Damar Hamlin, NFL, football, war

The reaction of players on the field last night when Bills player, Damar Hamlin, suffered cardiac arrest…the shock, the grief…

Maybe a few of these players will think about the NFL’s ceaseless partnership with, and promotion of, the military.

Because the military fights wars and people die. Many people. And there are questions—to understate it by a mile—about some of these wars. Afghanistan, for example.

And in war, when people die, the soldiers keep fighting. They don’t stop. They don’t temporarily postpone the battle.

Football is not like war.

So why does the NFL maintain that partnership? Why does it keep aligning itself with the Army?

Because the NFL and the Army gain prestige from each other.

That’s the important thing.

And war is far enough away to keep reality from sinking in with fans.

It’s far enough away, until one player goes down and his heart stops, in full view.

Suppose, last night, on the field, military commanders raced out and told the players to keep fighting? Told them to get back to playing the game. Told them to buckle up and climb into the trenches.

And suppose the announcers praised that action. “Well, Joe, football is war, so the game has to go on. Your comrade falls and you honor him by continuing to play. That’s what we do. We have to. We’re trying to win the war.”

And when people went crazy and started screaming in protest, the network calmly announced: “Here at ESPN we’re in lock-step with our troops. Haven’t you fans noticed it? We’re warriors. Why do you think we have fighter jets fly over the stadiums? Why do you think the coaches on the sidelines wear military camo week after week? We had to go into Iraq. We had to fight for 20 years in Afghanistan. So the game will continue after these commercial messages. Stay tuned.”

THIS is the kind thing the NFL supports:

The UK Guardian (1/9/17) (Medea Benjamin):

America dropped 26,171 bombs in 2016. What a bloody end to Obama’s reign

In 2016, US special [military] operators could be found in 70% of the world’s nations, 138 countries—a staggering jump of 130% since the days of the Bush administration.

…in 2016 alone, the Obama administration dropped at least 26,171 bombs. This means that every day last year, the US military blasted combatants or civilians overseas with 72 bombs; that’s three bombs every hour, 24 hours a day.

As drone-warrior-in-chief, he [Obama] spread the use of drones outside the declared battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, mainly to Pakistan and Yemen. Obama authorized over 10 times more drone strikes than George W Bush, and automatically painted all males of military age in these regions as combatants, making them fair game for remote controlled killing.

“But…but the NFL only supports the good wars.”

Baloney.

“But…but the NFL supports the troops, not necessarily the wars.”

Sure. Keep telling yourself that.

-- Jon Rappoport