Kansas City Chiefs cornerback and protestor-in residence Marcus Peters wants to have it out with President Donald Trump.
Trump began the conversation early Monday morning, tweeting, “Marshawn Lynch of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders stands for the Mexican Anthem and sits down to boos for our National Anthem. Great disrespect! Next time NFL should suspend him for remainder of season. Attendance and ratings way down.”
Peters responded to the president by tweet in his distinctive patois, “Was going on big dog I know we got a lot that needs to be talk about how about we set up a (sit) down with you,me,@MoneyLynch and more and we talk about some (stuff).” “MoneyLynch” is the Twitter handle for Marshawn Lynch, Peters’s putative mentor.
Peters learned his grammar courtesy of the University of Washington from whose football team he was dismissed in his junior year after having been suspended earlier for a “sideline tantrum.” Said coach Chris Petersen at the time, “I wish Marcus the best in the completion of his education and in achieving his football goals.”
As Peters has proved in Kansas City, you don’t need much of an education to have your protests taken seriously by an indulgent media. You don’t even have to know what exactly you are protesting. As Peters told the Star earlier this year, “Nobody’s gotta know my reason why I sit. Nobody’s gotta know the reason why somebody chooses the religion they choose. Nobody’s gotta know why I eat cereal instead of eating oatmeal in the morning.”
To win the good graces of the Kansas City Star all that Peters or any protestor had to do was defy the president. The Star article on Peters’s empty-headed challenge is a classic in loaded journalism.
The article is headed by an unflattering photo of Trump at his angriest. The photo is captioned, “Trump says any NFL player who sits during the anthem is a ‘son of a bitch’ and should be fired.” Immediately under the photo the reader learns that Colin Kaepernick’s mom and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell thought Trump’s comment was “divisive.” This is all prelude to the kid gloves coverage of Peters.
If Peters wants to sit down with someone to talk about inequality and police brutality, we recommend he start with former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. Wilson’s career was destroyed and life repeatedly threatened for doing his dangerous job more competently than Peters does his at a fraction of the salary and with a whole lot less whining.