The NFL's a Buncha Unified SOB's

Athletes in general, and football players in particular, have always been keenly receptive to a strong motivational speech.

As 99% of the USA is well aware, they got a rousing one just before the weekend started.

Suffice to say it wasn't of the Knute Rockne persuasion.

Being real, it wasn't very persuasive at all.

And why would the nation have expected anything other than mass defiance, considering the dude blasting them dodged the draft when his number came up?

Frankly, the only time he might've defended the flag would've been if his bedspread had a Stars-&-Stripes design.

There is a government out there where everyone's expected to toe the line with policy, but it's having a rough go of it lately. That would be the Islamic State.

Of course, this political firestorm is merely an exercise to fire up Trump's base, who may have felt that he was drifting from what they believed. It's surely worked as a short-term distraction.

Overall, though, the NFL actually did itself proud in its high-ground reaction to all this.

Sports is supposed to build character, and hopefully, that's how its response will be received by salient human beings.