Sportscaster Jason Whitlock said Monday that by adopting the changes demanded by “Black Lives Matter” (BLM), the National Football League (NFL) “will never be seen the same again because of the failure of leadership.”
“So when I look at what the NFL is doing, this goes against every value that the NFL has built itself on, professional sports have built themselves on, a celebration of Americana and the ideals and values that best exemplify America,” Whitlock told Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
He stated that the league has “built themselves on unity and unifying the country” but that the decision to promote “Black Lives Matter” policies is undermining that objective. (Congressional Candidate, Former NFL Player Burgess Owens Doesn’t Believe There’s A ‘Black National Anthem’)
“If the NFL starts out its season with everyone standing for ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’ the black national anthem, and then virtually everyone on the field taking a knee when ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ plays, I think it’s going to be — if you remember the show ‘Happy Days’ — the jump-the-shark moment when it’s like, OK, ‘Happy Days’ is over,” Whitlock said.
The NFL will reportedly begin playing “the black national anthem” before every game. It has also committed to spending $250 million in order to “combat systemic racism.”
Such decisions are unlikely to be readily accepted by all. Super Bowl XV champion Burgess Owen told the Daily Caller in March that he has refused to watch an NFL game since former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to take a knee during the playing of the “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Whitlock predicted the result will be a loss of audience for the NFL, which “will never be seen the same again because of the failure of leadership … There’s no way you can do any homework on Black Lives Matter and not see that it’s a Marxist political organization.”
The sportscaster characterized BLM as a Marxist organization, not about black deaths but about Communism. He asked why people who “claim their Christianity” are unwilling to oppose an organization that “is anti-religious.” (RELATED: Civil Rights Activist: Left Is Not Fighting For Social Justice But For ‘Anarchy’)
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick #7, safety Eric Reid #35, and linebacker Eli Harold #58 of the San Francisco 49ers kneel before a game against the New Orleans Saints with the U.S. flag unfurled in honor of the armed services on Nov. 6 2016 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Saints won 41-23. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Calling the adoption of BLM’s demanded changes “cowardice at its highest level,” Whitlock said the NFL leadership and owners have betrayed an America that “has made them filthy rich and some of the most powerful people on the planet.”
“They are unwilling to defend the values they built their business on and the country that has enriched them incredibly,” Whitlock said.