Michael Thomas was right...

They need to stop getting involved in that racial garbage and put their faith in God not a flag. The only flag they need to put their faith in and worship the cross not in any other flag

Look, no one is denying there are inherent prejudices present in today's society. No one is denying there has been a wave of police brutality over the last 8 years especially with more speckled throughout history. No can deny that minorities have been treated unjustly in many cases and that there are aspects of our system that require improvement and we all need to ban together to improve them.

Those are indisputable facts in my opinion.

However, what makes this country has good or great as it is has always been the ability and freedom for civil discourse. To voice opinion openly and publicly and come to an understanding. Don't get me wrong there has been bloodshed and not every disagreement ends peacefully. You'll never control that as hard as you try.

All that being said, I'll never understand disdain for this nation and do not understand when it became a bad thing to be patriotic. The American flag used to be a symbol of freedom that people looked to. It's immigrants flocking to this country longed for. A chance. A dream. A life they maybe couldn't achieve elsewhere.

It's only in this country and few others now that many of these athletes could afford these opportunities. To be an athlete requires specific skill as does many other industries such a medicine, law, carpentry. However, professional sports here are not the same around the world (save soccer). And the freedoms they long for? They wouldn't even remotely come close to having them in places like Syria, Turkey, Egypt, China...I think we all need to remember we are all American.