Brittney Griner, Bruce, and Kanye, Just Shut Up and Play!

I am glad Brittney Griner is safe and home, although swapping a man named "The Merchant of Death" for a female basketball player was a bit like trading Darth Vader for Brittney Spears.?

Meanwhile, another American and former US Marine has been in jail for four years and is still there. No Marine left behind? The whole thing stank of political grandstanding, and before you comment, I have gay friends, black friends, Jewish friends, and even Muslim friends so spare me the racist or prejudiced replies. The post is not about that anyway...

Before she was arrested, I had never heard of Brittney Griner or seen a women's basketball game, but I read about her once she was in the news. About how she didn't want the national anthem played at games, and how she won't come out for it. She got a lot of press for her anti anthem stance, and that I find objectionable.

Just like I object to teams taking a knee, Bruce Springsteen telling me to vote for Joe Biden, or Kanye West telling me he loves Donald Trump and hates Jews. When I pay to go to a game or a concert, I do not want to hear or see the player's political or religious statements; I want to see them play.

If Bruce or Kanye want to make political statements, go to a political rally. If you want to make religious statements, go preach in church. Freedom of speech has its place. Go stand on the street corner and yell or hold your own seminar in a church hall but don't do it on my time when I paid for a ticket for something else. Or on TV time, where broadcasting rights cost hundreds of millions of Dollars. ESPN or NBC did not pay for your opinion. They pay to see you score or sing.

The World Cup is another perfect example. There was more talk about rainbow arms bands in the first few matches than about the actual games. The German team had the best protest. The whole team cupped their hand over their mouths to show how Qatar was suppressing free speech. Oh, and they also went home early. If you really want to protest what a terrible venue Qatar was for an international sporting event (and it was) don't show up, or get rid of FIFA, and start another organization where bribery is not a core value,

As soon as FIFA said anyone wearing a Rainbow armband would get a yellow card when they walked onto the pitch they suddenly vanished, so?much for principles!

People on sports teams are paid big money to perform for the audience. It is very arrogant and disrepectful to take that audience for granted and try to use it to advance your personal agenda. Do that on your Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts, not in front of an audience that paid came to see you play ball or sing, that may have very different political or religious beliefs.?

I don't care what your special interest is; I don't want to hear it or see it at the event, and I sure as hell don't want it to be a bigger story in the news the next day than how you played.

JUST STOP IT AND PLAY BALL!