10 BOCNEWS.com NOVEMBER 2017 To Kneel or not to Kneel, in The NFL People are missing the point, according to Rev. Battle. Especially, he said when NFL players kneeling in protest has nothing to do with the national anthem. “The protest is to bring attention to the consistent mistreatment of black people in this country. Just like back (in the 60’s) when we had lunch counter protests,” He explained Rev. Battle is a former NFL player and grew up in the Deep South where rampant racism was preva- lent. He continued, “The way America chooses to deal with the problem is acting like it doesn’t exist and try to misdirect what the debate is all about. We have a president who never spent a moment in military service. “America has evolved to a place of those who have an agenda, those who don’t know what the agenda is, and those who are afraid to say anything. Like someone said more famous than me, ‘Evil thrives when good ones do nothing.’” Black Americans continue to be mistreated in this country as the ugliness of racism rises. Rev. Battle pointed out that “There is no way to justify a man being shot in his car point blank, multiple times.” He was referring to the incident in Minnesota where a black man was shot in his car. Rev. Battle also stated this latest crisis in America of athletes sticking up for human rights is nothing new. Colin Kaepernick and Tony Hines raised fists in defiance because of the mistreatment of a race of people in this country. Jesse Owens did the same thing with the black power symbol during the 1968 Olympic Games. “Why when you go to a football game, basket- ball game or baseball game and the Star Spangled Banner is playing – people are talking, drinking or going to the bathroom. How is that more respectful than kneeling?” asked Rev. Battle. Rev. Battle shared his own experience of being discriminated against during a brush with a white Denver police officer, who stopped him and gave him a ticket while he was in his car parked in the drive- way of his home. Apparently the year had fallen off the license plate tag. “The officer immediately asked me for my driv- er’s license, insurance paper, registration paper to identify that I owned the car. All the papers had the same address on it. But what he should have done is say the reason I stopped you is because some- thing happened to your tag and you need to get that resolved. That is not the treatment I got. The officer told me to stay in the car and not to move.” With the way things are going today, Rev. Battle added people in this country say they love God, yet, “They voted for this person, Donald Trump, to be in office as our president and won’t denounce the insanity he is spouting.” Leaders of churches, other clergy, along with the rest America love watching their sports. And there is no reason why they shouldn’t weigh in on the latest controversy surrounding NFL football play- ers. As Pastor Mike Spivey sees the whole situation with the NFL protests has a lot of dynamics to it. “It depends on your history and your background regarding the issues, which weighs heavily on your interpretation of what has taken place,” said the senior pastor of Compass Christian Fellowship in Parker, Colo. Pastor Spivey suggests there needs to be a reason- able sit down talk among those individuals involved. NFL football players have been protesting by kneel- ing during the national anthem at the beginning of games. The players are protesting the injustices going on with people of color in this country. It started with Colin Kaepernick who protested last year because of police brutality against black people. The NFL player’s message is being misconstrued and many think they are not being patriotic by dis- respecting the flag. However, Pastor Spivey admitted, “It is creating a storm. How do we address what the real problems are – that is the discussion to have.” Rev. Spivey referenced Isaiah 24 in the Bible how everything will be upside down. The scripture says how the earth was defiled by its people. God will open up and punish those on earth, as the earth is broken up and split asunder. Pastors are the leaders of their flock and influen- tial pillars in their communities. So when they speak out, people listen. With all the controversy going on in this country, especially with the NFL protest, some pastors didn’t hesitate to share her brief thoughts. Rev. Miller believes that athletes kneeling during the national anthem, is nothing more than “a reflec- tion of them exercising their first amendment rights. Rev. Lynn Miller Jackson is pastor at Scott United Methodist Church located at 2880 Garfield St. in Denver. For more information call 303-322-8967 Pastor Mike Spivey, Compass Christian Fellowship is located at 12250 Pine Dr., Parker, Colo. For more information call 303-895-0904 POLITICS Pastor Rev. Battle, The New Pearl Church is located at 2323 W Baker, Englewood, CO. For more information call 303-496-7006.