re: Chris Jackson (Abdul Rauf) on BIG3 Basketball now.

A fricking Muslim!

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Chris Jackson (Abdul Rauf)

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As with most stories, people forget the details over time. His "protest" was actually not one at first. He simply decided one night to no longer stand at attention for the anthem (feel free to disagree with his WHY if you want...it is, after all America) but he went several weeks of doing this for games without even one person giving a crap. He just was off to the side, stretching, keeping busy, etc.

No "look at me" protest. Just not taking part and not doing anything to draw attention to himself. Pretty typical low-key Jackson/Rauf if you remember the guy when he was here.

Then a reporter happened to notice him and he asked him what he was doing. As always, the guy was honest with him and explained his why...and THEN the shite hit the fan. After that, it became a protest with him standing at attention but praying, etc. Then he was pushed into a corner and forced to argue over his beliefs, and as arguments generally go they eventually got heated. It wasn't until someone felt the need to stop him from simply not taking part in something he did not want to and attempt to force him that it became a fight. Why? Why should anyone care if he did not want to stand when at first it was no protest at all?

And honestly...who of good conscience would not react the same way if you felt you were right? If you were doing something you felt in your heart was the right thing, and had been bothering no one, what would it say about your convictions if you simply pulled your tail between your legs and did what you were told? Rauf was basically black-balled out of the league after that, and even his damn house burned down in Mississippi. I'm almost certain there are very few here who have stood that resolute in their convictions and given up as much as he did when all he had to do was go along and pretend.

Kaep's not the same story at all as far as I'm concerned, and it isn't because he did not attend LSU. Rauf NEVER wanted to make a statement or make some huge protest. It was a personal decision by him, and that's as far as it went at first. Kaep was about bigger social change and he used the NFL sidelines to make a statement. They are not really comparable when you look at the details.

Oh...and can we PLEASE just ban the next fricking person that feels the need to bring this up on The Rant anytime his name is mentioned in a purely athletic way? The guy is an LSU legend, and easily one of the Top 3 players any of us ever saw wear P&G. Even if you hate the guy for what he did after LSU, can you AT LEAST keep it off of this board where we talk about his exploits on the court? You don't look informed or tough or patriotic, you look like an a-hole who can't separate your politics from the rest of your life.