Football season is here, so that means players taking a knee during our national anthem, or worse, hide in the locker room or tunnel like the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Seahawks, and the Titans, except for Steeler Alejandro Villanueva, to protest whatever.

The Steelers' excuse is that some players wanted to kneel, some sit, and some stand, so they decided to stay off the field.  This is absurd logic. They did not let the fans see who kneels and who stands.  Meanwhile, the jersey of Steelers left offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva is the hottest-selling NFL jersey.  It will probably be and stay number one as he becomes the symbol of the only Steelers player with courage and common sense to step on the field during the Anthem with his hand on his heart, and the symbol of those who do not agree with the players kneeling.

But what are they protesting?  It started with Colin Kaepernick protesting "racial inequality" and "police brutality."  Does anyone, including the players, have any specific incident or policy he wishes to protest?  They just mouth generalities.  What have they accomplished by their kneeling, besides alienating the fans?  Have they helped anyone?

It seems the kneeling has developed into an anti-Trump gesture, with over 200 players taking a knee or sitting down on Sunday, September 24.  The flag is a proxy for our country, which some of the players apparently do not like.  To others, the flag is a proxy for Trump, whom they do not like.

The players, owners, and the NFL paid sportscasters have unified to attack Trump because Trump said the owners should fire whoever takes a knee during the Anthem.  The attacks on Trump question why he criticized the players because they have a right to exercise their opinion.  Evidently, the players believe they have a right to exercise their opinions, but Trump and those who agree with Trump do not have the right to exercise their opinion to disagree with the players.

The NFL, its players, and its paid sportscasters have become accustomed to have the public do their bidding without criticism.  For example, the teams routinely threaten cities with moving if the cities do not build them a new stadium to play in.  The Raiders have made this into an art form.  The Baltimore Colts moved at night to Indianapolis.  The Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore.  They abandon fans who supported them.  The NFL teams get free publicity 24/7 with the TV and radio shows about football.  The newspapers devote pages to reporting on the teams.

The NFL cannot accept that the players taking a knee during our Anthem upsets many fans.  The fans are supposed to just shut up and take it, just like when a team decides to move to another city.  The owners and coaches should have stopped this nonsense before the season started.

It is not a matter of free speech.  The government is not prohibiting their speech.

The owners and coaches do not have a grip on this situation, and the players are in control.  If the players want to kneel, sit, or hide in the locker room, then so be it, but they should not complain when the fans criticize them and stop watching.  The players believe they can do whatever they want, regardless of the fans, but then get upset when criticized and call such criticism "divisive."

The fans watch the games to enjoy and relax, not be preached at by overpaid millionaires.  We get enough preaching from overpaid millionaires when we are forced to listen to Hillary, Obama, Pelosi, and the rest of the Democrats.