To be perfectly honest, Alejandro Villanueva's explanation for being out there alone was every bit as bullshit as Tomlin suggesting that not being on the field was an apolitical statement. The whole ordeal is a shit show.
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Steelers QB Roethlisberger regrets not being on field for anthem; releases statement
- Thread starter ZeoVGM
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To be perfectly honest, Alejandro Villanueva's explanation for being out there alone was every bit as bullshit as Tomlin suggesting that not being on the field was an apolitical statement. The whole ordeal is a shit show.
Smiles and Cries
Member
the more people make a big stink about an 'anthem' the less respect I have for this tradition as a whole. IT IS the right time to protest if the ideals it stands for does not seem to reflect or match the quality of your life.
Literally has nothing to do with the post I was responded to, but thanks for chiming in.
oh sure, but it makes roethlisberger look even worse which i can get behind
You're defending a rapist because the first accusation he quoted was fishy.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
What about my 1st amendment right of freedom from criticism? I said something first, therefore you have to respect it and not respond or critique it.
Smh, people act like thoughts are like baseball. 'Ben's statement is on first so it's safe, you can't tag it out. Nuh uhhn!'
WaterAstro
Member
He should be allowed to do whatever he wants even if it is a mistake.
DietRob
i've been begging for over 5 years.
sure he's allowed. just makes him an asshole that threw his team under the bus
I definitely agree that there's certainly a tangible difference in the way that Quarterbacks and position players are treated, as well as black players from their white counterparts. And the league definitely has a fucked up moral compass for what's grounds for being blacklisted, and what isn't. But...
Warren Moon settled a sexual assault case out of court, and was accused of domestic violence - and the dude finds himself immortalized in Canton. Marvin Harrison and Ray Lewis were possibly stone cold killers, and... yeah. So these types of comparisons are difficult to make.
DragoonKain
Neighbours from Hell
As long as Ben respects the rights of his teammates to do what they want to do and doesn't tell them they can't kneel, he can believe standing for the anthem is the right thing to do if he wants. Completely entitled to his opinion. As is everyone else.
DeaconKnowledge
Member
Why are people saying fuck Tomlin? The entire team agreed to stay in the tunnel, which makes what Villanueva and Ben did subsequently a piece of shit move.
Xyrmellon
Member
Uh yeah, I'm sure the offensive lineman was totally thinking about his jersey sales and not that he's a vet.
WaterAstro
Member
Well, he definitely would look bad doing it lol!
It's a trick to make you hate BLM etc. you can't talk bad about it the troops. It's sacrilege. So they strategically attached the protests to the military. Kaep isn't remotely protesting the military at all. But you see how the narrative has changed to kneeling is punching a vet in the face
Bluecondor
Member
I agree. I am a lifelong Steeler fan, and was impressed yesterday by how Tomlin was out in front of this and making the case that the Steelers had made a team decision to sit out the anthem.
Now we have several of our players calling one another out in the media, which completely undermines Tomlin's "team decision" stance.
Really shouldn't have apologized anyways and instead they should have just let whoever wanted to stay in the locker room do so. Same for kneeling, standing, whatever.
It was unanimous?
Bluecondor
Member
I agree - and the worst part about it is that I believe that Trump did this knowing that it would work for his intended purpose. It is very clear that Trump wants to hand pick Luther Strange as the replacement for Jeff Sessions as the senator from Alabama, and that he would expect Strange to be "loyal" to him permanently moving forward. Trump's approach for doing this is to equate the support for Strange with opposing "people who talk bad about the troops".
The "Southern Strategy" that the Republican Party has employed since the days of Richard Nixon is chilling. It's basically a blueprint for how Republicans have drummed up support in the Deep South through thinly-veiled references to race.
DragoonKain
Neighbours from Hell
You don't have to be standing inches away from someone to be united. Unity can simply be having everyone respecting one another and their right to handle the situation the way they desire.
Players standing 5 feet apart instead of right next to each other, where one is standing and one is kneeling can be totally united if each respects the other individual's right to express their feelings in their own way.
Obviously, if(and I stress if because I haven't seen players criticize each other) they are criticizing each other, it doesn't seem they were that united in the first place. Villanueva was an Army Ranger, and teammates should respect his feelings and desire to stand and do what he wants during the anthem, just like he should respect his other teammates desire to do what they want. As long as everyone is on the same page, there shouldn't be a problem with team unity.
Players standing 5 feet apart instead of right next to each other, where one is standing and one is kneeling can be totally united if each respects the other individual's right to express their feelings in their own way.
Obviously, if(and I stress if because I haven't seen players criticize each other) they are criticizing each other, it doesn't seem they were that united in the first place. Villanueva was an Army Ranger, and teammates should respect his feelings and desire to stand and do what he wants during the anthem, just like he should respect his other teammates desire to do what they want. As long as everyone is on the same page, there shouldn't be a problem with team unity.
Abstrusity
Member
So, pretty much Roethlisberger in a nutshell, amirite
AngmarsKing701
Member
Fuck Tomlin because as usual his team came unprepared to fucking deal with a shitty team on the road.
The hide in the locker room bullshit didn't help.
DeaconKnowledge
Member
No. They voted. Together.
Ya I looked it up and one of the players said they were almost evenly split on whether to come out or stay in. Unless it was totally unanimous they should have just made their own choice of what to do. What a mess.
DeaconKnowledge
Member
Ben. Away game. He sucks away from Heinz.
LookAtMeGo
Member
What about those cops that didnt want to take the field or participate somewhere or some shit like that? Wasnt that patrotic of them?
Elwood Blues
Member
It's almost as if people have a problem with a holier than thou statement about how important the troops and the national anthem are to him, when the protests were never about the military to begin with, coming from a piece of shit rapist. Anybody who brings respecting the troops into this debate is deflecting. This was never about the military, Kaep made himself very clear about why he was doing what he was doing from the start.
Autoignition
Member
Hey Ben, did you have those same kind of second-guessing regrets after you raped those women?
Just curious. Pig.
Just curious. Pig.
NervousXtian
Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
Big Ben always has been a piece of shit, so no surprise here.
Also, I don't believe Villanueva's excuse.. sure buddy, a flag stopped you... yet everyone else made it to the tunnel to stand.
Own it or STFU.
Also, I don't believe Villanueva's excuse.. sure buddy, a flag stopped you... yet everyone else made it to the tunnel to stand.
Own it or STFU.
clockworkinyou
Banned
As a Pittsburgh native-
Fuck Ben
Fuck tomlin
Fuck the entire Rooney family
Fuck every single mouth breathing yinzer in the world.
Fuck Ben
Fuck tomlin
Fuck the entire Rooney family
Fuck every single mouth breathing yinzer in the world.
AngmarsKing701
Member
3 games, offense hasn't put up 30 yet. Ugh.
tycoonheart
Member
Like the Steelers need to make it any easier to hate the team.
excelsiorlef
Member
Then they shouldn't have stayed in the locker room to avoid "making a statement" and let those who wanted to kneel to kneel... which they ya know didn't
Criticism is not authoritarianism.
That's not at all what's being expressed
excelsiorlef
Member
Dp
discospider
Member
Why the fuck does everyone see the flag as a military object? That's so weird and creepy.
Brock Reiher
Banned
To be fair, his brain is probably complete mush
ModBot 3
Not a Mod, just a Bot
There's an ongoing thread on this topic, we don't need new ones for the reactions of rapists: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1437201
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