Reader Submitted
The commissioner of the NFL wants respect for teams and players in his organization which he states provides great value to our nation. How? The team owners and coaches want unity among their team members allowing them to protest inequality and oppression. When one man leaves the pack of millionaire zombies to honor his country, he is ostracized. They complain that such behavior undermines the unity of a 50-man team that plays a game on Sunday and has no impact on the condition of the country or the world. What professional sporting event has ever advanced the cause of liberty or quality of life in the world?
My team has more than 40 members. Our fist engagement was at Concord Bridge on April 19, 1775. They drove the oppressors from this land. Then in 1812 they took on the British invaders and secured this nation. Since that time and continuing up to now, our military forces have liberated oppressed people around the world.
Of our numbers, more than 1.2 million Americans have made the supreme sacrifice to keep our flag flying. Has my team made an impact on the quality of life in the world? You bet it has. Ask a Holocaust survivor, ask a Korean, a Filipino or the many others we have liberated from concentration camps and forced labor.
It is a slap in the face to every American serviceman, whether living or dead, when these arrogant, self-centered, overpaid professional athletes disrespect our flag and our country.
Members of my team do kneel. But, they kneel in reverence before our God, the power that has made and preserved our nation. Big difference.
For God and country.
Richard A. Pender
Senior Vice Commander
American Legion Post 459
North Brunswick
