"The Stack" 8-18-17
The Stack is back and yes we haven’t had a lot of posts this week, but that will change here in the coming weeks with football season right around the corner. Perhaps there are a few football thoughts today. Good for LeBron James to use his platform and condemn the hate and what happened in Charlottesville last weekend. That’s all I have to say about it. Let’s see what else is in “the stack” for today, Friday, August 18th:
Ezekiel Elliott appeals suspension
Yes this was a couple of days ago, but Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott officially appealed his six game suspension and his legal team is coming out in full force. They are painting the accuser, Tiffany Thompson as a bit of a crazy person who was ready to wreck Elliott’s life. This does put the NFL’s investigation into question if they believed Thompson more than Elliott without having a great deal of evidence. The NFLPA has said that they don’t agree with what is happening to Elliott because the league is inconsistent in their punishment. The NFL did recently instill a six game suspension when it comes to domestic violence issues. Elliott’s name just happens to be the highest profile and the first real test for the NFL. Harold Henderson will hear the appeal for the NFL which isn’t a good sign for Elliott as Henderson has tended to side with the league being a former league employer. That could mean this case is going to court. I believe Elliott did something wrong, but the dialogue that is coming out lately makes me believe more that his accuser isn’t the most credible sort. It will be interesting how this shakes out, because DeMaurice Smith, the head of the NFLPA, has said that a lockout or holdout in 2021 is likely. Based on the trust between the league and the NFLPA I would say that there is a lot of work to do between the two sides to avoid a work stoppage. And at the end of the day, Elliott will be suspended. It just a question of how long the suspension is.
Blake Bortles underwhelming Thursday night
There were three NFL preseason games played Thursday night as week two of the NFL preseason rolls on. The Baltimore Ravens took down the Miami Dolphins 31-7 in Jay Cutler’s Miami debut. Philadelphia took down Buffalo 20-16, but the big news was in Jacksonville where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took down the Jaguars 12-8. The big story from Thursday though was Blake Bortles and his ineffectiveness to move the ball for the Jaguars offense. He was 8-of-13 for 64 yards. Zero points for the Jaguars offense. He missed wide receivers several times. Head coach Doug Marrone was not happy afterward. Jaguars fans shouldn’t be either. Bortles has not played well since he was taken third overall in the NFL Draft a few years ago. Perhaps he was thrust into the spotlight too quickly. Either way, his 63 turnovers over the last three years is the most in the league and if he can’t figure things out quickly, he is going to be out of a job.
Only one game tonight and that would be the Minnesota Vikings at the Seattle Seahawks at 10 PM
ET on the NFL Network.
Athletes and the national anthem
Finally, a lot has been made of what athletes what should for the national anthem after Marshawn Lynch and Michael Bennett sat for the national anthem last week. Some are holding their fists up like Malcolm Jenkins. When you see injustice and rallies like the white supremacists and neo-Nazis last week in Charlottesville, it is very understandable for these athletes to take a stand and express themselves. As Bennett said earlier this week, there are fans in the stands who don’t take their hats of and some who yell expletives at the athletes during the anthem. They aren’t getting criticized. Chris Long, a University of Virginia alum had his arm around Jenkins during Thursday night’s game. The two are teammates for the Eagles. You would hope that these athletes don’t receive backlash from the general public, but inevitably they will. Hopefully these same people are as upset and disgusted by what happened in Charlottesville last week. Not worth it getting upset over an athlete who isn’t doing anything wrong or standing for anything wrong, whether they stand up for the national anthem or not.
Before we go, a lot of people are going crazy over Chick-Fil-A being in the new Atlanta Falcons stadium and not being open on Sundays which is what they do for all of their stores. I have no problem with it. The new stadium will host a lot of other events including many college football games. Yes, you want it open for Falcons games, but that just means they’ll have to get some Thursday night and Monday night football games there.
Coming up next week: Reaction to top stories in the sports world
