Super Bowl 2018: If Players Kneel In Protest, It Will Be On TV

If you're hedging bets on the 2018 Super Bowl, here's one you may not have thought of: Will players from the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles kneel when Pink performs the National Anthem before Sunday's game begins?

If they do, NBC plans to broadcast the protest, which has continued throughout the 2017-2018 season. Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling last season to bring attention to the treatment of black Americans, particularly by police.

The Super Bowl, which will be played at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, begins at 5:30 p.m. Central Time.

The protest, which has been mischaracterized as a National Anthem protest, has touched a nerve across the country, with everyone from the president down to everyday fans taking a stand. At least one NFL player has taken a knee each week since Kaepernick started the protests, according to Bleacher Report.

President Trump has repeatedly criticized the protest as disrespectful to the U.S. flag and the military — which was never Kaepernick's intent. In September, Trump called on the NFL to fire players who kneel. Many more players, including some Patriots players, took a knee after the president's remarks, but Patriots players haven't kneeled since.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Sporting News that everyone at the game — players, coaches and fans — will be encouraged to stand during the National Anthem via the public address system, which is standard procedure during NFL games.

"Nothing different will be asked of our fans or players than during any other game," he said. "We are approaching this like we have our other games."

Players will be on the field for the National Anthem, and there's nothing to stop them from kneeling, the NFL told CNNMoney. Commissioner Roger Goodell said he thinks they should stand, but has previously said the protests aren't intended to be "disrespectful to the flag."

Several Eagles have raised their fists during the National Anthem in 2016 and beyond, but stopped doing so by the time the team made it to the playoffs. Cornerback Ron Brooks, who was released by the Eagles in August, took a knee during preseason games.

In a media call, NBC Executive Producer Fred Gaudelli said he doesn't expect players to kneel, but if they do, the network will broadcast it.

"When you're doing a live event, you just cover what's happening," Gaudelli said. "We're obviously here to cover a football game, not a politicized event."

Cris Collinsworth, part of NBC's Super Bowl on-air team, said during the call that whatever happens will be broadcast.

"In a situation like that, people are seeing it. We can report it. But what people don't want you to do at that point is editorialize," he said during the media call.

The NFL has been working with team owners to resolve conflict surrounding the player protests.

"There's been a bit of a partnership formed, and they're going to try and get money to some of these community causes," Collinsworth said. "So my hope is that it ends up being a better situation for, not just the players and owners and whatever in the National Football League, but for some very deserving communities, and I think to some extent that should be celebrated too."

“Hands up! Don’t shoot!” never happened.

TWENTY FIVE TOP QUOTES FROM THE DOJ’S REPORT ON THE MICHAEL BROWN SHOOTING

http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/doj_report_on_shooting_of_michael_brown_1.pdf

[01] The evidence, when viewed as a whole, does not support the conclusion that Wilson’s uses of deadly force were “objectively unreasonable” under the Supreme Court’s definition. (Page 5)

[02] when the store clerk tried to stop Brown, Brown used his physical size to stand over him and forcefully shove him away. (Page 6)

[03] Wilson was aware of the theft and had a description of the suspects as he encountered Brown and Witness 101. (Page 6)

[04] Autopsy results and bullet trajectory, skin from Brown’s palm on the outside of the SUV door as well as Brown’s DNA on the inside of the driver’s door corroborate Wilson’s account that during the struggle, Brown used his right hand to grab and attempt to control Wilson’s gun. (Page 6)

[05] there is no credible evidence to disprove Wilson’s account of what occurred inside the SUV. (Page 7)

[06] autopsy results confirm that Wilson did not shoot Brown in the back as he was running away because there were no entrance wounds to Brown’s back. (Page 7)

[07] witnesses who originally stated Brown had his hands up in surrender recanted their original accounts (Page 8)

[08] several witnesses stated that Brown appeared to pose a physical threat to Wilson as he moved toward Wilson. (Page 8)

[09] The physical evidence also establishes that Brown moved forward toward Wilson after he turned around to face him. The physical evidence is corroborated by multiple eyewitnesses. (Page 10)

[10] evidence does not establish that it was unreasonable for Wilson to perceive Brown as a threat while Brown was punching and grabbing him in the SUV and attempting to take his gun. (Page 11)

[11] Wilson’s account is corroborated by physical evidence and that his perception of a threat posed by Brown is corroborated by other eyewitnesses (Page 12)

[12] Wilson’s account was consistent with those results, and consistent with the accounts of other independent eyewitnesses, whose accounts were also consistent with the physical evidence. Wilson’s statements were consistent with each other in all material ways, and would not be subject to effective impeachment for inconsistencies or deviation from the physical evidence.8 Therefore, in analyzing all of the evidence, federal prosecutors found Wilson’s account to be credible. (Page 16)

[13] Witness accounts suggesting that Brown was standing still with his hands raised in an unambiguous signal of surrender when Wilson shot Brown are inconsistent with the physical evidence, are otherwise not credible because of internal inconsistencies, or are not credible because of inconsistencies with other credible evidence. (Page 78)

[14] Multiple credible witnesses corroborate virtually every material aspect of Wilson’s account and are consistent with the physical evidence. (Page 78)

[15] several of these witnesses stated that they would have felt threatened by Brown and would have responded in the same way Wilson did. (Page 82)

[16] there are no witnesses who could testify credibly that Wilson shot Brown while Brown was clearly attempting to surrender. (Page 83)

[17] There is no witness who has stated that Brown had his hands up in surrender whose statement is otherwise consistent with the physical evidence. (Page 83)

[18] The media has widely reported that there is witness testimony that Brown said “don’t shoot” as he held his hands above his head. In fact, our investigation did not reveal any eyewitness who stated that Brown said “don’t shoot.” (Page 83)

[19] Wilson did not know that Brown was not armed at the time he shot him, and had reason to suspect that he might be when Brown reached into the waistband of his pants as he advanced toward Wilson. (Page 84)

[20] Wilson did not have time to determine whether Brown had a gun and was not required to risk being shot himself in order to make a more definitive assessment.

[21] In addition, even assuming that Wilson definitively knew that Brown was not armed, Wilson was aware that Brown had already assaulted him once and attempted to gain control of his gun. (Page 85)

[22] Wilson has a strong argument that he was justified in firing his weapon at Brown as he continued to advance toward him and refuse commands to stop, and the law does not require Wilson to wait until Brown was close enough to physically assault Wilson. (Page 85)

[23] we must avoid substituting our personal notions of proper police procedure for the instantaneous decision of the officer at the scene. We must never allow the theoretical, sanitized world of our imagination to replace the dangerous and complex world that policemen face every day.” (Page 85)

[24] “It may appear, in the calm aftermath, that an officer could have taken a different course, but we do not hold the police to such a demanding standard.” (citing Gardner v. Buerger, 82 F.3d 248, 251 (8th Cir. 1996) (same))). Rather, where, as here, an officer points his gun at a suspect to halt his advance, that suspect should be on notice that “escalation of the situation would result in the use of the firearm.” Estate of Morgan at 498. An officer is permitted to continue firing until the threat is neutralized. See Plumhoff v. Rickard, 134 S.Ct. 2012, 2022 (2014) (“Officers need not stop shooting until the threat has ended”). For all of the reasons stated, Wilson’s conduct in shooting Brown as he advanced on Wilson, and until he fell to the ground, was not objectively unreasonable and thus not a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242. (Page 85)

[25] Given that Wilson’s account is corroborated by physical evidence and that his perception of a threat posed by Brown is corroborated by other eyewitnesses, to include aspects of the testimony of Witness 101, there is no credible evidence that Wilson willfully shot Brown as he was attempting to surrender or was otherwise not posing a threat. (Page 86)

For the reasons set forth above, this matter lacks prosecutive merit and should be closed.

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