Taya Kyle, the widow of “American Sniper” Chris Kyle, ridiculed the NFL Tuesday, suggesting that protests have focused “on division and anger” rather than the unity she believes the league once promoted.

“You are asking us to abandon what we loved about togetherness and make choices of division,” Kyle said.

“You, dear NFL, have taken that. You have lost me here.”

The 43-year-old mother of two, whose husband was often called the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history, joins a growing chorus of voices taking a stance in the battle between the NFL and President Trump. NFL players and owners have knelt or locked arms to protest police brutality against African Americans or Trump’s attacks against the league, while the president contends that taking a knee during the national anthem is a sign of disrespect for the American flag and veterans.

[Perspective: Colin Kaepernick vs. Tim Tebow: A tale of two Christians on their knees]

Kyle, who has spoken out in support of gun rights and Trump’s travel ban, posted her “Letter to the NFL” on Facebook Tuesday, explaining how America’s most popular sport had united people of different races, religions, and backgrounds in concession line chats and the rising and falling fortunes of their respective teams.

Did it ever occur to you that you and we were already a mix of backgrounds, races and religions? We were already living the dream you want, right in front of you.

Your desire to focus on division and anger has shattered what many people loved most about the sport. Football was really a metaphor for our ideal world –different backgrounds, talents, political beliefs and histories as one big team with one big goal — to do well, to win, TOGETHER.

You are asking us to abandon what we loved about togetherness and make choices of division. Will we stand with you? Will we stand with our flag? What does it mean? What does it mean if we buy a ticket or NFL gear? What does it mean if we don’t? It is the polar opposite of the easy togetherness we once loved in football.

She concludes by challenging the NFL’s “strong guys” to fight for issues they claim to care about with their on-field demonstrations.

“That would involve getting off their knees and getting to work though,” she wrote.

Last year, the NFL Players Union’s recognized former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the first player to kneel in protest during the national anthem, for his service in the community and pledge to donate $1 million to charities.

As of Tuesday 11:30 p.m. ET, Kyle’s Facebook post has been shared 4,300 times with 9,400 “likes.”

Kyle’s statement comes a day after the widow of former NFL player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman defended the right to free speech.

On Monday Trump shared a tweet about Tillman as an example of why the players should stand for the anthem. Later in the day, Marie Tillman, whose husband was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004, said in a statement that “Pat’s service, along with that of every man and woman’s service, should never be politicized in a way that divides us.”

She added that, “The very action of self-expression and the freedom to speak from one’s heart — no matter those views — is what Pat and so many other Americans have given their lives for.”

Tillman had previous criticized Trump over an order barring travel from seven majority Muslim countries, the Post’s Des Bieler reported.

“This is not the country he dreamed of, not what he served for and not what he died for,” she said of her late-husband.

Chris Kyle, often called the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history, was a celebrated Iraq War veteran who had deployed to some of that war’s most intense battlegrounds, the Post’s Dan Lamothe reported. His autobiography, “American Sniper,” was made into an Oscar-winning movie by Clint Eastwood. Kyle was shot and killed in 2013 by a Marine Corps veteran at a shooting range in Texas.

In an interview this April, Taya Kyle said that while touring the country first for the “American Sniper” movie and then her book, she found that many people were “exhausted by all the conflicts.”

“If you take the polarizing conflicts out of the conversation, you’d realize most people are not so far apart,” she told the Sioux City Journal. “We might disagree on some things, but we’re not hateful with our neighbor. If we had a conversation, we might be able to list off 100 things we agree on. Somehow, it’s getting scarier and scarier to start those conversations.”

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Source link