SHARON HARRIS
has flipped flopped between public pronouncements on this one.
Eight stormy weeks this season have taken their
toll. Millions of turned-off fans have turned off their televisions, resulting in lower ratings. Many stopped buying game tickets or merchandise and others have burned their team’s apparel to protest what they consider blatant disrespect.
Movement supporters cite Kaepernick exercising his constitutional First Amendment free speech rights. He has them, but free speech may also spur repercussions. Team owners, as employers, and the NFL can legally impose uniforms and codes of conduct requirements.
I dislike being subjected to someone’s politics while attending a game or other entertainment forum. Instead, I support personal advocacy done on personal time. Plenty of players regularly donate big money and hours of effort to benefit and uplift their communities. That is the strength of free speech and public action.
To me, the football field is their job site as would
be a casino. Imagine sitting at a poker or blackjack table and the dealer accuses you of racism, sexism or
any other perceived “ism” permeating American discourse. Or, a restaurant server overhears your private conversation, considers it “racist/sexist,“ and begins lecturing you at the table. Or, what if a maid or janitor tells you that casino ownership is too racist to promote them? Never mind they may be new or mediocre.
Business cannot survive or thrive in that
environment. Luckily, the gaming industry’s fabulous statistics prove women and racial/ethnic minorities enjoy management and executive positions nationwide. Staff diversity is everywhere, especially in multi-cultural communities like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New York and Washington D.C.
To prove the point, when MGM opened its new $1.4 billion MGM National Harbor Casino in Maryland-across the Potomac River from Washington D.C.-CEO Jim Murren described how the entire racially diverse staff of 4,000 – 80 percent minority – would enjoy “a path to the middle class.” That’s when equality really exists.
As for Goodell, he could learn about proactive
leadership from AGA CEO Geoff Freeman, whom I’m sure doesn’t earn nearly as much but does a better job.
NOVEMBER 2017 9
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