Players Speaking Up

#2
#2
I don't think there's anyone on this forum who doesn't support Josh Palmer and Trey Smith as human beings, nor is there anyone who is only "pretending" to "like" them.

That being said, you can support/like a student athlete (due largely to their contributions to the school) without expressly/tacitly endorsing every single belief that they hold.
 
#5
#5
Shut the hell up and play ball. Save the politics for another place and time.
Pro football has been ruined because of politics.
My family has stopped watching pro football and will never, watch another game. Ever.
Palmer can shove it. No one is not supporting them as human beings. Just like no one is saying black lives don't matter
 
#6
#6
Shut the hell up and play ball. Save the politics for another place and time.
Pro football has been ruined because of politics.
My family has stopped watching pro football and will never, watch another game. Ever.
Save politics for another time and place is easier said than done. The media and reporters ask questions and they answer. I guarantee you Pruitt doesn’t have a problem with players speaking what’s on their hearts, specifically his black players during this time. And even if they save their politics for another time and place like you suggest, how, where, and when? They are Vol players, they can’t take that off. A lot of these guys, Trey Smith included, will post these things on their personal twitter accounts outside of school/football hours. Is that acceptable?
 
#8
#8
Respect is something that has to be earned. We should be respectful to someone until they prove they are dis-respectful. I treat everyone as human beings. People have to act like human beings as well. We all have our different levels of acceptance. If we never watched the news, we'd all be better off.
 
#9
#9
I agree with Josh. If these kids want to use the university and their free ride to promote a political cause then more power to them.
But I can find something better to do on Saturday afternoons.
I have always had a problem with the universities prostituting their image for privileged athletes and personally would love to these kids in a farm system similar to baseball where they have to ride the bus and stay in cheap hotels.
 
#11
#11
I have no problem with him, or anyone else, speaking out. I have a big problem with the attitude of "support my point of view" or else you're racist or guilty of whatever.

We all want equal treatment of all people. The question is how do you achieve that. And that's the part no one wants to focus on. It's easy to take a knee, march, tear down a statue, like something on facebook, hashtag something or wear a colored ribbon.

How are we going to fix the illegitimacy rate, the teenage pregnancy rate, the high school dropout rate, gang violence, drug abuse, etc, etc, etc?

No one wants to deal with that stuff.
 
#13
#13
I have no problem with him, or anyone else, speaking out. I have a big problem with the attitude of "support my point of view" or else you're racist or guilty of whatever.

We all want equal treatment of all people. The question is how do you achieve that. And that's the part no one wants to focus on. It's easy to take a knee, march, tear down a statue, like something on facebook, hashtag something or wear a colored ribbon.

How are we going to fix the illegitimacy rate, the teenage pregnancy rate, the high school dropout rate, gang violence, drug abuse, etc, etc, etc?

No one wants to deal with that stuff.
Wish I could like this 100x’s. Preach it Gator!

We will only gain ground when we communicate with one another and actually come up with common ground and develop solutions. We gain absolutely nothing by pointing to all the problems with no solutions. Solutions must consist of some common ground. They cannot be one-sided.
 
#15
#15
The constant..."I've been backed in a corner and you better support me" rhetoric is just insane.

Wtf is he talking about. People talk about white privilege. Perhaps he hasnt noticed major D1 football privilege? My goodness, walk a fairly straight line, make a few good contacts, and you've got a pretty good life set up regardless of how your career goes on the field.
 
#16
#16
I think as fans - we all support your fair and equal treatment as human beings. I am sure most would appreciate your sharing of instances that make you feel otherwise. We watch in awe the display of your athletic skills. We are even willing to pay to see that skill set so that you and other talented players like you can get an education that others have to pay dearly for. We don't care about the color of your skin - We do care about the content of your character. I don't think you intend to insinuate that the stands are filled with hateful fans. GO VOLS!!
 
#17
#17
The constant..."I've been backed in a corner and you better support me" rhetoric is just insane.

Wtf is he talking about. People talk about white privilege. Perhaps he hasnt noticed major D1 football privilege? My goodness, walk a fairly straight line, make a few good contacts, and you've got a pretty good life set up regardless of how your career goes on the field.

I can only speak from my point of view, not sure about others but here is some of my experience. I’ve been harassed by the police. I’ve had the police pull guns on my friends and I when I was a kid for little to no reason. I’ve been physically abused by the police. I’ve had store owners follow me around their store (backwards cap and baggy pants). I’ve had people see me walk by their car and lock their door as I approached. I’m going to have those same conversations with my son about what to do if you get pulled over. Don’t make any sudden moves, hands on the wheel, ask for permission to get anything, don’t speak unless spoken to. I had to work hard to make grades to keep a high gpa and gain acceptance with scholarships into college with little to no help academically. I’ve had to compete for my educational opportunities and jobs and have been rejected many times. I’m not privileged. If white privilege does exist, I haven’t been a benefactor of it. I can’t speak for all white people, just me. To acknowledge and apologize for something that I can’t relate to doesn’t make sense to me and quite frankly seems a little insulting to black people.

All that being said, I still fully support people speaking out on matters that bother them. We can have open conversations. Some people need a little direction, some people just want to be heard.
 
#18
#18
I can only speak from my point of view, not sure about others but here is some of my experience. I’ve been harassed by the police. I’ve had the police pull guns on my friends and I when I was a kid for little to no reason. I’ve been physically abused by the police. I’ve had store owners follow me around their store (backwards cap and baggy pants). I’ve had people see me walk by their car and lock their door as I approached. I’m going to have those same conversations with my son about what to do if you get pulled over. Don’t make any sudden moves, hands on the wheel, ask for permission to get anything, don’t speak unless spoken to. I had to work hard to make grades to keep a high gpa and gain acceptance with scholarships into college with little to no help academically. I’ve had to compete for my educational opportunities and jobs and have been rejected many times. I’m not privileged. If white privilege does exist, I haven’t been a benefactor of it. I can’t speak for all white people, just me. To acknowledge and apologize for something that I can’t relate to doesn’t make sense to me and quite frankly seems a little insulting to black people.

All that being said, I still fully support people speaking out on matters that bother them. We can have open conversations. Some people need a little direction, some people just want to be heard.

Yea, not sure I received a heavy dose of the white privilege either. My working midnight to 6am, 5 days a week during my last 3 years of school didnt seem very privileged.
 
#20
#20
Are people on an opinion-based message board honestly getting upset because players from “their” team are expressing opinions? What I like is that these guys are a family and have each other’s backs. At the end of the day it’s about that team. Not you, me, or anyone else.
 
#21
#21
Are people on an opinion-based message board honestly getting upset because players from “their” team are expressing opinions? What I like is that these guys are a family and have each other’s backs. At the end of the day it’s about that team. Not you, me, or anyone else.

I think many are just frustrated by stupid takes.

I daresay, 99% of vol fans support them as human beings. It seems a stupid take to believe otherwise.
 
#22
#22
Are people on an opinion-based message board honestly getting upset because players from “their” team are expressing opinions? What I like is that these guys are a family and have each other’s backs. At the end of the day it’s about that team. Not you, me, or anyone else.

Are you serious? As you mentioned, this is a message board. When you disagree with someone's opinion (which happens a lot on here) you reply with a post explaining " YOUR" opinion on the matter. Disagreements happen....but in the end we're all Vol fans.
 
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#24
#24
I think many are just frustrated by stupid takes.

I daresay, 99% of vol fans support them as human beings. It seems a stupid take to believe otherwise.
That’s just it. If we’re being honest all we post here are “stupid takes”.
 

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