Whether they knew it or not the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans were following a plan drawn by college basketball’s greatest coach when they refused to come onto the field for the national anthem on Sunday. Nearly 50 years ago, John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, winner of 10 national championships, kept his teams in the locker room during the anthem to support his players’ stands against racial intolerance.
Wooden, who died in 2010 at the age of 99, was beloved in the sports world – heralded as a brilliant teacher. His pyramid of success, built on the concepts of faith and patience, used concepts like poise, self-control, friendship, loyalty and cooperation to build greatness. His methods are still taught in corporate America. No one would accuse the genius Wooden of showing disrespect to the flag as President Donald Trump has done to NFL players who also refused to stand for the national anthem.
But long before Colin Kaepernick, Wooden’s UCLA Bruins had a player who would not stand for the anthem. His name was Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Then college basketball’s best player and later a six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, he converted to Islam before his senior season and began sitting during the anthem much like Kaepernick has done to protest the treatment of African Americans in the US. Mindful of Abdul-Jabbar’s stand, Wooden stopped bringing the Bruins on the court for the anthem. It’s something he continued for years after Abdul-Jabbar left for the NBA.
“We were aware of (the anthem author) Francis Scott Key being racist,” Marques Johnson, a UCLA star in the mid-1970s told the Guardian last year in describing Wooden’s decision to keep them off the court. “We knew about the missing third stanza that criticizes the slaves who joined the British Army so they could be free. I think we were aware of all that.”
If the great Wooden could continue winning national titles while holding his players away from the anthem what’s to keep NFL teams from not doing the same?
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On Sunday, two days after Trump said in an address: ‘Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now,” Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll responded with a statement of his own.
“We stand for love and justice and civility,” Carroll said. “We stand for our players and their constitutional rights, just as we stand for equality for all people.”
When neither the Seahawks nor the Titans came onto the field for their game – eventually won by Tennessee – it made for a surreal sight. The stands were filled, a color guard stood at the 30-yard line but the sidelines, normally loaded with players and coaches, were empty. In some ways, it was a more effective protest than those conducted by other teams whose players linked arms with coaches, and in some cases, the club owners.
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Will other teams do what so many colleges did when Wooden kept UCLA in the locker room and follow Pittsburgh, Seattle and Tennessee in remaining in the locker room? Given the fact this weekend’s protests were the strongest yet since Kaepernick began sitting or kneeling last year, it seems likely Sunday’s stances might be the new normal in the NFL for some time.
According to the Seattle Times, the Seahawks chose to stay inside during the anthem to do something as a team after considering kneeling as a group and holding a flag at half-mast. When asked Sunday, if the Seahawks will continue their protest next week, star cornerback Richard Sherman replied: “With the president, what’s next? Your guess is as good as mine.”
But if they choose to stay off the field again renumber they are doing nothing different from the man considered to be college basketball’s best coach ever. It’s hard to imagine anyone calling John Wooden a “son of a bitch.”
Fantasy player of the week
Case Keenum. Once Teddy Bridgewater was supposed to be the future of the Minnesota Vikings. Then his gruesome injury before last season gave the opportunity to Sam Bradford who seemed he might be the quarterback to take Minnesota through the next several years. But has Case Keenum seized that role? With a knee injury keeping Bradford out for a second-straight week, Keenum tore apart Tampa Bay in a 34-17 victory completing 75 percent of his passes, throwing for 369 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. His passer rating was 142.1, which is very close to perfect.
Of course, Keenum has played some of his best games against Tampa Bay and the Bucs defense was thinned by injuries, still 369 yards is 369 yards – especially from a journeyman quarterback who has been nobody’s idea of a team’s big future.
Stat of the week
28. This is the number of passing yards Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco had in the Ravens 44-7 loss to Jacksonville. On Sunday, in London, Flacco had one of the worst games of his career completing just eight of 18 passes. He was intercepted twice and was pulled in the second half with a passer rating of just 12. Yes, 12. Flacco, who missed much of training camp with a back injury, has not been sharp this season despite the Ravens’ 2-0 record coming into Sunday.
Of course, the Ravens failure to sign Kaepernick as a backup was a significant conversation topic in August. While Kaepernick might really help Baltimore, the Ravens current backup, Ryan Mallett, played well when replacing Flacco on Sunday throwing a touchdown pass and completing 2/3 of his attempts.
Quote of the week
“Tough man, it’s a tough way to lose.” – Golden Tate
After believing he had scored a game-winning touchdown, Detroit receiver Golden Tate was left to absorb the bitter truth that an Atlanta Falcons defender had actually touched him as he fell to the ground less than a foot from the end zone with :08 left. It was a devastating end to an excellent game for the Lions who were on the verge of going 3-0. Instead, last year’s NFC champion Falcons are the ones who remain undefeated.
Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan was not particularly sharp with three interceptions, including one that went for a Detroit touchdown. But the Falcons got a huge break when replays showed Tate had not scored and because a new league rule says that if replays showed the play should not have stopped the clock officials are required to run 10 seconds off the clock, in this case, ending the game. A bitter loss for Detroit indeed.
Gif of the week
Jason McIntyre
(@jasonrmcintyre)Clowney. TD.
Mocked Gronk.
Your move, Robpic.twitter.com/d3NE7AFSMr
What fun it must be for a player to go into New England, seize on a Patriots mistake, score a touchdown and then mock Pats star Rob Gronkowski? Houston defensive end Jadeveon Clowney found a rare Tom Brady fumble flying his way in the second quarter of the Texans-Patriots game on Sunday. He caught the ball, sprinted to his left and raced into the touchdown for his first career touchdown. Thrilled to be in an end zone with the ball in his hands, especially in a game as essential as Sunday’s he couldn’t help himself and slammed the ball onto the ground in his best imitation of a Gronkowski ball spike.
Unfortunately for Houston, the Patriots got the last laugh (or spike) as Tom Brady threw the last of his five touchdown passes with 23 seconds left to give New England a come-from-behind 36-33 victory and quiet what would have been a certain chorus of “What’s wrong with the Patriots?” questions next week.
Elsewhere around the league
• Denver’s Trevor Siemian thudded back to earth after a huge game against Dallas last weekend. He was intercepted twice in the Broncos 26-16 loss at Buffalo.
• The Jets proved woeful at tanking with their 20-6 victory over Miami. Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler was intercepted once and sacked three times in his second game out of retirement.
• The Browns have picked up this year right where last season left off. They are already 0-3 after a 31-28 loss at Indianapolis. Cleveland rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer continued to show promise with two passing and one rushing touchdown but he also was intercepted three times.
• Seattle continues to struggle. This time their sputtering offense put up 433 yards but the Seahawks’ still-vaunted defense gave up 21 straight points in the third quarter in a 33-27 loss to Tennessee.
• Washington’s defense sacked Oakland quarterback Derek Carr four times and intercepted him twice in a 27-10 beating of an AFC favorite. Washington’s Kirk Cousins threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns.