An open letter to Roger Goodell

Please click here and listen while you come back and read this.

Dear Roger Goodell,

Seriously, I never thought I would write an open letter to you because let’s be honest, until now, you were non-existent to me.  Not because I am not a football fan, because I am.  You were non-existent to me because, frankly, it didn’t seem to matter what I believed as you were going to do what you were going to do.

Let’s get something straight, I believe in protest.  I believe that, as Americans, if we do not agree with something we have every right to protest.  But, Mr. NFL commissioner, you have taken it too far.  Why you, do you ask? Because the football arena is your playground.  You see, I do not discriminate unless you count all people as one because I detest those chips on ones shoulders and the blame it on your neighbor attitudes. Now, do I think they have a reason to protest, I don’t know as I have never walked a day in their personal shoes.  What I do know is their protest has lost its power; its message has been lost, due to the anger of your players kneeling for our National Anthem.  I’m sure you’ve heard this before; it is the very thing they are protesting that gives them the freedom to protest, so I don’t feel the need to further discuss this, as if that isn’t reason enough for you to care about what is happening I doubt repeating it will do any good.

This is why I am upset.  We turn on the television and unless we are watching a no commercial show or we are able to fast forward through commercials we see negative everywhere.  We open up our social media accounts and there it is again, it is shoved down our throats.  For those of us who love football this was one of our escapes from the negative.  I know, you and some who are reading this are probably thinking that is why these protests are good in this arena.  They are not.  You see, we as Americans are tired.  We are tired of the Hollywood elites making us feel bad for what we believe so we quit watching their shows and movies.  We are tired of the fighting and the bickering between the left and the right so what do we do, we change our circle which does not challenge us, as Americans, but it does make our lives calmer. 

I do not live with my head in the sand, yes there is racism today.  Yes, there is discrimination today.  But, let me tell you why, not doing something about it is not just hurting football as a whole, but you are hurting the very reason they are protesting.  Their message is to reach those who are racist and those who discriminate.  Guess what?  Those people have long turned off football because they are not showing respect for our Country.  Guess what?  You are fanning the fire by not telling them that it is us, all of us; whether we are racist or not, whether we discriminate or not, that are not watching football games so the only people who are seeing their message…well, they are the ones who don’t need to see it.

I have never believed in the concept of the customer is always right because, truth be told, there are some crazy SOB’s out there.  But in case you have forgotten, there would not be football without us, as a whole.  If we don’t watch you don’t have advertisers.  If you don’t have advertisers guess what happens, you, and all of those protesting are out of a job, not to mention those football players who choose to stand for our National Anthem and still support the reason behind the protest.  

You will determine how this ends.  You spent last year angering a lot of people and that cost you ratings but you chalked that up to the election.  What will be the reason for a greater drop in ratings this year?  It is not too late to remove politics from your playground.   Find a way to support them when they are out of their uniform but I don’t think you will do that.  Here’s why.  You really don’t care about football, do you?  If you did, you would care about it as a whole instead of burying your head in one. 

Americans sent a clear message when they voted Donald Trump for President.  They are not the loudest, they are not the ones out saying "look at us."  They are the quiet, silent ones who are fed up. They are the ones who sit back and watch, maybe supporting the message behind the protest but disagree with how it's being spoken. They will be the ones who quietly turn off their televisions, they will quietly find something else to watch, they will quit buying what your advertisers are selling, they are the ones who will decide your fate.  

Tomorrow marks 16 years since the attack on our Country.  We need more people to take a stand not a knee.  

Rhonda Sposato

http://freedomdaily.com/nfl-commissioner-just-made-shocking-announcement-every-player-protested-anthem-week/