John,
When Colin Kaepernick took a knee in a peaceful protest, President Trump told a rally of his Alabama supporters: "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b**** off the field right now, Out. He's fired. He's fired!'"
In response, NFL owners have blackballed Kaepernick for over three years.
Kaepernick is a professional football quarterback who exercised his freedom of speech to peacefully protest police violence against people of color -- particularly unarmed black men. By kneeling, he shined a light upon the racial injustice that permeates our nation’s institutions.
Kaepernick sparked a movement across the country and inspired players and people of all backgrounds to join him in speaking up for the voiceless. Then, Trump threw a fit and NFL owners caved – because the main concern of these billionaires is raking in more profits for themselves.
The only reason NFL owners are able to blacklist Kaepernick is because Congress granted them a special antitrust exemption that allows NFL teams to work together to negotiate better broadcast deals with television networks. But if they are going to use that special privilege to ban employees for speaking truth to power, it’s an abuse and we should reconsider it.
Now, right-wing media outlets like Fox News and Breitbart are coming after me for pointing out the obvious: nobody should be denied work for opposing racism and exercising their First Amendment rights. But the far-right doesn’t see it that way, and they want us silenced. Will you chip in a quick donation today to make sure we get our message out over the noise of far-right media?
I will always stand up for the voiceless, John. I won’t be bullied to back down by corporate monopolies or vicious media attacks, because I don’t rely upon them for support. I rely on you. Will you consider amplifying our message with a grassroots contribution today?
Thanks for everything --
Hank
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