Nebraska's Michael Rose-Ivey receives racial backlash for anthem protest

[Hoosker]

I don't know if this has been posted or not, but Sam McKewon's column is excellent, in my opinion.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/football/mckewon-daub-ricketts-comments-create-another-obstacle-in-nebraska-s/article_2d24119e-851e-11e6-8778-1fcbac7e1f42.html

Agreed. Sam sums it up pretty well.

Perhaps you also heard Riley use the phrase “melting pot” on Monday when describing his team. Riley meant it, but he's also more clever than you'd think.


He genuinely loves the diversity of this team, and how close the team has grown through a series of tough situations, stretching back to the death of punter Sam Foltz.
But he's also sending a subtle message to any prospect — who may wonder what Nebraska is like — that he can bring his experiences and viewpoints with him to college and find a locker room that hears him out.
For better and worse, this is an age of individualism. A kid has to feel comfortable to express himself — to be himself. Riley allowing players to kneel — and then explain at length why they did so — is a powerful recruiting tool.

 

[Mierin]

Originally, I supported the right to protest but didn't really agree with the cause. I mean, there's a bunch of racist stuff being done by cops, but there are hundreds of thousands of cops and we're only seeing a small sampling.

But the reaction to a peaceful protest, both in the comments on this board but even more so elsewhere, has revealed to me that racism is far more prevalent and deeply rooted in our society than I'd like to believe. Quite frankly, I'm saddened and appalled.

Well said. It's disgusting. I'm getting so sick of this casual/maybe subconscious racism that I'm seeing all over the place by people who think they're not racist.

 

[HuskerNation1]

Nebraska football represents the state of Nebraska. I do not care what people do in their own time. This "platform" that players think they are entitled to doesn't belong to them. These players do not speak for every person in Nebraska.

When they stand for the national anthem before football games, do they speak for every person in Nebraska as they're supposed to?

Well national pride is generally considered a good thing.

So's reflection. So's prayer. So's refusing to abide injustice.

I'm not saying they are not. Like I said the national anthem represents the good and bad, its just not the place for protest. You don't have to live in this country if you don't like it.

Would this take place on Saturday if another Sept 11 happened tomorrow? Does anyone remember what national pride felt like after that? Is that what it really takes to get it back?

Lastly, I'm still confused as to what this is achieving. Raising awareness? Raising awareness in order to what?

Did MLK sit down during the national anthem before he made a MEANINGFUL difference?

^^^^ Took the words right out of my mouth about anthem protests, I tried to say it as well as Herbie87 did and failed. Protest all you want, although I disagree with it. However, the national anthem is not the right way to protest, it is disrespectful to the people who made the country the way it is today. In the good ways of course, not the bad ways.

I agree with you too, but be careful, as you will be admonished on here for explaining your views that protesting the national anthem is disrespectful. Nobody is saying CK, MRI, and these players do not have the right to protest or take action....it's just that most people take offense to doing so in the national anthem, which does stand for all of American, but especially stands for millions of Americans that have died for this country to preserve our freedoms.

 

[GBRHouston]

Racism is definitely still a thing, and I hope it ends at some point, and we can all live our normal lives without racism. However, anthem protests will help nothing. I will get rid of BLM in my future posts because not all of the anthem protesters are driven by them, but there are much better ways to protest than the one time you should not protest. When Kaep started this whole fad, my thought was "oh great, here's another stupid thing Kaepernick is doing." I didn't completely lose respect for anthem protesters until NFL players did it on 9/11. That hardcore made me hate it. People are sayig MLK's protests were much more disruptive, but at no point were they disrespectful. I couldn't care less if people want to protest, I'm used to it by now, but show some respect for the country you live in.

 

[Mierin]

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/17655037/two-regents-gov-pete-ricketts-criticize-nebraska-cornhuskers-kneeling

MRI is meeting with the governor.

It was linked on http://collegefootballplayoff.com/

 

[HuskerNation1]

I don't know if this has been posted or not, but Sam McKewon's column is excellent, in my opinion.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/football/mckewon-daub-ricketts-comments-create-another-obstacle-in-nebraska-s/article_2d24119e-851e-11e6-8778-1fcbac7e1f42.html

Here's the thing...freedom of speech is a 2-way street. Someone earlier made a point that players should be allowed to express themselves even if it leads to divisions within the team and the program. I am all on board with freedom of speech and expression but also am on board with the criticism that follows. So if the players can voice their concerns, why isn't Ricketts allowed to voice his concern....because of the impact it may have on recruiting? I personally thought the articles was poorly written and only considered one side of the debate. Anytime a political topic is injected into a team environment, it's going to create opposing views and conflict. Ricketts did not initiate the topic but was responding to actions taken by the players. People can disagree with him just as many disagree with the players. With that said, I do hope MRI and Ricketts have a nice conversation.

 

[GBRHouston]

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/17655037/two-regents-gov-pete-ricketts-criticize-nebraska-cornhuskers-kneeling

MRI is meeting with the governor.

It was linked on http://collegefootballplayoff.com/

I'd love it if this was live streamed! That'd get higher ratings than the debate.

 

[ThroughTheseGates]

But I'm not the one taking action! BLM is taking action with the assumption that society is racist! They are the ones assuming that they are being treated unfairly because of the color of their skin. I'm simply defending against their actions with potential non-racist explanations for the results of these studies.

And regarding your judge statement bolded above: I'm not saying that judges should presume anything. The judges look into each case individually and base their punishment off of the circumstances. Do you really think a judge looks at a sheet of paper, sees "pure cocaine", and concludes that this person must be successful and have a family? That's not what I'm saying at all.

Well, again, I think this would be a great time to leave the keyboard and actually speak to someone involved with Black Lives Matter and discover their actual beliefs and motives. This caricature that they believe "society is racist" is not true, although they do see (because they've lived it) inherent biases in the system.

I know that they don't believe that all people are racist.

I know this thread is filled with a lot of noise, but Landlord of Memorial Stadium has posted several good links to information showing biases in crime and punishment against minorities.

My post that you originally responded to combated these arguments. You never actually addressed my last post that BLM are the ones doing the assuming...

It would be the most myopic of statements to assert there is no racial bias in America, in our police or in our courts. What BLM is combating are those specific biases. Making wild claims that all of BLM is saying all of America is racist is an understanding-defeating assertion. We need to move past that rhetoric and actually listen to what they're saying.

Again, give me an example where racial bias is rearing its ugly head? These cop shootings are the only things being shown to me by BLM, none of them which show any evidence of racial bias.

As humans, our brains categorize. That's what they do. They process information and categorize it based on past experiences. So when our brains see a black person with his hood up and tattoos up and down his arms, they categorize him as a potential threat until proven otherwise. But guess what? They would do the same with a white person with his hood up and tattoos up and down his arms. It just so happens to be that more of those people are black. So it's deemed racism. A similar comparison is when you see a tall person, you assume that they are more powerful than a short person, until proven otherwise. There are studies that show that our brains do this. So are you saying these perceptions come from a bad case of heightism?

And yeah, BLM can at times be their own worst enemy. Talk of "reparations" and some of their political demands are understanding-defeating assertions as well. I can only imagine the frustration they must feel living their lives and constantly hearing from White America that there isn't a racial problem in this country. If there weren't, we wouldn't be talking about it.

"If there weren't, we wouldn't be talking about it" is a terrible argument. I'm not arguing that black people aren't perceiving racism. But just because something is perceived doesn't mean it's true. I've had friends who have broke down into states of depression because they truly believe that they aren't loved. But that isn't true. It's possible to react emotionally to something that is believed to be true, but isn't.

I've seen this stuff with my own eyes. I've had Black friends nearly break down in moments of quiet conversation recounting their encounters with the police, or at the store, or in a meeting (A MEETING!). They're treated differently because of the color of their skin. It happens, it sucks, and it's something we should work against - all of us, Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, whatever.

Of course there are some racists out there. I'm sorry for any of your friends if they actually had to deal with these situations. Unfortunately, that is something in life that black people currently have to deal with. Just like short people have to deal with being biased against for being short. But these protests were born because BLM thinks that poor communities are being unfairly treated because they are predominantly black. They aren't understanding that the reason for their communities being monitored more closely is because they are causing trouble. They are murdering each other. Again, if they want to be left alone by the police, I say let's do it. Seriously, I'm all for allowing the police to get out of their hair.

 

[HuskerNation1]

Racism is definitely still a thing, and I hope it ends at some point, and we can all live our normal lives without racism. However, anthem protests will help nothing. I will get rid of BLM in my future posts because not all of the anthem protesters are driven by them, but there are much better ways to protest than the one time you should not protest. When Kaep started this whole fad, my thought was "oh great, here's another stupid thing Kaepernick is doing." I didn't completely lose respect for anthem protesters until NFL players did it on 9/11. That hardcore made me hate it. People are sayig MLK's protests were much more disruptive, but at no point were they disrespectful. I couldn't care less if people want to protest, I'm used to it by now, but show some respect for the country you live in.

I agree with you 100% here. Due to how many in law enforcement are being trashed by the progressive left, they have considered turning their backs on President Obama while in his presence, and did in fact do so with the NYC mayor when a couple of NYC police officers were killed after hateful BLM rhetoric encouraged killing cops. I'm curious how some on here would react if many police officers started turning their back on the POTUS.

 

[Landlord]

Racism is definitely still a thing... However, anthem protests will help nothing.

However, we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders. We recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized. But we are convinced that these demonstrations are unwise and untimely.

The similarity is pretty crazy, huh?

but show some respect for the country you live in.

I'm still yet to hear how praying for God's grace and mercy to fall on our country is disrespectful.

 

[RedDenver]

I don't know if this has been posted or not, but Sam McKewon's column is excellent, in my opinion.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/football/mckewon-daub-ricketts-comments-create-another-obstacle-in-nebraska-s/article_2d24119e-851e-11e6-8778-1fcbac7e1f42.html

Here's the thing...freedom of speech is a 2-way street. Someone earlier made a point that players should be allowed to express themselves even if it leads to divisions within the team and the program. I am all on board with freedom of speech and expression but also am on board with the criticism that follows. So if the players can voice their concerns, why isn't Ricketts allowed to voice his concern....because of the impact it may have on recruiting? I personally thought the articles was poorly written and only considered one side of the debate. Anytime a political topic is injected into a team environment, it's going to create opposing views and conflict. Ricketts did not initiate the topic but was responding to actions taken by the players. People can disagree with him just as many disagree with the players. With that said, I do hope MRI and Ricketts have a nice conversation.

This looks like a false narrative to me. Who is saying that Ricketts can't exercise his right to free speech? If there are people saying that, then they need to learn about the 1st Amendment.
But reacting to and criticizing Ricketts is also protected speech.

 

[HuskerNation1]

I don't know if this has been posted or not, but Sam McKewon's column is excellent, in my opinion.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/football/mckewon-daub-ricketts-comments-create-another-obstacle-in-nebraska-s/article_2d24119e-851e-11e6-8778-1fcbac7e1f42.html

Here's the thing...freedom of speech is a 2-way street. Someone earlier made a point that players should be allowed to express themselves even if it leads to divisions within the team and the program. I am all on board with freedom of speech and expression but also am on board with the criticism that follows. So if the players can voice their concerns, why isn't Ricketts allowed to voice his concern....because of the impact it may have on recruiting? I personally thought the articles was poorly written and only considered one side of the debate. Anytime a political topic is injected into a team environment, it's going to create opposing views and conflict. Ricketts did not initiate the topic but was responding to actions taken by the players. People can disagree with him just as many disagree with the players. With that said, I do hope MRI and Ricketts have a nice conversation.

This looks like a false narrative to me. Who is saying that Ricketts can't exercise his right to free speech? If there are people saying that, then they need to learn about the 1st Amendment.
But reacting to and criticizing Ricketts is also protected speech.

I completely agree...everybody has the right to speak their minds. It seems some in here though they feel strongly in the players right to speak their minds and protest the way they have are also the ones to criticize Ricketts for speaking his mind.

 

[Mierin]

I don't know if this has been posted or not, but Sam McKewon's column is excellent, in my opinion.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/football/mckewon-daub-ricketts-comments-create-another-obstacle-in-nebraska-s/article_2d24119e-851e-11e6-8778-1fcbac7e1f42.html

Here's the thing...freedom of speech is a 2-way street. Someone earlier made a point that players should be allowed to express themselves even if it leads to divisions within the team and the program. I am all on board with freedom of speech and expression but also am on board with the criticism that follows. So if the players can voice their concerns, why isn't Ricketts allowed to voice his concern....because of the impact it may have on recruiting? I personally thought the articles was poorly written and only considered one side of the debate. Anytime a political topic is injected into a team environment, it's going to create opposing views and conflict. Ricketts did not initiate the topic but was responding to actions taken by the players. People can disagree with him just as many disagree with the players. With that said, I do hope MRI and Ricketts have a nice conversation.

This looks like a false narrative to me. Who is saying that Ricketts can't exercise his right to free speech? If there are people saying that, then they need to learn about the 1st Amendment.
But reacting to and criticizing Ricketts is also protected speech.

I completely agree...everybody has the right to speak their minds. It seems some in here though they feel strongly in the players right to speak their minds and protest the way they have are also the ones to criticize Ricketts for speaking his mind.

I already said this in the other thread, but I'll do it again.

Has Ricketts been arrested? Has he come to any harm?

Anyhow, I don't see people telling Ricketts to keep his mouth shut. I see them saying what he says with his mouth is stupid.

 

[Blackshirt96]

Nothing like a bunch of white guys from Nebraska telling minorities how and when they can protest racial discrimination.

I find it funny you naturally think anyone against this is a white male. Someone should inform my parents they have been wrong this whole time. My beliefs & moral up bringing made me white.

 

[GBRHouston]

Racism is definitely still a thing... However, anthem protests will help nothing.

However, we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders. We recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized. But we are convinced that these demonstrations are unwise and untimely.

The similarity is pretty crazy, huh?

How can it be similar if nothing has really happened yet? All the anthem protests are doing is causing a bigger rift. What MLK did caused a legislative change. There are no more legislative changes to be done. All anthem protests are trying to do is change society at this point, which will only make it worse.

but show some respect for the country you live in.

I'm still yet to hear how praying for God's grace and mercy to fall on our country is disrespectful.

It is not. Kneeling down when trying to honor our fallen heroes is disrespectful.