WASHINGTON, DC
No player on the Super Bowl winning Eagles team roster took a knee in protest during the playing of the national anthem during the regular season, playoffs, or Super Bowl. I know this, because I’m a hardcore fan of the Philadelphia Eagles and have seen damn near every regular, pre-season, and playoff game the Eagles have been involved in for over 20 years. Myself, and those who may not be Eagles fans are not the same. But let’s say that you’re not a hardcore Eagles fan like myself, and don’t know much about this team. Let’s even go a step further and say that you’re not a fan of football at all. Never even watched a full NFL game in your life. If a person you looked to defend, no matter what crazy thing came out of their mouths, told you that Eagles players were uninvited from attending the White House because the players on the team took a knee during the national anthem, you would probably believe what that person said without needing any proof whatsoever. Those who maybe thought they were a little smarter would search for proof in an attempt to validate their hero’s words for anyone who may be a non-believer. If that person was as smart as they claimed, they would do some real research and discover that their hero was a bold-faced liar. Those who weren’t so smart would dig for proof of their point and find this:
These are a few of the first images that pop up in a search when you google “Eagles kneel.” Anybody who knows anything about football knows that these pictures don’t fit the narrative of what Trump said about Eagles players disrespecting the flag and military by kneeling during the national anthem. We all know that during the playing of the anthem, players are standing very closely together side by side. Common sense would tell you that these photos could not have been taken during the playing of the national anthem. Fox News knew this when they decided to use pictures they found in a google search to try to bring some truth to Trump’s lying words. The crazy thing is, they didn’t care. They honestly thought they were going to get away with this blatant lie. Sure, many people who buy into the Fox propaganda on a daily basis took the bait and parroted the Fox message, like Fox knew they would, but an overwhelming number of people called Fox out and called this what it was……A HIT JOB. Make no mistake about it, this was a smear job on the Philadelphia Eagles by Fox News. Why? To attempt to make the words of a liar, truth. This is what Fox News does all day every single day, and they usually get away with it.
Of course, Fox News apologized for the so-called “error” hours later, but the damage had already been done. To the brain-dead, daily, Fox News viewers, their minds were already made up that this was the absolute truth. It was what the president of the United States said and it was what their most trusted news source, Fox News said.
The apology was weak and not really sincere, and like I said, the damage had already been done. An obvious lie had been fed to a brain-dead, naive audience as truth, and they quickly ran with the lie and parroted it over and over as truth. This is a hit job. Not even a good one, but still…..a hit job. Let’s be clear. This is not about the military. This is not about the national anthem. This isn’t even really about the right to protest. This whole thing is about Donald Trump and his fragile ego. Trump, always one to look for a photo-op and an opportunity to have people publicly kiss his ass, had his feelings hurt when he discovered that not enough players on the Eagles team were showing up for his liking. Out of a team with a 53-man roster and a coaching staff in the dozens, only about 10 people confirmed they were coming to the White House. That clearly was not a big enough ass-kissing session-photo op, for Trump. So Trump canceled the whole visit. In true Trump fashion, not only did he cancel the visit, but he felt a need to make the Eagles look like the bad guys in this whole thing to his supporters. What better way to make people look like the bad guy to a base that lives for fake patriotism, division, and racial conflict than to accuse people of being disrespecting to the very thing that group claims to hold so dearly? The flag and the military. Trump even attempted to shift the narrative of the “kneeling” narrative this afternoon after Fox caught the negative feedback over their lie pushing agenda.
No player on the Philadelphia Eagles team ever stayed in the locker room during the playing of the national anthem. Of course, Eagles fans already know that. So does Fox News. So does anyone with any common sense. Donald Trump has recklessly disrespected the NFL and its players on multiple occasions. Better yet, Donald Trump has, and still continues to use the NFL and its players as whipping toys whenever he needs to find a story to take the focus off of another story. Trump and his administration claims players don’t want to come to the White House because they are un-American. No, players don’t come to the White House because you are there. YOU ARE UN-AMERICAN.
