Money diverted by NFL commissioner hasn’t silenced players

In a Slate interview, the San Francisco 49ers’ Eric Reid said he’s been told the NFL is planning to allow owners to shift money pledged to other charitable campaigns like breast cancer and Salute the Troops to the players’ seven-year, $89 million program to fund social justice causes. It’s a cowardly attempt by NFL owners to shut up ungrateful players.

Kneeling by NFL players during our National Anthem, for reasons they still cannot articulate, continues. The result? NFL ratings are down and so is attendance. Sunday night’s NFL game attendance was down another 11 percent from the previous week.

Kaepernick has gotten what he wanted out of starting this protest: dubious leftist-awards for himself. In speeches with more “I’s” than an Obama or Trump speech about someone else, he’s shown that he is shallow. Of course it’s every American’s right to speak freely, and mine to make fun of him or her when it’s stupid.

Both “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” and Black Lives Matter are founded on a lie. Michael Brown didn’t have his hands up in Ferguson. And Kaepernick’s anti-cop (pro-Black Lives Matter) assertions are simply not true. I get that there is tension and distrust between cops and African Americans. NFL players could really help with this problem. There is also mistrust by white males in the Trump administration about the all-Democrat donor Mueller investigative FBI team.

In her book “The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe,” Stanford’s Heather MacDonald cites simple Obama Administration FBI crime stats that disprove the lie on which Black Lives Matter is based.

First, black and Hispanic cops are far more likely — 3.3 times — than white cops to shoot unarmed black suspects. While they are only 6 percent of the population, black males make up 40 percent of all cop killers. Thus, McDonald determines that a police officer is 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is likely to be killed by a cop. Social justice on that for a while.

Blacks commit homicide at a rate eight times higher than whites and Hispanics combined. Blacks are 13 percent of the population but commit 52 percent of all murders. This puts them into more tense contact with police. That’s the issue about which Kaepernick and NFL players should speak out. If you have a protest, be able to back it up factually. I agree that way too many Americans are in jail for non-violent crimes, and unfair crack sentences. NFL players should focus on that.

Kaepernick’s buddies from Black Lives Matter even had the audacity to protest my man Elvis’ birthday at Graceland. Elvis sang gospel and blues, wore bling, and bought Cadillacs and homes for his mom. His daughter married Michael Jackson. Good Lord, people, study history and leave The King out of this. Has any white man met you halfway more than Elvis?

A syndicated op-ed humorist, award winning author and TV/radio commentator, you can reach him at Ron@RonaldHart.com, Twitter @RonaldHart or visit RonaldHart.com.