Site last updated: Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Log In

Reset Password
MENU
Butler County's great daily newspaper

NFL talking heads pile on disrespect for those who serve

It just won’t go away. NFL football and the disrespect of players and now announcers is in the news again.

The battle between Colin Kaepernick and the NFL has been wildly debated and is as divisive as the debate of which is more important on a PBJ sandwich, the peanut butter or the jelly.

Now a couple of pretty talking heads on Sunday Night Football on Fox Sports are dumb enough to get caught mocking the military jet flyover before the game. It seems they don’t like the fact that their employer is paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to allow and to show those flyovers.

Much worse, they politicized it by stating that — in their educated-about-sports opinions — the Kamala-Biden ticket (yes, that is the order they had the names in) would end this practice.

That might be a good thing since intelligence-challenged individuals like Troy Aikman and Joe Buck can’t seem to handle showing appropriate respect for the people who serve the country.

We were foolish enough to believe for many years that the NFL and MLB were actually honoring veterans at these games, and we were surprised the leagues charge the military instead of the other way around — “Please rise and honor the wounded veterans standing in the end zone but please hold your applause until the check clears.”

That is a despicable practice by the sports leagues but much worse when the talking heads who receive a hefty check to ramble on with facts and figures about the millionaires playing the game decide to make it their political platform.

Some fans would blurt out “stop celebrating and just do your job” when a player simply does what he gets paid to do but goes into a stupid dance or pose to bring attention to himself.

Well, our comment for Aikman and Buck is to “shut up unless you have something worthwhile to say about football.” They will probably be disciplined by the networks that pay them millions to talk but that won’t erase the shock and disappointment suffered by the military personnel who believed the league and the golden-boy announcers actually appreciated them for their service to the USA.

Next week, turn down the sound and listen to reruns from Myron Cope. On his worst day, Myron had more class than these two clowns.

— RV

More in Our Opinion

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS