Should athletes be allowed to protest at games. If your answer is yes you want we want to hear for you. Call 2027488000. If your answer is no, athletes should not be allowed to protest, call 2027488001. Keep in mind, you can always text us your answer at and, we are always reading on social media on panwj andnd cs facebook. Com cspan. Many leagues are gearing up for a shortened or a additional season later on this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. But once again some of the same conversations about activism have cropped up. In fact, President Trump brought this up when he was asked, and he was his response. Pres. Trump if he has the playing ability. He started out great and did not end out great in terms of a player. He was terrific in his rookie year and was terrific in his second year and then something happened. His playing was not up to snuff. The answer is absolutely i would, as far as kneeling, i would like to see him get another shot. If he cannot play well i think it would be unfair. Kneeling, i do not want to kneel, i do not want to see people kneel for the National Anthem, for the American Flag. You stand, be proud, put your hand on your heart, salute if you would like to do that, you would like to show respect, there are plenty of things to protest. I was very disappointed in the nfl, and i was disappointed in u. S. Soccer. We support u. S. Soccer and now they say you can do whatever you want. We have to show respect for our flag and National Anthem. [end video clip] host that was President Trump. The first part of the question he had answered was about the fate of former nfl cordon nap colin capper nick quarterback colin capper nick who has not been in it in the nfl after beginning the kneeling movement. He was addressing whether he should get another shot at the nfl. Once again, many of the organizations have had different positions on what their players can and cannot do. Thisct, as we go through hour, we will talk about the different positions from the different professional organizations on protesting during games. But you know what, let us hear from you, let us see what people are thinking about this issue of whether athletes should be able to protest at games. Let us start with len from lynn from arizona. Good morning. Caller good morning, and thank you for taking my call. I am so offended at my president. Both of my parents are buried at Arlington National cemetery. His way toietnam, on vietnam when Martin Luther king was shot. The fact that this president , who dodged the draft claiming he had bone spurs, is weighing in and making this about the flag, Colin Kaepernick was not trying to disrespect the flag. Even asked a veteran the appropriate way to protest a serious issue, which is Police Brutality, which has been going on for years. I thank god, almost, that he is gone. Because, if he were here today, as a veteran and a colonel in the u. S. Army, he would be so devastated with desperate with what this president is doing to this country, the division he is causing. , forwhole flag narrative africanamericans, maybe the American Flag has been bittersweet. It may be has not always been that great. Fromw we come at it different perspectives, but you have to walk in the shoes of others to understand. If you continue to cause this rhetoric and division this country will not get anywhere. We need to stop all of this division and rhetoric. If the players want to kneel to bring up a worthy clause that is because that is clearly a problem, then they need to be allowed to do that. It is their First Amendment right. Host don from houston, texas. Good morning. Caller good morning. Host go ahead. Caller can you hear me . Host go ahead. Caller happy fathers day to all the fathers, stepfathers and all of them in the role. Fathers play a significant role, and we talk about the fathers of this country. Businesss it is, the of sports, we look at the professional athletes like there is some type of way of life that they should ignore. Unfortunately, many of the black american athletes come from lack of resource areas, and they make it out, and perform well. Thed, we failed to realize but we failed to realize that the change that they lead and follow. There are almost one million youth players and football. Grassroots, or even sneaker sponsored sports i nike, by nike, under armour, and adidas. Sports plays a prevalent role not for the sport of it, but the business of it. Many people have been made comfortable off of the black american calf relate. Athlete. Eyes colder . Es yes because the black man has made him comfortable. Of look at the contribution a gentleman named Frederick Mckinley jones. And hadman out of ohio many significant adventures, and the military benefited from in world war one and two. So, the contributions of the black man in sports is has been relegated to a performer. But the black man as an american and has not been recognized as an inventor and the economy. They were not an industry or a sector of the economy, they were the whole economy of this country in the very beginning. From let us go to william jacksonville, florida. Good morning. Caller good morning. How are you . Host fine, go ahead. Caller i think the thing is that we are trying to level out professional athletes to activism as where the country stands in america. I think that human beings mean more than a sports award. Ok. Ignorance,s type of in racism going on going our country and people being killed for no particular reason, i think we should all take a stand. Not just Colin Kaepernick. Because it is just truly wrong. It is indicative of a bigger issue that we have to struggle and wrestle with. Let us go to doug from san jose, california. In morning. Caller good morning, thank you for taking my call. Everybody iswhat saying about protest, everybody has a right to protest. But, if i am at work, i do not have a right to protest on somebody elses dime or time. That does not mean that athletes cannot speak up and protest on their own time, i think that they should. I think racism is obviously an issue that the country still has to deal with. But, i think it becomes a distraction when you are protesting at an athletic event. From the it distracts seriousness of the issue. Host let us make a quick differentiation between athletes protesting during the game and athletes protesting for the game. Of course, they are not competing during the National Anthem, no one has said that they are going to stop during the game and protest, everyone is talking about events that happened before the competition starts. Does that make a difference to you . Work, if you are at because if you are an athlete who is playing whatever sport, you are at work. And, the National Anthem is part of the job, and you knew that going in. Work,fore you arrive at or after you leave work, whatever your job might be, you absolutely have the right to speak your mind, to protest, to go to stand in the streets. Two, wave a sign around. To waive a sign around. Once you are at work, your employer has the right to say, look, you need to do what you need to do while you are here, once you are not at work, do what you need to do. Speak your mind. Host if their employers are fine with that, which some leagues have said they are fine with it, does that make it ok . Caller if the employer says go ahead, i am fine with that too. Host let us go to dave, from georgia. Good morning. Caller good morning. I more or less have the idea that someone before me was talking about. The only thing i would say is that the fellow on his knee, if he wants to do that, and if it is also in the rules of the league, you should observe the rules of your workplace. But also, if that man gets on the knee, or the athlete gets on their knee and does that, and i disagree or do not want to see it for whatever reason, and if i shut it off or do not support that, i am also voicing my opinion and i have a right to do that. An audience like they are trying to do, it seems like they are demanding that i have to watch that. And i think they are going to find that it will be sad when people tune them out for that very reason. Usat here is a story from today, that talks about the issue. I will read a little bit from that to find out what the nfls current stance is. The protest movement is expected to be more prevalent than ever at college and professional sports in the wake of worldwide protests against Racial Injustice and police police. Recent criticism and led torage many players saying they would protest when the nfl season began. As of now, the nfl officially prohibits player protests during the National Anthem. In response to kaepernick, the nfl changed its anthem policy in 2018 to require that all team and League Personnel shall stand and shall reflect for the fact in the anthem. Teamolicy states that the will be fine if its personnel are not standing for the anthem. If the policy remains unchanged we could see a lot of fines this fall. Let us go back to our phone lines and talk to michael from florida. Good morning. Caller no. Flag,eed to respect our and stand. They have too many other ways to protest. Good morning. Host we can hear you, go ahead. Caller you can hear me, alright. They need to stand for the flag. To flag should not be used denigrate our country for principles that they think are right, and probably are right. But there are so many other platforms that can be used to get out there point. Host there have been some in the military who have said that they think kneeling during the National Anthem is just fine. Whose opinion should we listen to . Caller nine. You go in mine. You go in knowing that you are protecting their right to free speech, but i find it disgusting. These people who are protesting using the flag to protest, how many days have they spent in the military . Probably not one. Had, what it be ok if they there are some nfl veteran players who are veterans. Caller i am not saying that there are different forms of patriotism, maybe i am. The point is our flag stands for the symbol of this country, and we have had problems since we were born in 1776 or around there. The flag has survived, and now they are using it and protest. They have before, but we have looked to the other way. And, felt discussed. Disgust. Richard fromgo to lynchburg, virginia. If they want to kneel, let them kneel. We have been mistreated. I will tell them something. Would hate teaching American History. We have been treated badly. Host let us go to tom from harrisburg, pennsylvania. Good morning. Caller thank. What kills me, is here in pennsylvania, we had to vote on whether we wanted our tax dollars to go to playgrounds and we voted it down, but the politicians filled to the stadiums anyhow. Now we have stadiums that we paid for and we have these millionaire athletes going into for these games that we cannot afford to go to. I cannot, i cannot get a ticket. They are disrespecting the flag and they think that is ok, and i think it will accomplish something. I think it is stupid. America enables you, that flag and anthem enables you to make the changes you need to make. One the one caller said, go and do something meaningful, do not say look at me and the tv is on, so i will take a knee Colin Kaepernick did. Host let us take money out of this discussion, there are the same discussions going on at the High School Level around the country. Let us take the millionaire athletes out of the country the question and talk about teenagers. Would you say the same thing for teenagers at high school, public and private . Caller i would tell my child that you can do what you want, that in my opinion, america gives you that song giving you the opportunity to make the changes that you need to make. Do not be mad at the song, be mad at the politicians that ruined the country. I would let them do whatever they wanted to do. But for professional athletes, where they are performing, i paid for that stadium and it sickens me that i cannot see i cannot own a ticket. Host when it comes to public sports, you pay for High School Stadiums as well. Caller exactly, but i can afford to go to the high school games. I cannot afford a professional game. Host let us go to linda from ohio. Good morning. Caller good morning. Just have a couple of things to say. My dad was killed in korea, and i have always felt that my dad died for liberty and freedom. Iselieve that taking a knee not a bad thing. I think it calls attention to Serious Problems that we have in thinkountry, and i cannot of the next thing i wanted to say. But i do not think it is a bad thing. , think it is a perfect right especially in this climate that we have now, that is all i have to say. Thank you. Host let us see what some of our social media follows followers think about this question. Ones a tweet from bill twitter that says, your right to protest does not end at the workplace door, protests are part of our First Amendment rights. If they annoy President Trump, his rallies and speeches annoy us. Heres a text from virginia. 1000 times yes, athletes are not slaves, and someone from a military family, anyone who is willing to stand or kneel to fight social justice has my utmost respect. As for those who say that player should take a knee on their own time, since they are doing it before the game starts, they are on their own time as far as im concerned. Heres another text that says, obviously, nobody was whining about tim protesting abortion. We have a right to peacefully protest. Athletestext that says have the right to kneel as part of the National Anthem. The Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that flag burning is part of free speech. Trump needs to start reading the constitution and not rewriting it. One more, this tweet says sports has always been political. Are because boomers uncomfortable by Police Brutality protests does not make it different from the 1960 eight olympics that we look back on with pride. Again, if you think athletes should be allowed to protest at games we want to hear from you. 2027488000. If your answer is no, 2027488001. Back to our phone lines and talk to lily calling from still silver spring, maryland. Caller good morning. Know, if you have been taught respect, and i am sure lots of people have learned that lesson. Respect, and you know that it is disrespectful. There is a place to protest. You cannot mix words with other things, you are working. , and you professional are performing your duties. You are not protesting and doing other things. It looks like they are saying these players have been made in of u. S. And have millions dollars. They should be grateful. I would like to add something else. Hispanic people are always causing problems and, why do they not give them their own land or part of the u. S. Into black and brown and let them rule themselves. This is never going to end. Host let us go to john from illinois. Good morning. Stand withsonally, i my flag and put my hand over my heart. The flag for which i stand and i place my hand over my heart, the flag in which i swore an oath to defend as a marine in vietnam is the symbol for other peoples right to protest. If they kneel to express dissatisfaction with her failure to live up failure to live up to their promise, i stand with the flag. If they wear it upside down, i stand with that too. And yes, though it offends me greatly if they burn it, i will grit my teeth and declare that my flag stands for that too. That is written by donald from evanston and in the tribune the past sunday. Anybody that disagrees with that should join one of the services so they can get a handle on what , andans to be an american stand up with the rifle and defend this land. Merybody that disagrees with godld do that very thing, bless you jesse, and most of you guys in the morning are asking too many questions from the callers. Thank you. Host let us go to vincent from tulsa, oklahoma. Good morning. Caller how are you doing . Host just fine. Caller i think they should stand up, if i was attending classes to them, i would make the motion that they ought to be praying to the flag. I do not think i want to pay the guys that neil, like some guys that i know from ou. Susan callingo to from hartsdale, new york. In morning. Thank youod morning, for taking my call. I totally feel that everyone should protest in whatever way they want. Kneeling is harmless. Everyone talks about respecting the flag, those are symbols. Right now, i have no respect for those symbols because of who is in charge of our government. We have a president who is going to tulsa today and does not give a darn about the fact that he is spreading infections because he will not give up his rallies. People complain about that they want their freedom of expression to not wear a mask if they do not want to, and that will cause other people to be sick. When someone kneels, they are not harming anybody. If they do not respect the flag and the anthem at this moment, they should be able to express themselves anyway they want. Football, not football, any sport, any occupation. Host as susan brought up, President Trump is holding a Campaign Rally tonight and told psy, oklahoma. Sincehis first event march 2. After his rallies were curbed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Keep in mind you can watch the rally live at 8 00 p. M. Eastern cspan. Org,nline at or listen live on the cspan radio app. Let us go back to social media and see what they are saying about kneeling and activism during sports. Here is a text from michael in portland, oregon that says protest at games go way back before mexico 1968 and before the germany olympics of the 40s. It is an old and venerable american tradition predating even our flag salute and pledge of allegiance. Colin did a service by bringing it to our times. Here is another text that says, it is at the discretion of their employer. If it is ok with their employer, it is fine with me. Another text says, everyone who talks about the National Anthem needs to read the origin