Squat and Squabble

Conflicting viewpoints on topical subjects

Calling Out Kaep

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It’s strange to think that the President of the United States exercises his authority via Twitter. It’s something you’d expect from an angry teenager, but it’s nothing you’d expect from our Commander in Chief. Trump has continuously attacked celebrities and media outlets over social media, flexing his Twitter muscles whenever possible. Though it’s hard to believe that he could sink lower than before, Trump has done it again. During one of his speeches, Trump credited himself for NFL teams not wanting to sign Colin Kaepernick. To Trump, the reason for Kaepernick not being signed has nothing to do with his play over the years, or teams viewing his involvement in social activism as a distraction. Rather, teams aren’t signing Kaepernick due to their fear of Trumps Tweets.

Trump’s logic is fundamentally flawed for several reasons, but let’s just start with football. A player’s ability to perform on the field is the primary factor that would prevent them from being signed, and Colin Kaepernick isn’t undesirable by any means. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn’t released by the 49ers. He opted out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent. His last few years haven’t been his best, but a lot of that has to do with the dumpster fire that is the 49ers organization. The 49ers have gone through 3 coaches in 3 years, lacked surrounding offensive talent and have had one of the worst defenses in the league since Jim Harbaugh departed after the 2014 season (Ranked 32nd in 2016). Colin’s decision to opt out of his contract gives him the ability to draw up a new contract under Kyle Shanahan, and it also gives him the ability to move to another market.  Either way, throwing 16 touchdowns, only 4 interceptions and having a passer rating of 90.7% doesn’t make Colin Kaepernick undesirable. He’s only been a free agent since March 2nd and these things take time.

Though Trump may think his influence affects the mindset of 32 NFL team owners, their decisions are mostly their own. NFL owners, whether they agree with Kaepernick’s choice to protest the National Anthem or not, may not want to deal with the distraction. Politics are secondary to football, and organizations only care about winning. The NFL is a business and losing is detrimental to that business model. If a player’s actions have a negative impact in the locker room, NFL owners may not want to risk signing him. So, any reason that Kaepernick wouldn’t get signed has to do with his own actions, but his ability to get signed has nothing to do with Trump’s Twitter feud.

Whether you agree with Kaepernick’s decision to protest the National Anthem or not, it’s difficult to criticize his character. He’s known for his charitable nature, hosting camps for underprivileged kids and donating millions of dollars to several different charities. He most recently donated $100,000 dollars to the Meals on Wheels Foundation (An organization that would lose funding over Trump’s newly proposed budget) and the Love Army for Somalia Campaign. If I were an NFL owner, I would rather have this man serving as a distraction instead of the players committing acts of domestic violence or getting arrested for drug/alcohol related crimes.

Trump’s thought process may be flawed, but his supporters believe that his criticism was provoked. Kaepernick called out Trump for being racist, leading to Trump’s predictable retaliation. Regardless of who started the fight, it’s sad to see that our president thinks that this is an issue even worth addressing. Most importantly, it’s pathetic for our president to believe that his Twitter persona carries enough gravity to affect someone else’s NFL career. I’m just hoping that Kim Jung Un doesn’t Tweet Trump anytime soon. If he does, we could be looking at World War III.

If you accuse someone of being a racist, you should be ready for a strong response.  If that person has a big microphone, the response may be MUCH bigger that you bargained for.  But I would agree with Southpaw that Mr. Trump would be better suited than to use his Presidential hammer to swat a mosquito.  – Pops.

Presidential Bracketology

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Barry’s brackets

President Obama took time to appear on ESPN over the years to discuss his picks for the NCAA Tournament. Sports analysts would yuck it up with the President and then comment on the selections he made. This year, President Trump decided that he didn’t want to fill out a bracket. I was devastated because March Madness is totally YUGE and know that he would have constructed the perfect bracket. However, Barry O. made sure to keep the tradition going.

The Obama Foundation tweeted out his picks this year, and once again, Obama failed to deliver. As a Democrat, I fully respect the man as a politician. As a college basketball fan, I’m completely disappointed in his selection process. I will give him some praise, he did pick Michigan to make it to the Elite 8 this year, but every last one of his picks are highly predictable. Considering the guy introduced our country to universal healthcare, I expect him to be a risk taker.

Every single year, Obama picks the same top seeded teams to win it all. In fact, he picked a #1 seeded team to win the tournament every year during his presidency except for 2014. I’ll give him some credit for that one. Picking Michigan State when they were a #4 seed was pretty gutsy, but it still isn’t that risky when you have Tom Izzo at the helm. Hey, it’s totally understandable that you expect the teams with a better regular season record to win it all, but Obama didn’t pick the winner once throughout his presidency.

Now, do higher seeded teams usually win the tournament? Yes. Is it probably the safer/smarter bet? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean I’m okay with it. If you’re not going to pick the winner, you should be going with some wildcard picks. He’s the freakin’ president of the United States. He should have known that UConn was going to win it all as a #7 seed back in 2014.

Southpaw’s Picks

Overall, the bracket that he put together seems to be pretty solid, so let’s just see how he does this year. I’m sure he’s knocking back cold ones and watching the tournament on one of Richard Branson’s yachts right now. For the sake of friendly competition, I’ve posted a copy of my bracket, so let’s see how Obama stacks up to Southpaw’s when the nets get cut down.

I don’t follow the sport, but I’ll bet that even Southpaw would have been a better president. – Pops

CouchGate 2017

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Breaking News Story

Just when you thought America couldn’t sink any lower, Kelly Anne Conway decided to sit on a couch and use her phone, while officials from historic black universities met in the oval office. Was she Facebooking ex-boyfriends from college? Maybe! Was she trying to find a hot senator on Tinder? Quite possibly! Was she ordering Trump’s afternoon cheeseburger on Uber Eats? I wouldn’t doubt it! The only thing we do know, is that the Liberal media quickly reported this “atrocity.” Yes, innocent families are dying from aerial strikes in Syria. Of course, Jeff Sessions neglected to mention his meetings with a Russian diplomat during his confirmation hearings. Yeah, there were 55 Major Human Rights violations reported within the first week of the Geneva Talks. But none of that matters, people. Kelly Anne’s feet being on the couch is a top priority that we should all focus on. Are you kidding me?

As a Democrat, I think we need to come back down to earth. Growing up, I was always told to pick my battles. By doing that, I could focus on more important issues and disregard minor B.S.. Instead of talking about actual problems, we’re harping on Kelly Anne’s feet being on the sofa? That’s like being pissed off at your buddy, Dave, for always putting his damn feet on the coffee table, and that problem becoming a story on a nationally televised news network. But hey, maybe I don’t want your bunions anywhere near the trail mix, David (#getdavesfeetofthetable2017). I think we can all acknowledge that it wasn’t the best move on her part, but she was just trying to snap a photo. Not to quote Trump, but now there were even some “So-called” journalists trying to somehow create a racial issue out of it. Sorry, but your credentials as a journalist should be revoked when you stop reporting the news and start squabbling over household etiquette.

Not Breaking News Story

If journalists want to earn their credibility back, then they need to stop reporting things that aren’t news. If you want to call out the Trump administration for lying to the American people, that’s fine. If you want to criticize Trump for his policies, go ahead. If you want to hold him accountable for what he says as our president, then do it.   But quit succumbing to the pissing contest that the Trump administration started. Based on some “alleged tapes” involving our beloved president and some Russian prostitutes, we can’t win that fight literally or figuratively.

When it comes to Kelly Anne herself, give the lady a break.  She may as well be featured on Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe for having to answer for Trump’s actions 24/7.

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