September 26, 2017
Mr. Goodell:
It seems you have quite the problem on your hands given the now widespread habit of players not respecting the American flag or the national anthem at the start of NFL games this season. No doubt you know that this behavior has caused quite the discontent among your fan base as many in this country interpret the player's’ behavior as disrespecting the brave armed forces and police forces that protect our country and safeguard our towns, streets, and families.
I am assuming that you are also aware that the players’ behavior is resulting in formal and informal efforts getting underway to boycott NFL games, sales, and sponsors. Yes, you have quite the quandary to dig out from if the NFL and the NFL revenue stream is to be protected.
To be honest with you upfront, I too have a serious problem with both the players’ behavior and your behavior. I have had many friends and relatives who have served in this country’s armed forces and some who died in that service. I have many friends who are able, kind, and non-racist members of police forces that are being tarnished with this feeling that all police members are racists. In my opinion, the players’ pre-game behavior is a slap in the face of these other brave Americans. Your refusal to fine Colin Kaepernick for wearing socks at an NFL practice depicting all police officers as pigs while fining players for having a minor fashion discrepancy on the field is the height of hypocrisy.
But whatever got us to this situation, the question now is how to get out of it so that all parties get what they want. And this letter is a suggestion to that end. You and the league are now stuck in a vortex that is not going to get any better if you and the league proceed in a business as usual manner. No good will come to the league and its owners, no good will come to those that are offended by the players’ behavior, and no good will come to protecting and advancing the protesting players intentions, which seem to be to combat racism is this country.
My proposed solution attempts to break the league out of the muck and mire before it swallows you up while making positive contributions to humanity. The main components of this plan include the following aspects:
- The players that are protesting the American flag, the national anthem, and insulting all service members and police forces across the country will contribute to a fund to address society’s problems. If these millionaire players want to make a statement, let them back up that statement with the financial resources that they can surely afford. I propose that the protesting players put up $100 million for this effort.
- You have many, many rich corporate sponsors. I would suggest that as good societal presences that they also put up a contribution to this effort, with the intention of matching the $100 million put up by the protesting players.
- With this $200 million fund, call it the NFL Player Humanity Fund, the funds would be distributed to worthy and credible charity and activist organizations that would address the problems facing society, especially minority neighborhood problems across the country:
- Some of the funds would be used by minority organizations to build bridges and relationships with local police forces, to build understanding and compassion between those in the community and those that police those communities. These efforts would help increase police training sensitivity awareness and build positive community outreach programs between all parties involved in a community’s safety.
- Some of these funds would be used to protect the nation’s urban youth from the violence that many of these kids faces on city streets everyday with help going to organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs, etc. that would provide a safe, constructive haven for urban youth.
- Some of the funds would be used to help treat the drug addicted throughout the country and especially in urban areas, a plague that in some places is now more fatal than gun violence.
- Some of the funds would be used to fund viable and accredited education institutions, especially in urban areas where city kids never seem to get the opportunity education-wise to break out of the cycle of poverty.
- Some of the funds would be used to support those that have been injured in the line of duty of protecting the country, be it servicemen and women or police men and women, helping in their recovery from wounds and injuries or in the case of death, helping the families they left behind.
Once this fund is established, any player that continues to disrespect the flag and the anthem would be fined $1,000 per game, money that would go into the fund. That helps the fund grow to help others, puts some skin in the game for these wealthy players, and takes the fever out of the sore with fans who know that if a player continues to disrespect the flag and anthem at least some monetary support will go towards helping society.
Hopefully you get the idea. Players disrespecting the flag and country without a viable plan to fix what they protest come off to many Americans as spoiled rich brats who think a minute or two of disobedience in their million dollar careers actually accomplishes something. People upset with the players need to recognize that there are actual racism issues in this country that need to be addressed beyond a couple of minutes of protest. Kids in urban areas that are getting shot, drug addicted and under educated never have a chance at a better life that I am sure the protesting players and the protesting fans would want to see happen. And despite what Kaepernick thinks and you condone, the vast majority of police officers in this country are not pigs.
You need to break this vicious cycle of everyone shouting at each other, accomplishing nothing. A program such as the NFL Humanity Fund would address the issues that fans, players, and the underprivileged in this country are facing and actually have a plan to get things done. It gives everyone something that is important to them and puts the league in a much better public relations position.
I am aware that the NFL and individual players already donate a large amount of funds and time to worthwhile efforts in communities across the country. However, most fans are not aware of that so the current player protests make them come off as selfish hypocrites. However, the players have upped the ante so to speak with their protests and disrespect and thus, the need to up the ante on combating racism and society’s problems have to be upped also.
I hope this proposal lands on an NFL desk of someone who is interested in breaking this cycle of yelling and protests, by both players and fans, that accomplish nothing. The NFL PLayer Humanity fund would get some good out of a bad situation that is getting worse. Ignore it at your own peril, die hard football fans like myself are not going to be patient forever, the volume of yelling that gets worse every week and accomplishes nothing is turning may of us off, many who just want to watch a football game and relax without all of the distractions that now surround the game for no good reason and which, most importantly, accomplish nothing.
Sincerely,
Walter “Bruno” Korschek
Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:
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