There is a line that you have to draw when you support someone. We have this line drawn for us often on TV. If you are watching a show where the good guy starts killing innocent people, you probably have to say that that is going too far. If you see a good guy blow up a building that could have innocent people in it, you probably are not going to be on his side. If you see a good guy stand on the street with an offensive sign to keep a bad guy from killing people, you think that is ok. However, the NFL draws the line at kneeling for the national anthem.
Leonard Little killed someone. Greg Hardy beat up a woman. Rae Carruth killed his pregnant girlfriend. Ray Rice beat the heck out of his fiancée. However, kneeling for the anthem is too much. The commissioner must think the players are really stupid.
You cannot have it both ways
Goodell is trying to appease the players and Donald Trump. He is trying really hard to trick the players into thinking that he cares, but it is obvious that he does not because he cannot even make a concession for a two and a half minute song. Goodell will forever be tied to people like Robert Kraft and Donald Trump, and I hope that his grandchildren do not have to read about this in history books. He looks so bad right now that he could not possibly go any farther down the rabbit hole of racism and bigotry.
Not only does he support racism and bigotry, but he supports it enough to lie to the players.
The players are not dumb
Are some NFL players stupid? They probably are. We can go out and ask other players about that. They can tell us if their colleagues are not bright, but we know that other players are smart. Matt Ryan is obviously a smart guy, and so is Aaron Rodgers.
Richard Sherman is brilliant, and so are Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, and the Bennett brothers. These guys know that Goodell is not being genuine, and they must be talking to their teammates about this.
If the NFL wants these players to stand, then the NFL is going to align itself with history and racism. They might not look racist today to some of you, but your grandchildren will be learning about what the NFL did to support confederate protests, to support police brutality, and to support a racist government.
Your grandchildren will not learn about all the little talking points that the commissioner had about social justice. They will learn that he was ultimately not on the side of right and good. That is not only very sad, but it is pathetic of the commissioner to do.