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Heinzerling: Stokley's Reaction Was The Right One

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Nov 8, 2008 8:55 pm US/Mountain

Heinzerling: Stokley's Reaction Was The Right One

Not On The NFL's Turf

By Brett Heinzerling, CBS4 Sports Producer

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DENVER (CBS4) ― I understand Brandon Stokley's reaction. As a matter of fact, I think Brandon Stokley's reaction was the right one ... at least as far as football is concerned. When the other Brandon made the decision to honor the election of Barack Obama by violating league rules, he did not have his team, nor did he have the outcome of Thursday night's pivotal game in mind.

But Brandon Marshall was right. His intended celebration of unity was one that would have forced a nation of football fans to confront an issue that is obviously very dear to Marshall. All week in the locker room, Marshall spoke out about his feelings regarding the possibility of Obama's election, then after the fact, he was not shy about the pride he felt in seeing a fellow African-American rise to the highest office in the land.

Most people don't have a forum to make these comments. With a weekly press conference and near-daily interviews, Marshall does, but in the locker room, the words come and go. A very public and very visible demonstration during a nationally televised football game would have given him a platform to speak his mind to a national audience that is simply not available to him on a daily basis.

The gloved hand would have elicited a strong reaction ... both in favor of, and against the demonstration. But more than anything, it would have been a visible representation of what Marshall, and I imagine, an enormous number of Americans believe.

I don't blame Brandon Stokley for preventing what could have become a very poignant moment in American sports. He simply had the best interest of the team in mind. Instead, the blame rests squarely on the NFL. The simple fact that a member of the National Football League has to weigh the consequences between making a political statement and potentially risking a fine and his team's chance at a win is despicable.


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