The NFL… And AWAAAY We Go!

We posted recently about the NFL wading into the political controversy surrounding people killed by police.  My premise was that it was a slippery slope.  You are handing control over someone’s stance, or perceived lack thereof, to outside forces and it can only go badly.

One case was with Pittsburgh offensive tackle Al Villanueva, who chose to wear the name of Army Sgt 1st Class Alwyn Cashe’s name on his helmet.   This was a departure from the rest of his teammates, who elected to wear the name “Antwon Rose Jr.” who was killed in Pittsburg.

Although not on the “Approved List,” Villanueva felt strongly about wearing Cashe’s name and now he is paying the price.  He cleared this move with Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin and Tomlin supported Villanueva’s right to individual expression.

Villanueva graduated from West Point and was an Army Ranger who was awarded a Bronze Star from actions in Afghanistan.

Al Villanueva’s helmet change catches Pittsburgh Steelers teammates by surprise

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers chose to wear the name of Antwon Rose Jr., a Black teenager killed by East Pittsburgh police in 2018, on the backs of their helmets for the entire 2020 season — but one player had a different name on his helmet Monday night, which came as a surprise to some teammates.

Offensive lineman Al Villanueva changed the name on his helmet to that of Army Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, a Black soldier who was killed on duty in Iraq and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for heroism.

Then, Antwon Rose Jr’s mother weighed in…

“I’m going to use this negative press and negativity to motivate me to hold the Pittsburgh Steelers even more accountable!!! Yes I believe in second chances but as we all know I believe in putting in the work and that’s how I base my collaborations. They came to me as a team/organization and I don’t care how good of an individual you are; if you are not a TEAM player then maybe you are playing for the wrong team!!!”

To be honest, I did not know the story of Antwon Rose Jr and looked it up.  Perhaps wearing the name served its purpose with me in that I read up on it and he has not been forgotten.  Rose sounds like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time but happened to run with a bad crowd – at least on the day of his death.  He fled from the scene of an arrest and was shot by a police officer.  I don’t know much beyond that as far as his innocence or potential guilt – but I’m not here to litigate individuals cases.

Then, we have the case of Miami Dolphin’s safety Eric Rowe who chose to wear the name of slain Texas soldier Vanessa Guillen.

NFL player will wear Vanessa Guillen’s name on helmet for Sunday’s game

One NFL player is honoring the legacy of slain Texas soldier Vanessa Guillen both on and off the field.

Miami Dolphins’ safety Eric Rowe will wear Guillen’s name on his helmet during Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.

The football team posted the announcement on Twitter Sunday, Sept. 13.

Guillen, 20, was an Army specialist stationed at Fort Hood who disappeared in April.

Finally, we have the case of Jacksonville Jaguars’ tight end Tyler Eifert who chose to wear the name of fallen retired St. Louis police officer David Dorn.

NFL player honors David Dorn on his helmet

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (KMOV.com) – Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Tyler Eifert honored fallen St. Louis police officer David Dorn by wearing his name on the back of his helmet for Sunday’s season-opening game.

Dorn’s name was on the list of approved names that can be worn.

List of approved names for placement on helmet bumper includes David Dorn

In addition to specific names, players may place the following phrases on their helmet bumpers: It Takes All of Us, End Racism, Stop Hate, Black Lives Matter.

This is the current list of approved names for placement on the player helmet bumpers, as provided by the NFL to PFT: Ahmaud Arbery, Althea Bernstein, La’Vante Biggs, Jacob Blake, Emantic “EJ” Bradford, Rayshard Brooks, Kalief Browder, Jim Brown, Michael Brown, Dennis “Ballie” Browning Jr., Miriam Carey, Philando Castile, William L. Champman II, Kenneth Clark Sr., Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, John Crawford III, Tymar Crawford, Emerson Crayton, Jordan Davis, Amadou Diallo, David Dorn, Manuel Ellis, Curtis Flowers, George Floyd, Janisha Fonville, Cornelius Fredericks, Eric Garner, Tank Goodman, Oscar Grant, Freddie Gray, Ronald Greene, Vanessa Guillén, Akai Gurley, DJ Henry, Botham Jean, Atatiana Jefferson, Dion Johnson, Jamee Johnson, Joshua Johnson, Kendrick Johnson, Bettie Jones, Corey Jones, Julius Jones, India Kager, Rodney King, Cameron Lamb, John Lewis, Shaheen Mackey, Marcus Malone, Trayvon Martin, Elijah McClain, Markeis McGlockton, Lyric McHenry, Davon McNeal, Marion Motley, Dante Parker, Fritz Pollard, Dreasjon Reed, Kevin Richardson, Jemel Roberson, Craig Rodgers, Deravis Caine Rogers, Antwon Rose Jr., Aura Rosser, Charles Roundtree, Jon Russell, Yusef Salaam, John Sanders, Raymond Santana, Antronie Scott, Walter Scott, James Scurlock, Sha-Asia Semple, Yvette Smith, Jason St. Julien, Eurie Stamps Sr., Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Alton Sterling, Enosa “EJ” Strickland, Willie Sturgis Jr., Darius Tarver, Breonna Taylor, Christian Taylor, Emmett Till, Denmark Vesey, Taiesha Watkins, and Alteria Woods.

The individual NFL player’s choice of names drives the question of what does BLM actually stand for and mean?  Since there is some degree of subject of interpretation, my contention is that it makes it ripe for angry and heated debate, similar to the non-specific meaning in the act of kneeling for the national anthem.

Then, of course, the name choice is open for criticism.  Rose’s mother framed it as Villanueva viewed it that her son did not deserve to be honored.  Villanueva may not have felt that way, but instead felt that Chase’s name should also be included in the vein of (All) Black Lives Matter but this is only a guess on my part.

So, to whomever thought that this would not be problematic… AWAAaay we go!

 

 

Category: Bronze Star, Politics, Ranger, West Point