Mango

I got some flack on this thread for saying how ambiguous and vague McB and TP have been in their statements. Here’s the response I, and probably guys like Tre White were looking for from the org. I’m glad the NFL is finally getting guys like Popa and Cuban.

Huh? Not even a little. I’m not demanding anything of DB. There was a much better way to talk about the issue and voice his opinion. He didn’t do that, and hence the jury is in session. And rightfully so.

I didn’t mean that the owners themselves were racist (the odds say that some are though). I said they have a toxic work environment and do a bad job of representing their workforce. Which is true. 60%+ of their workforce is people of color. They continue to try and quite them down about speaking about racism. Although there are no official rules. Meanwhile, they’re trying to sweep actual racists under the rug. It’s a toxic work environment, that is only put up with because it’s the only game in town for a life changing amount of money.

He could have easily said: “listen, I have a long history with my famipy in the military and will always stand for the anthem. But my friends and teammates have a different experience in this country. We have to stop persecuting black people. Institutional racism is a real problem. I understand why they feel differently about it” But he didn’t do or say that, so here we are.

The hard pill to swallow is that we do have racist bones in our body. And we get to control and change our behavior based on what’s important to us. I’ve said racist ***** in my life. Wish I hadn’t, but it has to be owned and behavior adjusted. It can’t be, I’ve said racist stuff but I am not racist. In regards to Fromm. It’s not that hard. People do it everyday. They think, and will even outwardly say in front of POC that black people are bad, just not the black people they know. It’s no different than saying “I can’t be racist, I have black friends”

Or maybe it’s more nuanced than that? Or maybe the NFL is a relatively toxic organization when you think about their executive team (Owners, HC, GM, and league officials) and don’t actually do a good job of representing their work force. If I kept protesting racism at my employers, and they fired me but kept the racists. All the while telling people to be quieter about mentioning racism. Sure they’re within their rights, but that doesn’t make them right or just.

Which is why I am largely speaking regionally and those numbers aren't specific to a neighborhood. People are just reshuffling, the overall situation is not getting better. It is trendier now than ever to live "in the city" so those can afford to do so, are doing it. But things are not better for the people who were originally there. They are exactly the same, they just live in a different neighorhood now. That isn't progress. This time I am really out. ha!

Not trying to hijack the thread, so I will just make a comment and back out of it regarding this. The city is not turning around, there is almost no data to suggest otherwise. It is a myth and local propaganda. Most of the county remains under employed, the city itself has wages barely keeping up with inflation. A disturbing number of children are living below the poverty line and that number keeps growing yearly. The same people that made money in Buffalo are still making it now. Savarino, Macaluso, Montente, Paladino, Sinatra, etc. (notice a pattern there?)Hell, the Jacobs family had no intention of moving Delaware North to a new building, the city made them and fit the bill to line the pockets of Uniland (Montante). But hey, the same developers keep developing, plus a new coat of paint, and everybody goes wild! Buffalo is actually in for a rough spot if the economy continues to shudder because as of late, Buffalo has one of the highest cost of living increases in the nation, despite all the data on jobs, income, employement, and poverty.

via social media it seems it will not speak well to the locker room.

I was referring to regionally. Only about a 1/4 of the region lives in the city limits. Even then, if you lived in Amherst and went to Denver, you would say you were from Buffalo. Drawing municipal lines is irrelevant. WNY as a region is more conservative (and segregated) than anybody really wants to admit.

You should already be disappointed. https://www.esquire.com/sports/news/a49658/kaepernick-death-threat-shirt/

I am interested in how the fan base reacts to Tre this year. I think TW is setting himself up to be pretty vocal about this cause (and justly so). It is interesting McD held a presser the day after Tre publicly said he is keeping an eye on coaches that are silent publicly. Buffalo is a low key conservative place, I thought while McD's comments were valid, I wouldn't call them thorough. He chose his words carefully, as he does, and strayed away from discussing racism in particular. I am not sure that that will be good enough for a guy like Tre who is so outspoken. He is a fan favorite, it will be interesting to see how Buffalo reacts if he starts speaking out regularly about social and racial justice. I would have to imagine a black player, in a very black league would like coaches to stand up in a way the Popa does: Or owner Mark Cuban: I think we are on the same page on this one.

His apology probably would have been different and would have given the context that he was actually mocking old white men and the government. But it didn't. He apologized for insinuating that HE was an elitist white man. But did NOT apologize for insinuating that elite white men should only have access to suppressors. ""I am extremely sorry that I chose to use the words 'elite white person' in a text message conversation," Fromm said in a statement posted to Twitter on Thursday afternoon. "Although I never meant to imply that I am an 'elite white person,' as later stated in the conversation, there's no excuse for that word choice and sentiment."

Fine by me actually. 60% of the locker room is black. He said some racist stuff in the last 400 days or so. I wouldn't fault an employer for not wanting that in the room. And I wouldn't fault players for not wanting him there.

The "if it ain't white, it ain't right" didn't sit well with me. The rest seemed to just be song lyrics from Allen. Not defending it, but you are right, it is different. Fromm on the other hand, went out of his way to say that black people should not own guns. And to everybody saying it is a personal text. Yeah it is, and I could 100% lose my job if any of them got out. It isn't anybody's fault for reporting them. It is my fault for sending them. Like if I were to text a friend that "Jesus, my boss Jim is bat-***** crazy, POS and is making my life hell. Hope he gets hit by a car on the way home". If my boss Jim got a hold of that I could lose my job. That is nobody's fault but my own.