldn’t this be the time we stand side by side not caring about the color of someone’s skin but the color of their jersey?

There are several things I see wrong here. One, in what world is it okay to go to your job and use that as a forum for your personal views? I’m a teacher. I’d be fired on the spot if I went into school and started spouting off my opinions on the world. It’s not the time or the place. When fans come out to see you, it’s to watch you play football. That’s your job. That’s your paycheck. It’s not your platform. You are the entertainment that lets us escape the world for a while. I didn’t pay to watch you protest. I came to watch you play the game!

Second, the disrespect that you are showing to the country that gives you the right to your freedom of speech and expression is sickening. Men and women of all colors have died for this country and you repay them by purposely dishonoring it for your own agenda? What is your actual problem with the National Anthem? Is it “the land of the free” or “the home of the brave” that upsets you? You don’t like what the flag stands for? Which part? Is it the “liberty and justice for all” or was it the “indivisible”? You are protesting the divide while creating more. I don’t see anything offensive in that song or in that flag, so what are you really doing by kneeling during the National Anthem?

Third, you are role models for so many young people. What are you teaching them? To stand up for what you believe in? No! You are teaching them to bow down in conformity. You are the heroes of the next generation not because of your political prowess but because of your athletic abilities. You are amazing athletes. You are amazing people! Do what you’re good at and leave the rest for a more appropriate time: say, those ESPN interviews or one of the numerous fundraisers you guys do. It’s not that I don’t want to hear what you have to say or believe in your cause, because I do, but you’re football players at a football game. We come to watch you play!

I have loved my Brownies for as long as I can remember and I would have thought nothing could pull me away, but I will not support a team of self-centered, self-important, disgraceful children who have mistaken their athletic abilities for political greatness.

To the players, I have a challenge for you. Stand up. Stand up for your country. Stand up for your flag. Stand up for the National Anthem. Bowing down because you’re sad isn’t the American way. Stand up for what you believe in. Stand up and make your voice heard if you have something to say. STAND UP!! Nobody hears you if you’re talking to the ground.

For the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Haslam, I urge you to stand up as well. Do not cave in to the pressure of the misinformed few who are ruining such a beautiful game. Contracts need to be signed. There’s nothing saying “standing up during the National Anthem” can’t be added in as a requirement.

As of right now, I am resigning from being a Browns fan. I’m sorry to all of you Browns who really were the great of the great and even those that weren’t but played in the spirit of the game. You are beautiful and you are my generation’s heroes. I love football, but I guess I’m looking for a new team. Thank you, new Browns, for helping me see that what I truly bleed is red, white and blue.