I went down to my local bar last night to watch the first 30 minutes of the last Monday Night Football game of the year which was between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills, which would also help decide who will be the top playoff seed in the AFC. The reason I was only going to stay for 30 minutes is that this isn’t a sports bar. It’s a taco bar. Mmm, tacos.
A friend, Chaz, who is from Cincinnati, showed up and suggested we finish watching the game at a sports bar, but I declined because I really wasn’t feeling staying out that late though I found the idea of chicken wings very appealing. We never would have made it.
During the first quarter, Bills safety Damar Hamlin went down with an injury. It quickly went from a typical-football injury to something very serious. I knew there was real trouble from looking at the players’ faces. Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest after taking a hit to his chest while making a tackle. He’s currently in critical but stable condition.
It took the NFL about 35 minutes to decide to postpone the game, but word is that this decision is the result of pressure from the players and coaches of the Bills and Bengals. They weren’t going back out there. Would the NFL have still played the game if the coaches and players hadn’t pressured it to stop?
The conversation at the bar during this was about how a team can collect itself to continue playing this game. Olivia, who was working the bar threw out the idea that the game would be postponed. I thought there was no way the NFL would suspend a game during the first quarter. Chaz, who was once an EMT trainee, wasn’t giving us a positive diagnosis of Hamlin’s condition after we heard he had to receive CPR twice.
When I got back to my apartment and turned the game on, I saw that the teams still had not re-taken the field. The analysts on TV didn’t really know what to say and they seemed lost for words. I would have been the same way. The game was postponed shortly after.
I like football, but maybe I shouldn’t. It’s a very violent game and one I didn’t want my kid to play. I would have been fine with my son playing baseball or tennis, but not football. Football is a game where the object is for grown men to run into each other at full speed. Human bodies were not made to do that. It’s a very violent game. Fortunately, my son was and still is not into sports. He probably doesn’t even know who won last year’s Super Bowl. I can live with that.
A 24-year-old athlete shouldn’t be suffering from cardiac arrest… or multiple concussions in one year.
Our first thoughts should be with Damar Hamlin and his family. We should all be wishing him a full recovery. A lot of us will still watch football when the games resume later this week. A lot of people are wondering if there will be a make-up game, or about their fantasy teams, or about who gets the top seed in the playoffs.
Our last thoughts should be on football…and we shouldn’t be having any thoughts on conspiracy theories, but this is America.
Right-wing MAGAts have already started conspiracy theories blaming the vaccines for Covid 19 for Damar Hamlin suffering a cardiac arrest, like that hit to the center of his chest didn’t have anything to do with it. The same goons who don’t want politics in football are using a young man’s life-threatening injury to push their propaganda and hate.
America isn’t just violent. It’s vile.
Music note: I listened to The Doors.
Facebook Suspension Update: There are 11 days left, so it says, in my Facebook suspension for typing the word “Taliban.” Quannah had a countdown clock for it, but it broke.
Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.
Notes on my book, Tales From The Trumpster Fire: There are 19 copies of my book in stock, which go for $45.00 each, signed. Also, I have copies of my first book from 1997, Knee-Deep in Mississippi available for $20.00.
Tip Jar: if you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was injured in a game against the Buffalo Bills last week. It was a head injury. The NFL and the Dolphins said he cleared concussion protocols, Last Thursday against the Cincinnati Bengals, his head was injured again and he was taken off the field on a stretcher.
The NFL messed up and one person has already been fired over this. While the NFL has put on a happy face in dealing with concussions, they still put dollars above human beings. And you can never listen to an athlete on whether he’s good to play. As we’ve seen with Robert Griffin III, a coach will risk an athlete’s career to win one game.
Speaking of games, this blog is short because I have to meet someone to watch a game that starts in 19 minutes. Happy Sunday.
Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.
Notes on my book, Tales From The Trumpster Fire: There are 19 copies of my book in stock, which go for $45.00 each, signed. Also, I have copies of my first book from 1997, Knee-Deep in Mississippi available for $20.00.
Tip Jar: if you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.
Former coach of the Miami Dolphins, Brian Flores, filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and three of its teams, the Dolphins, New York Giants, and the Denver Broncos, accusing them of sham interviews, incentives to lose games, and press to improperly recruit players. Naturally, the NFL and the teams denied all of the accusations. Sure, they’re not racist. Meanwhile, how long has Colin Kaepernick been out of the league since protesting systemic racism?
Currently, there is only one black head coach in the NFL, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers. There have been nine openings this season with four of them being filled so far with…wait for it…white guys. If a team doesn’t hire another black coach this season, Mike Tomlin is in danger of becoming the NFL’s Venus Flytrap. We already lost Dr. Johnny Fever so we can’t allow this to happen.
There is a rule in the league, called the Rooney rule, requiring each team to interview two minority candidates for head-coaching jobs. Since this doesn’t require a team to actually hire a black head coach, they can just go through the motions, interview non-white candidates and then go ahead and hire their white guy. Everyone knows there are teams that do this, but they’ve become so relaxed about it, that according to Flores, some teams conduct the interview with the black candidates AFTER they hire their white guy.
Black coaches have been saying in private for years that most of their interviews were shams. But Flores is saying he has proof of these sham interviews. He has screenshots of text messages from Patriot’s coach Bill Belichick that shows he was aware of the Giants hiring a white head coach three days before they interviewed Flores.
Flores was previously an assistant coach under Belichick, who texted him congratulating him on being hired as head coach of the Giants. But, he hadn’t been hired by the Giants. After Flores told Belichick he hadn’t even been interviewed yet, the Patriot’s coach found out it was another guy who was hired, a white dude, and apologized to Flores. Three days later, Flores went to the sham interview…reportedly.
He’s also accusing the Denver Broncos of using him to get around the Rooney rule in 2019, saying they were drunk when he came in for his interview and didn’t take it seriously. If there are mojitos at your job interview, that means you either got the job or the interviewer doesn’t even know you’re there.
The accusation that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to pay Flores to lose games is serious. It undermines the entire league if teams are intentionally losing games in order to move up in the draft. Also, how do you fire a guy for not winning when you offered him bonuses to lose? Since Flores has a winning record the past two seasons, maybe he was fired for winning.
Hue Jackson, former coach of the Cleveland Browns may join the class-action suit as he’s claimed the owner of that team also offered him bonuses to lose.
Also, if owners are paying coaches to lose, it would explain a lot about the New York Jets.
The accusation of improperly recruiting players relates to the owner of the Dolphins setting up a “chance” encounter between Flores and a quarterback who was still under contract to another team. Teams are not supposed to recruit players under contracts to other teams. It’s a big no-no.
Brian Flores is only 40-years-old. He’s younger than Tom Brady, but Tom Brady will probably get a head coaching job in the NFL before Flores is ever offered another one. Hue Jackson may be on the outs too. Look what happened to Colin Kaepernick.
Since the 49s released Kaepernick in 2016, he’s only had one official tryout in the league. He’s so toxic to the league for his anti-racism protests, they won’t even talk to him. He also sued the league and reached a settlement.
That’s probably where this lawsuit will go. There will be a settlement along with a bunch of promises to do better…and a few years later, Flores can sue them again for blackballing him out of the league.
The only thing left here is for Ted Cruz and Roger Wicker to come out screaming there aren’t enough white coaches in the NFL….or with the death of Dr. Johnny Fever, not enough white DJs at WKRP in Cincinnati.
Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.
Notes on my book, Tales From The Trumpster Fire: There are 19 copies of my book in stock, which go for $45.00 each, signed. Also, I have copies of my first book from 1997, Knee-Deep in Mississippi available for $20.00.
Tip Jar: if you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.
There is a common trait among anti-vaxxers. Selfishness.
When an anti-vaxxer talks about vaccines, in addition to basing everything they believe on lies and conspiracy theories, they demonstrate just how selfish they are. They talk about how it affects them. They don’t really talk about others except when it comes to how their kid shouldn’t be forced to wear a face mask or be vaccinated, ignoring how it affects other kids. This is selfishness.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is a selfish greedy rude inconsiderate right-wing conspiracy-minded lying asshole. The guy makes $31.5 million a year and he can’t be considerate enough toward his teammates to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Not only did he put himself before the team and endanger their season, but he also endangered their health. And when asked by the press, he dodged the question over his vaccination status and became a worm by saying he was “immunized.” Then he blames the press for his situation.
Surprise surprise. After refusing to get vaccinated, Aaron Rodgers caught the coronavirus. He’s going to miss at least the next two games. Last August, he told the press he was “immunized.” Now, he says never lied and he’s not “some sort of anti-vax flat-Earther.” He said on the Pat McAfee Show, “I’m somebody who’s a critical thinker. You guys know me. I march to the beat of my own drum.”
He’s not a critical thinker and he’s not marching to the beat of his own drum. He’s marching with the conspiracy theorists. When you create a problem with your own arrogance, selfishness, and narcissism, then come back with a defense that blames others, using words like “woke,” “cancel culture,” and “witch hunt,” you may as well be a part of Qanon. These terms are from the sheepish culture of the Trump cult. Quite frankly, Aaron Rodgers should not be “reinstated” as the Packer’s QB.
Rodgers said he could not get the Moderna or Pfizer shots because he has an allergy to an ingredient in the mRNA vaccines made by those companies. I hope he’s not allergic to tinfoil. Rodgers did not identify the specific allergy. I wonder how much research Rodgers has put into all the medication and injections he’s had to take throughout his career for pain and surgeries.
Rodgers says he refuses to take the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of the horror stories he’s heard concerning it. Do you know what is dangerous to your health? Playing football. He’s worried a vaccine will lower his sperm count, seriously, but not worried about long-term effects from concussions. If Aaron Rodgers is so concerned for his health to be this much of a crying baby about it, then why is he ever on a football field? Oh yeah, $31.5 million a year.
By the way, there is no evidence that any of the vaccines for the coronavirus causes sterilization.
Remember, Rodgers claims he’s not a flat-earth anti-vaxxer and marches to the “beat of his own drum,” but he took vaccine advice from podcaster and horrible comedian fucknut conspiracy junky Joe Rogan. Rodgers started taking Ivermectin, monoclonal antibodies, zinc, vitamin C and D, and hydroxychloroquine after Rogan advised him to do so. Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic medication, usually for livestock, that the Food and Drug Administration says is NOT an effective treatment for COVID. You can only get Ivermectin with a prescription…or if you make $31.5 million a year.
Also, if you’re taking hydroxychloroquine, you outed yourself as a Trumper. Congratulations, Aaron. You just made me hate you more than I hate Tom Brady.
Rodgers said the NFL coronavirus policies are “not based on science at all,” meanwhile, he’s taking medical advice from Joe Rogan, who is NOT a doctor or a scientist. Joe Rogan is the kind of guy who’d recommend giving your dog chocolate. Rodgers also said the league’s policies are “based purely on trying to out and shame people.”
Rodgers claimed he went through his own immunization protocols he developed with his medical team. He said the immunization had been around for centuries and doctors had been using it for decades and that it was for adults and children who can’t get traditional vaccines. When asked by Pat McAfee, Rodgers refused to reveal what the immunization methods are or any members of his “medical team.” Was it Joe Rogan? It was Joe Rogan. He did say his “medical team” was composed of holistic doctors, homeopaths, “Harvard MDs and brilliant people from all over the country.” Sure.
While some vaccinated people do catch the coronavirus, 100 percent of the people taking the Aaron Rodgers’ home immunization treatment have caught the coronavirus.
Speaking of Pat McAfee, he is also a broadcaster for the World Wrestling Entertainment company, making him the perfect person for Aaron to give this interview to because professional wrestling is scripted too.
Rodgers claimed the media was lying about him, called them a “woke mob ” that was trying to “cancel” him. Yup, he’s a Trumper. He also speculated he caught the virus from someone who’s vaccinated.
Then, just like all right-wingers do, he attempted to quote Dr. Martin Luther King in his defense, which is like trying to have a black friend. Since he has at least two weeks off, maybe Aaron can go down to Dallas and wait for JFK Jr to appear.
Rodgers took MLK’s quote, “One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” Rodgers turned it into, “You have a moral obligation to object to unjust rules and rules that make no sense.” Well scoot over, Rosa Parks, and make room for Aaron.
By the way, Aaron, MLK was “canceled.” You, not so much.
Aaron Rodgers is selfish and a liar. He says the Packers knew he wasn’t vaccinated and if this is true, shame on the Packers for enabling Aaron’s bullshit. Now, they get two weeks without him. Letting Aaron Rodgers make his own health decisions, or allowing him to let Joe Rogan make them, is like allowing children to operate garbage disposals unsupervised. Qanon cultists shouldn’t be allowed to make big decisions and should probably only order from the kids’ menu.
But, if the Packers were lied to by Aaron Rodgers, they need to ship his ass out of town. Send him to the Jets. That’ll be a good punishment. Rodgers already whined to get traded before the season began, probably because he has to wipe his own ass. Maybe he can get Joe Rogan to do it.
There was no “woke” mob coming for Rodgers at any time, but there may be an angry mob from Green Bay coming for him now.
Aaron Rodgers is a great quarterback…and a horrible human being. We haven’t seen a quarterback this selfish narcissistic, and whiny since Brett Favre.
How can Rodgers get away with lying about his vaccination status and Farve continue playing after sending unwanted dick pics, but Colin Kaepernick still can’t get an NFL tryout after protesting racism?
Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.
Notes on my book, Tales From The Trumpster Fire: There are 19 copies of my book in stock, which go for $45.00 each, signed. Also, I have copies of my first book from 1997, Knee-Deep in Mississippi available for $20.00.
Tip Jar: if you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.
Jon Gruden said, “I never had a blade of racism in me.” No, Jon Gruden, you have an entire pasture of racism in you and you’re going to need some woke goats unleashed on it to mow it down.
Jon Gruden, a Super Bowl-winning head coach in the National Football League is a racist, homophobic, sexist, intolerant bigot.
An investigation by The Wall Street Journal (no link because I don’t subscribe) and The New York Times (I do subscribe) detail that emails from Jon Gruden to friends in the league from 2011 to 2018 don’t just reveal Gruden is a vile bigot, but that a hateful culture remains in the NFL.
The NFL has tried to be a bit more progressive over the past few decades. There is now a rule that at least one black candidate has to be interviewed for each open head coach position. The league has tried to be more inclusive over the concerns of black players. The league has denounced sexism and racism. By the way, what team does Colin Kaepernick play for now? It’s not the Raiders.
Gruden’s emails were uncovered during a separate investigation of sexism, bullying, harassment, and a hostile work environment at the Washington Football Team, formerly the “Redskins,” which is also racist. Gruden’s emails were to Bruce Allen, who was the general manager at the time.
Interesting tidbit: Bruce Allen is the son of George Allen who was the coach of the Washington Football Team, and the brother of George Allen, a former governor and United States senator in Virginia who used to keep a noose in his office as a memento, which is also racist.
Another interesting tidbit: The Washington Football Team was the last NFL team to integrate.
There were several other coaches and administration officials from NFL teams in these emails. It was like a CC of bigotry. Some of those people are Ed Droste, the co-founder of Hooters; Jim McVay, an executive who has run the Outback Bowl, and Nick Reader, the founder of PDQ fried chicken Restaurants. According to the Times, these guys weren’t just receiving Gruden’s emails and reading them. They were also offering their own bigoted comments. These racists were willful participants and were yukking it up. Who would have expected willful participation in misogyny from the Hooters guy?
Jon Gruden coached the Raiders in the late 90s and into the early 2000s. He quit to take the head coach position in Tampa Bay, who had just fired Tony Dungy (who is black) for not advancing in the playoffs (after making the playoffs). Gruden took the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl and won in his first season, with a team built by Dungy. Gruden was fortunate that the opponent in that game were the Raiders, who were still using Gruden’s playbook. Gruden remained with the Bucs for six more years and only made the playoffs twice without ever winning another playoff game. He then became an NFL analyst for ESPN and and acquired lucrative endorsement contracts.
By the way, Tony Dungy went to Indianapolis where he inherited a horrible team like he did in Tampa. But also like he did in Tampa, he built that team into a Super Bowl team. It didn’t hurt that he also inherited Peyton Manning.
Jon Gruden was viewed by the league and fans as a brilliant one-of-a-kind football coach even though he was mediocre at best. Daniel Snyder could have coached that Dungy team to the Super Bowl. Jon Gruden left ESPN in 2018 to return to the Raiders, who had been pursuing him for six years, gave him a ten-year contract worth over $100 million, and partial ownership of the team. It was the richest contract in the league. In return, Gruden gave them a record of 22-31. His best season was 8-8. Gruden might be a fun analyst but he’s a mediocre football coach. He’s also a racist, sexist, homophobe, and in general, an all-around bigot.
What were in these seven years of emails that were so horrible? Surely, they couldn’t have been that bad, right? Well, in one he referred to DeMaurice Smith, the black leader of the NFL Players Association, as “Dumboriss Smith,” and said he “has lips the size of Michelin tires.” OK. Case closed. He’s a bigot. But, Gruden didn’t just specialize in racism. As I said, he’s an all-around bigot.
Gruden unleashed his bigotry casually in misogynistic and homophobic language over several years to denigrate people around the game and to mock some of the league’s most momentous changes, like adding female referees. Yeah, Gruden didn’t like that.
In the emails to Allen, Gruden called the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, a “faggot” and a “clueless anti football pussy” and said Goodell should not have pressured Jeff Fisher, then the coach of the Rams, to draft “queers,” a reference to Michael Sam, a gay player chosen by the team in 2014. If he returns to making commercials for Corona beer, where he’s on a beach answering a help line and telling callers to drink Corona, I wonder if they’ll allow him to use those words. Sure, it’s a Mexican beer, but Gruden’s endorsement will probably help sales with the Proud Boy crowd.
Gruden also criticized Goodell with homophobic language for trying to reduce concussions in the league. Yeah, because everyone knows it’s gay to care about concussions. Just play football. Gruden also used this type of language to go after other coaches, team owners, and journalists.
Gruden, like Donald Trump, wanted players fired for protesting during the national anthem. I wonder if he wrote, “Fire that sonofabitch”? Do you know what’s worse than protesting during the national anthem? Racism.
Gruden said he only used an “expletive” for Goodell because he was upset about team owners’ lockout of the players in 2011. He was also upset over safety measures in the league and that they were scaring parents from letting their sons play football. But, Gruden wasn’t a racist sexist homophobe just during 2011. Also, nobody only goes back to racist tropes while they’re angry. If a person calls you a racist or uses a gay slur, that person is racist and homophobic. He’s not just racist for one minute. Plus, Gruden must have been very comfortable writing down these comments with the people he was sending these racist homophobic sexist emails to, like the Hooters guy and Bruce Allen, the brother of former racist governor/senator George Allen who kept a noose in his office.
Gruden also liked to share photos of naked women with these NFL dudes, including two Washington cheerleaders. Speaking as a man, a lot of us don’t do that. I don’t and no, I’m not gay. If I did share those kind of photos, I think it would really weird my friends out. But then again, I don’t have friends like Jon Gruden, Bruce Allen, and the Hooters guy. I’m having a hard time getting over he was emailing the Hooters guy. Was Gruden emailing black jokes to the Uncle Ben guy and Paula Deen?
The cherry on top of all of this, for now, is that Gruden went after President Obama and Vice-President Biden in 2012. I don’t know what words he used for Obama, but he called Biden a “nervous clueless pussy.” I wonder what he thinks of Biden now.
Gruden claims he doesn’t remember any of these emails he was writing for seven years.
Stay tuned because we haven’t seen or heard all the words Gruden used in these emails but I’m certain more will be revealed. Maybe this is why he resigned last night in the middle of Monday Night Football.
Mark Davis, the owner of the Raiders, was aware of these emails before Sunday’s game…but Davis allowed Gruden to stick around. Then, more were revealed yesterday and Gruden resigned. If he hadn’t resigned yet, would he still be the head coach of the Raiders this morning?
This is the end for Jon Gruden as a coach, analyst, and Mexican beer spokesperson. At least it should be. There is no place in this nation for people who think the way Jon Gruden does….except in the Republican Party.
How much do you wanna bet that Donald Trump issues a statement defending Jon Gruden? And if the Michelin tires lips comment doesn’t prove you’re a racist, the Trump endorsement will.
Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.
Notes on my book, Tales From The Trumpster Fire: There are FIVE copies of my book in stock, which go for $45.00 each, signed. Also, I have copies of my first book from 1997, Knee-Deep in Mississippi available for $20.00.
Tip Jar: if you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 9103, Fredericksburg, VA 22403.
Pete Rose is banned from Major League Baseball. He’s considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time being voted Rookie of the Year, winning three batting titles, three World Series, two Gold Glove, and one Most Valuable Player Award. He went to the All-Star game 17 times where he played five different positions (no one else has ever done that). And yet, he’s still not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Why did Major League Baseball banish Rose in 1989? He gambled on teams while he was managing and playing on the Cincinnati Reds. Even Ty Cobb is in the Hall of Fame. MLB is really pissed at Pete Rose.
What did Colin Kaepernick do to be banned from the National Football League? Did he beat someone up? Did he beat up a woman? Was he accused of rape? Did he operate a dog-fighting operation? Was he caught doping up? Did he go out and say a bunch of racist and derogatory comments? Did he expose himself to a female reporter? Was he snagged with underage prostitutes at a massage parlor? Was he accused of murder? did he cheat in the Super Bowl? Did he take out bounties on opposing players? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, and no. All that stuff won’t get you banned from the NFL. So what did Kaepernick do? Kap protested police brutality against black Americans and a legal system that treats Americans unevenly. Basically, Kap said, “Stop killing black men.” The NFL said, buh-bye.
The NFL is really good at lip service. They can literally put the money where their mouth is when it comes to raising charity and they’re good at putting up a dog-and-pony show. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, they make their players wear pink shoes. And when Donald Trump started screaming “Fire that son-of-a-bitch” at his hate rallies over black athletes protesting during the national anthem, the NFL claimed they stood with their players, but banned them from protesting…and they banned the man who started the protests, Colin Kaepernick, from playing in the league entirely.
Kaepernick is not officially banned. It’s more of a wink-wink-nudge-nudge-don’t-you-dare-hire-that-guy ban. Last year, after being out of the league since 2016 with no NFL tryouts from any team since, the league gave him a tryout day where every team was invited without the certainty of which would attend. It blew up after the NFL threw a contract at Kaepernick that was unlike the usual contracts for tryouts. The tryout blew up. It was the NFL pretending to give Kaepernick an opportunity. Yet, not one NFL team has invited Kap to their practice facility for a tryout. I mean, it’s not like the quarterback ever took his former team, the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl. Oh, wait. Yes he did. You would think that in the four years since, one NFL team would have said, “Hey, let’s look at that guy.” They won’t even let him apply for a job.
Several current players in the NFL released a video demanding the league take the protest against police brutality seriously. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell responded with his own video and said, “We, the NFL, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of Black People. We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter.” Wow, hey, yay…uh…what’s missing from that?
What’s missing is Colin Kaepernick’s name. They’re against racism and apologizing for being on the wrong side, yet they can’t admit where they were wrong. They say they believe “black lives matter” but can’t admit they’re still punishing someone for believing “black lives matter.” While they now say they “encourage” players to speak out and peacefully protest, they can’t admit they’re punishing a player for doing so.
But the thing is, there’s a difference between “not listening,” which is what Goodell is admitting to, and silencing, which is what they did. They silenced players. The banned protests on the sidelines before the games would start and stuck them in the locker room during the anthem. It’s like saying, “you can protest, but you have to do it silently and out of sight.” The NFL rule was, you can protest as long as nobody can see or hear you.
Colin Kaepernick was not protesting against being asked to help fight a pandemic. He wasn’t protesting because wearing a mask is uncomfortable. He wasn’t protesting for the right to get a haircut or go to the Cheesecake Factory. He didn’t storm a state capitol with an AR-15. He protested the killing of black men by police. Most people can’t even say “police brutality.” For doing the right thing, he was punished.
Drew Brees said he would never agree with someone protesting against “our flag” and cites his two grandfathers and their bravery in fighting for this nation. Drew failed to understand the issue and while citing his grandfather’s bravery, could never live up to the bravery of Kaepernick.
Donald Trump is another coward attacking the NFL, Kaepernick, and black players while hiding in his bunker.
Roger Goodell, every team owner, and every general manager in the NFL are cowards too. They’re afraid of the backlash from angry right-wing fans by bringing back a black man who spoke out against racism.
Speaking out against racism is the right thing to do. The National Football League is four years behind doing the right thing. But as it’s been pointed out, it’s not good enough for white people to not be racists. They need to be anti-racist.
Goodell’s statement says they won’t be racist anymore but we need the NFL to stand up and be anti-racist. The NFL isn’t doing that. It’s just more lip service. They’re still afraid. How can they stand up and help fight racism when they can’t even cite their past racism or fear of speaking against it? How can they stand up and fight racism when they can’t even say his name?
His name is Colin Kaepernick. He put his career on the line for doing the right thing. You punished him for it. You should allow him back in the league and while protesters chant, “Say his name” in regards to George Floyd, the NFL can’t even say “Colin Kaepernick.
Say his name.
Tip Jar: This pandemic is hitting everyone, including your favorite goofy cartoonist. I have lost clients and I’m afraid I might lose more. The PayPal button has always been included here for those who can and want to voluntarily support what I do. I understand this time is hard on everyone. If you can’t, don’t contribute. Take care of yourself and your family first.
But, all and any help is greatly appreciated and it helps keep me going. Think of me like a street performing busking out tunes on a corner (I won’t play “Wonderwall.” I promise). If you like the tune, or in this case, toon, throw a buck into the tip jar. It’ll help me play another song, draw another toon, write another blog, make another video, and post another snarky post on social media. It’ll help keep me alive. You can also order a signed print for $40. And if you don’t like the PayPal option, you can snail mail it to my P.O. Box.
With 1:45 left in the fourth quarter, and the Saints on the Rams’ 13-yard line, tied 20-20, facing third-and-10 in the NFC Championship, the Saints got robbed. If the Saints had gotten a first down on the play, they could have drained the time left on the clock, kick a chip-shot field goal, and leave the Rams with very little time to march down the field and tie the game. What happened was the Saints got robbed.
A Rams player, Nickell Robey-Coleman committed pass interference on the Saints’ Tommylee Lewis. The referees didn’t see it, despite one of them staring right at it. The entire universe agrees there was a blown call. Even the Rams defensive back, Lewis, admitted he committed pass interference. Lewis said that he “whacked his ass” to save a touchdown. It worked.
Now, in what may have been Drew Brees’ last chance to go to the Super Bowl, has been stolen. The Saints had the best regular-season record in the NFL this season, but they’ll be watching the Super Bowl from home.
A Louisiana eye doctor (in case you’re a Republican, New Orleans is in Louisiana) is offering free eye exams to NFL referees. Maybe he should also offer those to Trump supporters.
Trump supporters believe Donald Trump is doing a great job, he’s intelligent, has their best interest as his top priority, and that he’s a classy guy. Most of all, they don’t believe there has been any collusion between his campaign and Russia to win the 2016 presidential election. They don’t believe Putin is whacking anyone’s ass.
Never mind that meeting in Trump Tower with Russians, or at least 16 members of Trump’s campaign had contacts with Russians (and the number keeps rising), or Trump publicly asked them to hack Hillary Clinton’s campaign, or his campaign chairman was giving internal campaign polling data to friends of the Kremlin, the Trumpanzees will tell you they don’t see any evidence.
They don’t see that Trump has never criticized Vladimir Putin, yet he’ll go after Justin Trudeau over cheese prices. They don’t see that Trump wants to remove sanctions against Russia. They didn’t see Trump kissing Putin’s ass in Helsinki (if you’re a Republican, that’s in Finland). They didn’t see Trump taking Putin’s word over his intelligence agencies. They don’t see Trump handing Syria to Putin. They don’t see Trump threatening to pull out of NATO, which is Putin’s greatest wet dream. They don’t see that the FBI was investigating Trump as a threat to our national security and that he may be a Russian asset.
I’m a Saints fan, but I’m a bigger fan of my country. It makes me sad the Saints won’t be in the Super Bowl, but it’s probably not a threat to national security, even with the New England Patriots in the game…again (which was another game full of iffy calls). But, having Trump steal an election with the help of Vladimir Putin is dangerous to our democracy and national security.
Trump sycophants are like Patriot fans. They don’t see Trump’s deflated balls. But, while the refs may need eye exams, Trump supporters need their eyes and brains examined.
Be Complicit
What kind of person would want to be part of something that disparages, slanders, and disrespects Dear Leader and his sycophantic followers? Hopefully, you.
Making a contribution supports my work and keeps the cartoons, columns, and videos coming. My income is from newspapers that subscribe to my work and small contributors. George Soros hasn’t sent me a million dollar check in weeks. Making a contribution of any amount, or buying a print for $40.00, makes you part of this specific resistance, and a member of Team Claytoonz (we’re still working on the name). You are complicit, an accomplice, and in cahoots (and whatever gangster terms we can think of) with this political satire pointing out that the stupid emperor has no clothes. Contributions can be made through PayPal, checks, and wads of cash exchanged in back alleys.
Whether you can help support, can’t, or just choose not to, please continue to enjoy and keep reading my work. Thank you!!!
Last Monday night, The NFL was to host a game between the Los Angeles Ram and Kansas City Chiefs in Mexico City at Estadio Azteca Stadium. These international games have been huge successes for the NFL, and a regular season game at this stadium in 2005 between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals set the record of the largest crowd to attend a regular-season NFL game with 103,467, now since broken. Keep in mind, that was a game featuring the Cardinals.
Unfortunately, this year’s regular season game had to be moved to Los Angeles because the field was in horrible shape. Where did the company come from that was hired to do the field? Costa Rica.
There are a lot of inside jokes about Costa Rica contractors being unreliable. “Manana” in Costa Rica doesn’t mean tomorrow, it means “never.” Projects are rarely ever completed when promised and you usually end up paying more than the quoted price, especially if you’re an expat.
I’m sure the NFL will return to Mexico city, but I bet the Costa Rican contractor for the field doesn’t.
By the way…
…here’s the rough. I just really like it for some reason.
Be Complicit
What kind of person would want to be part of something that disparages, slanders, and disrespects Dear Leader and his sycophantic followers? Hopefully, you.
Making a contribution supports my work and keeps the cartoons, columns, and videos coming. My income is from newspapers that subscribe to my work and small contributors. George Soros hasn’t sent me a million dollar check in weeks. Making a contribution of any amount, or buying a print for $40.00, makes you part of this specific resistance, and a member of Team Claytoonz (we’re still working on the name). You are complicit, an accomplice, and in cahoots (and whatever gangster terms we can think of) with this political satire pointing out that the stupid emperor has no clothes. Contributions can be made through PayPal, checks, and wads of cash exchanged in back alleys.
Whether you can help support, can’t, or just choose not to, please continue to enjoy and keep reading my work. Thank you!!!
After the NFL released their ruling Wednesday that they are banning kneeling during the American national anthem and will fine anyone who does so, Vice President and chief kisser of the orange rumpus, Mike Pence tweeted, “Today’s decision by the @NFL is a win for the fans, a win for @POTUS, and a win for America. Americans can once again come together around what unites us – our flag, our military, and our National Anthem. Thank you NFL.”
What Mike Pence reveals with that tweet is that it was never about the fans, our military, or our nation. It’s all about Trump.
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the silent protest to draw attention to police brutality and other social injustice against African-Americans. A few players joined him over time, and after Donald Trump used the issue to divide America further, even more players, white and black, took part.
Trump used the issue to attack black athletes and throw red meat to his base of racist supporters under the pretense that not standing was dishonoring veterans. That’s rich coming from a man who said a POW was not a war hero (I like people who aren’t captured), insulted Gold Star Families, and was himself a draft dodger.
Pence used the issue to stage a photo-op and even flew across the country to pull it off.
None of the critics have actually listened to what the protest has been about, instead pretending it’s something else. Screaming a lie about disrespecting the military is easier and more politically beneficial than confronting the reality that we have a social and legal system that discriminates against black Americans.
The National Football League was wise years ago when they prevented Trump from becoming a team owner. The “Buffalo Trumps” has a horrible ring to it anyway. The league should have exercised that same wisdom and refused to listen and pander to Trump.
The league is allowing players to stay in the locker rooms during the anthem, but will fine teams of any players on the field who refuse to stand. The teams can then punish the players any way they choose. Sure, the players are employees, but can an employer force employees to pledge loyalty? Expect a legal challenge.
The NFL uses patriotism as a marketing tool and even takes money from the Department of Defense to stage tributes in taxpayer-owned stadiums, in cities where they receive huge tax breaks.
The anger directed at the players is based entirely on race, not patriotism. You don’t see the same outrage from Republicans toward Trump for his disrespect of the troops. They don’t ask him to apologize and to be accountable for the attacks he’s waged. These are the same people complaining about “safe spaces” on college campuses.
It’s funny how people are told they can protest as long as they do it peacefully, then told to do it silently, and now they’re being told to do it where nobody can see them. Basically, the rule from Republicans is, don’t protest while black.
One solution the NFL didn’t take advantage of was, leave it alone. An atmosphere where you allow people to express themselves is stronger than one of forced compliance. Since the NFL failed, the players should practice a new protest.
I suggest they go on the field during the anthem and stand. While standing, they should put their fist in the air and give the black power salute like Tommie Smith and John Carlos did in the 1968 Olympics. The new policy doesn’t prohibit a raised fist while standing. Then, we’ll hear from the critics what their problems really are about black athletes making a point.
Standing up for your beliefs is honorable. Kissing Trump’s ass is a disgrace. Pandering to a wannabe authoritarian is un-American.
Watch me draw.
Thank you for your support. Reader contributions, small and large, really do help and are appreciated in a time of dwindling revenue for political cartoonists. You will also be supporting free speech and the First Amendment, and independent journalism while those in power are doing all they can to suppress it. You can also support by purchasing a signed print for $40.00. Just look at the right of this page and click the PayPal button, or you can email and make other arrangements. Thank you!
Melania, Ivanka, Ivana…I get all these Eastern-European female vampire names confused. For the first lady, I prefer Michelle Obama.
Melania, Donald Trump’s third and current wife and mother of Barron is feuding with Trump’s first wife, Ivana, mother of Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric. Marla, the second wife, and mother of Tiffany, has stayed out of the tiff thus far. Did I confuse you differentiating between these women? It was intentional.
The battle of the gold-digging trollops is over who is the first lady. Ivana was giving an unimportant interview to Good Morning America when she said she tries not to call her ex-husband too much because “I don’t want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that because I’m basically first Trump wife. I’m first lady, OK?”
Obviously, it was a little joke and perhaps a dig, but would Melania really get jealous and territorial if Ivana called too much? Yes, she would, and did. Melania’s spokesperson issued a statement from the First Lady’s office because that office isn’t real busy to begin with, what with the anti-bullying campaign lying dormant. The statement read, “There is clearly no substance to this statement from an ex, this is unfortunately only attention-seeking and self-serving noise.” which is Eastern-European female vampire lingo for “uh-uh. You better step off, bitch!” It’s sad when plastic trophy wives feud.
Technically, the real first lady is Melania Trump, which is its own spin-off disaster of the waking-up-in-the-night-screaming disaster that is the Trump administration. Melania continues to plagiarize from Michelle so maybe she agrees with me about our former FLOTUS. Melania doesn’t behave like a first lady. She’s supposedly campaigning against online bullying yet, keeps her trap shut every time her psychotic, man-baby husband cyber bullies like it is something he learned by watching Mean Girls. In contrast, Michelle Obama’s campaign was for healthy eating, and Republicans wanted her to scold her husband every time he ate a plate of chicken wings.
The real first bitch in this administration is Mike Pence. And no, I don’t use the term “bitch” in a sexist manner. It can be applied to men, probably more so than women. Being a woman doesn’t make one a bitch. Being someone’s bitch makes you a bitch. And, I just broke one of my rules which is, if you have to explain why you used a word then you probably shouldn’t use it (like when white people use the N-word). But, I’m gonna use it anyway for today. Mike Pence is a little bitch.
Mike Pence attended Sunday’s NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and Colts in Indianapolis (in a state where he used to be a bad governor which qualified him to be Trump’s bad vice president). During the National Anthem, several 49ers knelt. This offended Pence’s principles so much that he got up and left the game in protest at an event the administration says protests shouldn’t be allowed. He didn’t even stay long enough to get a hot dog. The man tweeted, “I left today’s Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem”. It’s cute Mike Pence pretends he has principles.
The entire national brouhaha of black athletes protesting racial inequality in our nation by kneeling during the National Anthem was kinda dying down. Trump, who has used the issue to further divide the nation without even trying to understand why they’re protesting, ordered his vice president to attend the game just so he can walk out.
They didn’t take this opportunity to be sanctimonious douche bags. They created it.
Kellyanne Conway cries that this was not a staged political trick, even though the president has made it very clear that it was. Conway said to say it was a PR stunt is “outrageous, egregious and offensive.” When Kellyanne is using that many adjectives and sounding like Kramer’s lawyer on Seinfeld, you know she’s lying. Plus, she was talking which is another Kellyanne indicator of lying. She also said, “it takes a lot to get that man’s blood boiling.” She’s right. It does take a lot to get his blood boiling. His blood never boiled when Trump talked about grabbing pussies, praised Nazis, called the female mayor of San Juan “nasty,” made racist statements about Mexicans, or when he criticized American POWS and Gold Star Families. Nope, that man is a cool cucumber.
Pence flew to Indiana from Las Vegas. The press pool was told they shouldn’t even bother to leave their vehicles as Pence would only be there for a few minutes. Sure enough, Pence was only there for a few minutes and had a statement containing artwork prepared to go for the press. Pence then flew back out west, this time to California with his mother, I mean his wife.
The White House knew the 49ers would kneel. They’re from San Francisco which is in liberal San Francisco, California. They started the whole kneeling thing. They said they would kneel. Trump even tweeted that he ordered Pence, like his little bitch, to attend the game just so he could leave. He also tweeted that it was “long-planned.” These fuckers might wanna get on the same page as the sycophants they’re dispatching to defend them. It’s not a PR stunt, it is a PR stunt. Which is it?
Pence can’t give a speech without lavishing loving praise on Donald Trump. The phrase “under President Trump’s leadership” is always included at least once. It’s not delivered in the way praise is expressed in an American administration. It sounds more like something from North Korea. Mike Pence is a little poodle bitch there to take Trump’s orders and to forgo all principles, beliefs, and dignity.
The anthem protest isn’t about disrespecting our troops, the flag or a song. It’s about police brutality, racial inequality in our justice system, and in all aspects of America. Republicans aren’t able to comprehend that because they’re not critical thinkers. Plus, it’s just basic red meat to accuser others of being traitors while you shout “Murica!”. It’s really bizarre to me that the people accusing others of a lack of patriotism call the investigation into Russian meddling into our election as “fake news.” Patriots defend their nation. Traitors give cover to the bad guys invading it.
So, how much did this little PR stunt by Trump’s little snowflake bitch cost us, the American taxpayers? Around $250,000. Trump’s complaining how Puerto Rico is messing up our budget, but he’ll order poodle bitch to fly to Indiana to publicly display his panties are in a twist. In addition to the cost, it was a huge inconvenience for Indianapolis. They had to reroute traffic, plan security, tell fans to get there early…just so Mike Pence could spend thirty minutes at the game for a PR stunt.
The vice president of the United States was in the same building as a group of Americans who have a serious disagreement with the United States. A real leader would have used the opportunity to talk to them and attempt to at least understand why they’re upset. Mike Pence used it as an opportunity to stage a political spectacle and further divide the nation, and then he fled the scene.
Just like a little bitch.
I want to thank everyone who has donated in the past. Your support helps me continue creating cartoons and columns with a little less stress in my life. Between competing syndicates with much larger resources, timid editors, and Trump supporters who attempt to intimidate the editors who do publish anything that criticizes their idol, it’s a challenge to make a career out of this. So your support (if you can) is appreciated. Want to help me continue to create cartoons and keep doing what I’m doing (pissing off conservatives)? Look to the right of this page and make a donation through PayPal. Every $40 donation will receive a signed print. All donations will receive my eternal gratitude.
claytoonz 