Less than two months after the NFL banned player protests during the national anthem, Arizona Cardinals president and former federal prosecutor Michael Bidwill used his team’s website to make a political statement of his own by voicing his support for his friend and former classmate Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.
An AZCardinals.com article on Monday focused on a letter written by Bidwill and his fellow Georgetown Prep alumni to the senate leadership of both parties vouching for Kavanaugh’s character in hopes of getting him confirmed.
Reaction to the article was almost immediate, not because Bidwill was supporting his friend in the political arena, but because he was using an NFL franchise’s media platform to do so.
Neither Cardinals spokespeople nor Bidwill immediately responded to requests for comment.
‘So are we doing politics in the NFL or not?’ asked former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz on Twitter.
SCROLL DOWN FOR MICHAEL BIDWILL’S ENDORSEMENT OF BRETT KAVANAUGH
Michael Bidwill (second from the left) used the Arizona Cardinals website to promote a letter he had written with former classmates in support of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Bidwill is the Cardinals president and son of team owner Bill Bidwill
President Donald Trump’s latest pick for the U.S. Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh (far left), has the full support of Bidwill, his former classmate at Georgetown Preparatory School
Former NFL journeyman offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz responded on Twitter by questioning whether or not the NFL is suddenly OK with political statements on team media platforms. In May the league prohibited players from protesting during the anthem
In another tweet, Schwartz clarified that he has no problem with the endorsement itself, but does take issue with the fact that it was pushed on the team’s website: ‘Bidwill should be allowed to endorse anything and anyone he wants. It shouldn’t be tweeted from the team account tho.’
In addition to Bidwill, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman also included his name on the letter to the congressional leaders, although he did not use his team’s website to promote the endorsement.
An offensive guard, Schwartz retired as a member of the Detroit Lions in 2016, but had previously played for the Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs (pictured), and New York Giants
NFL owners are certainly no stranger to politics.
Seven of them donated $1 million apiece to President Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, while several others gave significant amounts to his campaign. One such owner, the New York Jets’ Woody Johnson, ultimately accepted the position as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. ‘
But even with much of the owners’ support, Trump still took issue with the league in September for its reluctance to stop players from kneeling or sitting in protest during the national anthem.
The demonstrations began during the 2016 preseason, when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick used the protest as a way to raise awareness about inequality and police brutality against minorities.
After being elected, Trump jumped on the issue during a rally in Alabama last September, calling protesting NFL players ‘sons of bitches.’
The NFL did not initially cave to Trump’s demands, but after the controversy lasted throughout the 2017 season, the league announced a new policy in May: Players are now allowed to remain in the locker room during the anthem, but any league personnel on the field during The Star-Spangled Banner will be required to stand.
Many NFL fans and President Donald Trump himself have objected to players protesting inequality and police brutality against minorities by sitting or kneeling during the anthem
Failure to do so would result in the respective team being fined, and the franchises would then have the right to fine players individually.
‘I’d argue that vouching for a SCOTUS justice is more politically aggressive than kneeling, considering what could be at stake with this new justice,’ Schwartz added, referencing the litany of issues facing whomever fills Justice Anthony Kennedy’s seat.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman also included his name on the letter to the congressional leaders, although he did not use his team’s website to promote the endorsement
Bidwill, the son of Cardinals owner Bill, told AZCardinals.com that his longtime friend is ’eminently qualified.’
‘I think now that he’s been selected by the President, he will go through a thorough vetting process and as they go through that process they will learn about the great person we know,’ Bidwill told the website by phone while vacationing outside of the country. ‘He is a man of high character, high intelligence, excellence and independence. We want to speak up and show our support as former classmates and long-time friends.’
Exavier Pope, a lawyer who contributes to The Athletic and serves as the treasurer for the National Association of Black Journalists responded on Twitter: ‘Stick to sports’ is a lie to silence dissent to the rolling back of rights of marginalized groups of people in America.’
Exavier Pope, a lawyer who contributes to The Athletic and serves as the treasurer for the National Association of Black Journalists responded on Twitter
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio also gave a reaction: ‘Bidwill’s support for Kavanaugh comes at a time when players advocating political causes routinely are told to “stick to football,” and the league seems willing only to listen to a vocal minority of fans on the hotly-contested national anthem issue. Bidwill’s gesture follows last year’s effort by Broncos G.M. John Elway to publicly support the candidacy of Neil Gorsuch, the most recent justice appointed to the Supreme Court. (And, yes, Elway said, “Take the politics out of football” only six months later.)’
An offensive guard, Schwartz retired as a member of the Detroit Lions in 2016, but had previously played for the Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs, and New York Giants. His brother Mitchell currently plays for the Chiefs.
The two are authors of a book, ‘Eat my Schwartz: Our Story of NFL Football, Food, Family, and Faith.’
Perhaps coincidentally, the NFL Players Association announced on Tuesday that they have filed a grievance over the league’s anthem policy.
The union is arguing that the ‘policy, imposed by the NFL’s governing body without consultation with the NFLPA, is inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement and infringes on player rights.’
The NFLPA filed a grievance against the NFL over the league’s national anthem policy
LETTER IN FULL: How Michael Bidwill and Yankees GM Brian Cashman voiced their support for Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court
In addition to Arizona Cardinals president Michael Bidwill, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman also included his name on the letter to the congressional leaders, although he did not use his team’s website to promote the endorsement
Cashman, Bidwill and their former classmates feel that Kavanaugh, their former classmate, is ‘singularly qualified’ to replace Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court