The National Anthem. Female i was so inspired by what i saw that i decided to jump in and join in. Female regardless of what you stand for, i think you should stand for your country. Male just dont make it a sunday afternoon demonstration. Theres much more to this program than being out there on a sunday afternoon. What are you doing monday, what are you doing wednesday to help out the program that you are advocating . Rosemary plenty of people talking about this. Good morning. Im Rosemary Connors for nbc10 issue. That was just some of the local reaction after many nfl players protested before last sundays games. The display on the field followed President Trumps call to fire the players who take a knee during the starspangled banner. Last week entire teams, including the eagles, locked arms during the National Anthem. The steelers stayed off the field all together. Others took a knee or raised their fists. Earlier this week, eagles safety, Malcolm Jenkins, told cnn he believes the protest will continue today. Malcolm jenkins well, i think players will continue to do it because, you know, one thing i hear a lot from fans is, you know, find a better way to do it, and not ask rosemary this week, President Trump continued to doubledown on his comments, recently saying that nfl owners are, quote, afraid of their players. The president insists its all about respecting the flag and our country. Joining in the conversation are former eagle and nbc sports philadelphia analyst, barrett brooks, and eagles insider, dave spadaro. Thank you guys for being with us. Both thank you. Rosemary so barrett, ill start with you. Today at 1 oclock when half the team in the nfls take the field, what are we gonna see . Barrett brooks i think were gonna see much the same thing we saw last week. Playerthis is not an issue in which players are just gonna leave it alone. When kaepernick started this, it started to evolve. People are not comfortable right now. Since theyre not comfortable, it couldi dont want it to fade away later on, you know, he is not in the league right now. But now President Trump has put us in the position now, all right, now we can use this social platform again to talk about the social injustice. So it just happens that it wanted to die down, but the president ramped it up. Dave spadaro and thats the interesting part about it because the controversy has seemed to morph into a lacking respect for the country and the flag. And thats not the origin of what Colin Kaepernick and eric reid. Theres a really fine piece, an oped piece, written this week by eric reid in the New York Times that it was based on social injustices. There was a murder that hit close to eric reids home and his heart, in louisiana. And so he felt the need to havejoin Colin Kaepernick against Police Brutality and social injustice, not the American Flag. Not what america stands for. And somehow, it has morphed into the inaccurate portrayal of what thisthese protests, silent protests, are all about. Barrett absolutely. Rosemary well, and that is how the president and some of his supporters are viewing this demonstration and certainly theyve been speaking out on it. Lets take a listen. President trump you cannot have people disrespecting our National Anthem, our flag, or our country and thats what theyre doing. Female i personally believe, like, this protest that theyre having, so, you know, so to speak, is not one that you should be having against the flag, against the and against the National Anthem. Rosemary so, as you heard, theyre saying this is against the flag. Its against the National Anthem. But dave its not. Theyits not. That is not the intent of these very peaceful, wellthoughtout, and i think Malcolm Jenkins explained it earlier, you know, very provocative moments. I mean, this is not about we dont love america. We dont support america. The players are saying, we stand united in the cause against social injustice. And thats the fact. So those who are betraying it in another light, i cant speak to why theyre doing that, but theyre inaccurate. Rosemary some say its about race and, in fact, we got a bit of that as we talked to people onduring last weeks eagles game so were gonna take a quick listen, then well get to that. Melissa robinson we knew his history of White Supremacy but after he took office, he then came for the mexicans. He then came for the muslims. He then came for the daca students. Now hes going after black athletes. President trump this has nothing to do with race. Ive never said anything about race. This has nothing to do with race or anything else. This has to do with respect for our country and respect for our flag. Rosemary is this one big target on race . Barrett you know, i dont think its one big target on a race. The issue is racially motivated in the aspect that, you know, im from st. Louis and, being from st. Louis, i used to have to walk through ferguson to go to basketball practice. Im 12 years old. Rosemary ferguson, missouri, where all of the protests broke out following the barrett exactly. So im walking to practice, 12 years old. Theres 6 of us, 7 oclock in the morning, walking to practice. My parents couldnt afford to take me to practice, they didnt have a car. So im walking to practice. As im walking to practice, we get pulled over. And probably about 60 yards in front of me, theres some beer cans, some beer bottles, that were walking towards. We get arrested forsaying we were the ones drinking that. It was social profiling back then and we got arrested. Although its expunged from our record, that could have really hurt me in the aspect it could have ruined my career. Here i am, playing in the nfl, now i work for nbc. It could have erased a lot of that, because that could have been on my record. Thats something that, you know, that President Trump cant see. He cant see anything past being in trump towers or trump whatever. He doesnt see that. He doesnt vibe with the regular person, you know . He doesnt vibe with people that have to go through these social injustices. So i think he needs to have more attentive ear on what were talking about as far as why theyre protesting, as opposed to just pointing fingers. Rosemary do you think its aan easy way to describe whats happening, that it barrett there cant be an easy way because its not an easy issue. Somebody has to be uncomfortable for change to happen. These players have made themselves very uncomfortable because they understand the social injustices are going on right now. So theyre uncomfortable. Theyre trying to make others uncomfortable so they can see and change things. Theres nothing gonna happen if you protest in a closet, nobody sees it. You have to use the platform that you have in order to get people to hear and listen to the things that you go through every day. Hes not looking out thePresident Trump is not looking out the same window as my people are looking through. Dave and id like to actually hear a dialog or see some statistics, has it worked . Has there been more awareness to social injustice . Has Police Brutality, the number of cases dropped . How effective has this been . Its certainly been effective to the point where everybodys talking about it. Everybody has a reaction. But the intent was to cause change. So id like to have an intelligent dialog somewhere that has that conversation. Has it madehas it changed . Please, i hope it has. I hope it has been addressed properly within Police Departments and, look, we all support the police. We believe in a structured environment, a lawful environment, but thereand so this hasthe good news is in this conversation were talking about social injustice, racial equality, not the idea of the flag being disrespected. Barrett yeah, yeah, our country is one thats were afforded this opportunity to really go out and show, yes, you know, we can do this. This is a part of our rights to be able to protest peacefully. Thats a part of our rights. For the president to say that, you know, that you cant do that, thats against the law. Its really against the law. Dave those who packed lincoln financial field last sunday and who were part of the pregame festivities, including the flyover, the salute to the military which is very important to the Philadelphia Eagles and to the nfl, who were there for the National Anthem, and then who witnessed a game that this was emotional incredible ending game, they left feeling good about being there. So, to me, that was the story. Rosemary and arguably, being american . Dave and being american and having the opportunity to witness such a grand event next to people of all socio and economic levels and race and gender and being arm in arm in rooting for one thing, the Philadelphia Eagles to winning. Its entertainment so, you know, for the players, i give them kudos for following the lead of Colin Kaepernick and eric reid in San Francisco and for doing it peacefully and for doing it intelligently and for furthering the dialog that is now being lost in all the conversation, the inaccurate portrayal of why this movement was started. It is not to discredit the flag or show a lack of respect to america. It is to address the idea of racial inequality and Police Brutality. Rosemary final thought there are certainly people out there and weve heard some of that sound earlier in this interview from people who do see it that way. They see it as a sign of disrespect. Is this going to hurt the nfl moving forward . Dave could it hurt the league . Certainly. Anything canweve seen things snowball in this country, but i believe that at the end of the day everybody will be rational about it, intelligent about it, and support the idea of freedom of speech. Rosemary barrett, last word . Barrett i will say this. Im gonna respect everybodys opinion on what they have to do but i dont think its gonna hurt players, i dont think its gonna hurt the nfl. Showing that this is a bridge that bridges people together. Thats what the nfl is used for. Its what sports is used for. And hopeful we get people on the same page as us to try to address these social issues that, even though you might not be experiencing them, there are people experiencing these social injustices. So thats what were trying to get people to understand. Rosemary like they may not have been walking to practice that day through ferguson. Barrett exactly. At 12 years old and going to aau practice and having to deal with those types of issues. Dave well, if there are people who deny that theres racism or social injustice out there, thats a whole different conversation. Rosemary it is, and a Big Conversation that were gonna continue to have here on nbc10. Barrett brooks and dave spadaro, thank you so much for being with us and for your insight. Dave thanks, rosemary. Rosemary next on nbc10 issue well tell you how this disturbing salute is linked to the pledge of allegiance. That and other facts about honoring the flag that may surprise you. Rosemary with so much attention on the way we honor the flag, we decided to ask a local historian for some background on the pledge of allegiance. For example, did you know that the pledge was written to honor christopher columbuss arrival to north america . Joining me now is historian, dr. Lee arnold. Hes the senior director and chief operating officer of the library and collections for the Historical Society of pennsylvania. Dr. Arnold, thanks for being with us. Lee arnold glad to be here. Thank you. Rosemary so first, lets begin with a big surprise for a lot of people. The original way we saluted the flag. Lee right, so as you mentioned, that the way we saluted the flag was a very common way in the late 1800s, early 1900s, which unfortunately, people refer to as the nazi salute. But it was the way everyone saluted the flag. It was a very proper way to do it with your hand upright. But then, of course, the nazis, when they came to power, they also used that gesture and then it suddenly became something you didnt want to emulate a nazi. And so in 1942 the government created whats called the flag code, which is the way that they suggest that you salute the flag which is your hand over your heart, not up in the air like a nazi. Rosemary and you mentioned the flag code. There are some rules, so to speak. Not binding rules but strong suggestions in terms of honoring the flag. Well get to that in a moment. In terms of the pledge of allegiance, it was written in the first place as a Marketing Tool to sell flags. Lee yes, you wanted the pledge of allegiance in orderit wasyou said, it was started around the time of the worlds fair in chicago and the 400th anniversary of columbuss discovering america and it was really meant a way to have immigrants become more patriotic. And so thats one of the things they did to reallyit was an immigrant assimilation tool. And it progressed. It changed over the years and our latest version was really adopted in 1954 with the word under god. Before that, that word was not in the wording. Rosemary in terms of the starspangled banner, which is prompting this conversation this morning. Its interesting, i know this through family lore, from my grandmother who was a High School Sports reporter for the philly inquirer, that really its saying that thesinging the starspangled banner was something that was done at sporting events during the wartime, during wartime. Lee it absolutely was because it wasntand, of course, the starspangled banner, the words were written in 1814 but it wasnt adopted as the National Anthem until 1931. And then having it being popularized at sporting events is that, youre right, it really was sort of as a way of patriotism. Rosemary so in terms of this code, as we mentioned, what are the rules about the pledge . Must we say it . Lee right, so the pledge itself, you have the two rules with the flag code. One is about the flag itself, which is really very interesting. And then also about the pledge. And it says, really, you dont have to do, say, anything in the sense of there is no rules for not saying the pledge of allegiance or for sitting or kneeling or anything like that. Its just suggested. But really, what youre doing is youre making sure that your hand is placed over your heart and things like that in order just to really have it be a bit more uniform. But there isnt any things. But theres a lot of rules for the flag itself, about that. Its not to besupposed to be used for any kind of advertising at all. Its not supposed to be on athletic wear. Rosemary which we have seen. Lee absolutely. Its not supposed to be on a Cardboard Box or embroidered on a pillow or a cushion. Rosemary weve seen both. Lee thats right. And what i find is sort of interesting about both the National Anthem and about saying the pledge and the flag, is that people, unfortunately, during this controversial time, are so upset about these players doing one thing yet they turn a blind eye to all the other things that the code actually says you shouldnt be doing. I remember i was at the state fair in wisconsin once and the band started to play america the beautiful and people were standing up and putting their hand over their heart. And i thought, oh my god, if youre so patriotic, how do you know that america the beautiful is not the National Anthem, you know . If you really claim to be patriotic, you should know these things, right . So people have sort of selective memory or selective enforcement of what they consider patriotism. Rosemary well, and technically, in terms of the code, you cant display a flag on the ground which we see frequently at sporting events as large American Flags are unfurled before the fans. Lee thats right, definitely. Or even if you see after, like, often a track and field runner after they win, like at the olympics, they will drape their shoulders with the American Flag and maybe run around a bit. Youre not supposed to do that either. Its not supposed to be used as drapery or any kind of apparel. And yet everyone thinks thats okay and thats patriotic. But simply kneeling during the showing of the flag or the National Anthem, somehow they think thats unpatriotic. There are other things going on there that i think this country needs to grapple with. Rosemary i may be putting you on the spot here. Is there any other time in our countrys history that you can think of where there has been some kind of a controversy related to the pledge of allegiance or the starspangled banner . Lee right, well, certainly during the 1960s at the olympics in mexico city when the people looking for, you know, black empowerment held up their fist whileafter when they were awarded their medals ceremony. That certainly was a time. And then, of course, during the vietnam war you had people burning the flag and ripping up their draft cards. The only penalty that the flag code outlines from 1942 is if you deface or mutilate a flag. Nothing about saying the allegiance or standing up or hand over their heart. But even that has been overturned by the Supreme Court as being unconstitutional. So even though its in the flag code, its not enforced because the Supreme Court said that its a form of free speech. Rosemary one last thought. Religious organizations that dont say the pledge, even religious organizations that have some of their roots in philadelphia. Lee absolutely. Well, certainly, the jehovahs witnesses will not say a pledge. I remember growing up in grade school and wed have to stand up and say the pledge of allegiance and i always remembered one student just stood up and just had his hands to his side and didnt say anything, and i thought, oh. And someone told me, hes a jehovahs witness. There were other religious groups such as quakers where they dont take an oath. So theybecause they believe thats sort of against their religion as well. So there are some fine lines between religious organizations that think that, you know, being forced to make some sort of commitment like this really is against their faith. And of course, agnostics and humanists actually dont like saying the pledge of allegiance because of it saying, under god. Rosemary and sort of the opposite, for quakers, the idea that maybe youre putting your country before your god. Lee well, absolutely, absolutely. And i think thats one of the reasons that the jehovahs witnesses dont do that either. And, you know, and we need to be respectful of that. And then you can think, well, if thats okay, right, cause you say, okay, well, thats your belief, then why isnt it not okay to do something else, or another form of thing. Rosemary its an ongoing conversation. It is. Historian, dr. Lee arnold, thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate it. Lee thank you. Pleasure to be here. Rosemary coming up next, its hard for some to imagine tackling an eagles game without tailgating but if you tailgate in a cityowned lot, you are breaking the law. Next, meet the man who wants to bench that law and other outofdate rules in philly. After 8 years of chris christie, is kim guadagno the change new jersey really needs . Guadagno is christies handpicked successor. Says shes proud to be part of the christie administration. Guadagno was Chris Christies right hand as our schools came under attack, Critical Services were underfunded, and our Credit Rating was downgraded. 11 times. From the bridge to the beach, weve seen it all, and weve had enough. Kim guadagno isnt the change we need. Kim guadagno isnt rosemary tailgating in cityowned parking lots, a ban on the sale of pagers to minors, and a requirement that couples see a doctor before they marry. They are all laws on the books right now in philadelphia. A city councilman says, its time to get rid of them. Joining me now is philadelphia councilman at large, derek green. Thanks so much for being with us, councilman green. Derek green no problem. Thank you for the opportunity. Rosemary so outofdate . Fair way to describe these rules on the books in philly . Derek yeah, these are some bills that we have on the books, that weve had for a number of years and in march of this year, we formed a special committee for Regulatory Reform and review, really trying to encourage and promote the Business Climate in the city of philadelphia. But also look at legislation that we have in a code. It might soundi know it sounds crazy that you have legislators trying to take legislation out of the code but really what were trying to do is help the Business Climate in the city of philadelphia and get rid of legislation that is really not effectual anymore. Rosemary a lot happening for the city of philadelphia. In fact, just a few days ago, a delegation, so to speak, from the city left for seattle to make their pitch to amazon, come here. Derek absolutely. I think philadelphias very primed to be the hq2 for amazon. Rosemary im assuming that wasthat pun was on purpose. Derek absolutely. In fact, we do a weekly call to kind of give a status update for City Council Members and other city officials to talk about the progress were making on the amazon proposal. The proposals due october 19 and i think were really primed. And the fact that members of the City Administration are going to seattle to let them know were very interested in amazon coming to the city of philadelphia and let them know all the great benefits that we have here in the city. Rosemary this ties in to your push about making it a businessfriendly place to be. Derek absolutely. And having both the private sector, the public sector, a lot of different institutions, developers, all coming together to really push to amazon and let them know that philadelphia is open for business. Rosemary im not sure if you can reveal any of the specific details but a lot of people are talking, okay, where would you put a 5 billion facility that would house 50,000 employees . Derek well, the three main locations were looking at the navy yard and the navy yard has 1100 square feet. And we also have ucity square which is a new development being developed by the science center. And we also have schuylkill yards which is also right in the 30th street area which provides great opportunities, tax benefits, and a great opportunity for amazon to come to philadelphia and grow and help the city grow as well. Rosemary one of the stipulations for amazon was also access to Public Transportation for all of these potential employees to be able to get to and from the facility. Derek absolutely, if you look at the navy yards, its not that far from the broad street line by the sports complex. Both schuylkill yards and ucity square are also right by 30th street, so its easy access to 30th street station, amtrak, and not far from the airport as well. Rosemary city councilman at large, derek green, thanks so much for coming in. Appreciate it. Announcer this is nbc10 issue. news facing an epidemic fueled by opioid painkillers. Vanessa we want you to know that recovery from addiction is possible, but you need to know the signs. They can be hard to spot social withdrawal, financial problems, irritability. Christie if you see these signs occurring together or suddenly, you may have cause for concern. The signs you spot today. Vanessa . Could save a loved one tomorrow. Christie call 844 reach nj or visit reachnj. Gov. Rosemary thats it for this edition of nbc10 issue. Thanks for joining us. Have a great sunday. Go eagles. Nbc sports, home of the olympic games, the fedex cup playoffs, premier league, the nascar playoffs, prime times number one show, sunday night football and super bowl 52, on nbc. Welcome to the u. S. Bank nbc sports report. What a day, just across the hudson from manhattan in jersey city, u. S. , on the verge of a historic win over the international team. 12 singles matches straight ahead here at the president s cup. Hi again everyone. Jimmy roberts from liberty national, well get you right out to the course in a moment