One NFL Player You Can Be Sure Won't Be Taking A Knee During National Anthem On 9/11

[Nostradamus]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jets-catapano-yorker-vividly-recalls-9-11-attacks-230312923--nfl.html?utm_source=web&utm_medium=twitter

 

Jets' Catapano, a New Yorker, vividly recalls 9/11 attacks

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr.

— Sep. 8, 2016 7:01 PM EDT

 

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) —

 

Mike Catapano was sitting in his sixth-grade music class when panic suddenly filled the room.

His instructor was distraught, having just heard that each of the towers at the World Trade Center, where one of his loved ones worked, had been hit by a plane.

"You're young, so you don't really know exactly what's happening," the New York Jets linebacker recalled of the Sept. 11 attacks. "Was it a crash? Was it an attack? You're just so confused."

 

Catapano, the only player on the Jets' roster who was born and raised in New York, grew up in the Long Island village of Bayville — about 35 miles from lower Manhattan.

"I remember hearing that the World Trade Center went down," Catapano said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I wasn't really sure where that was at the time, and then everybody started saying, 'twin towers.'

"That's when I was like, 'Oh my God!'"

His thoughts immediately turned to an uncle who worked at a nearby building. Then, his mother, Barbara — like many other worried parents — showed up at the school to bring him home.

"My mom was freaking out and buying all kinds of food from the supermarket, thinking that we might be going to war or something," said Catapano, who was 11 at the time. "It was just pandemonium. For a little kid, it was just kind of all a blur. But I remember everyone around me kind of being in a panic."

Once back home, Catapano and his mother flipped on the TV to try to make sense of everything that was happening.

"We just stared at the screen in horror," he recalled.

Anxious moments eventually gave way to relief as the Catapanos confirmed, one by one, that all of their immediate family members were OK. That included his uncle and a few firefighters, including two who were first responders.

His music instructor and several classmates at St. Dominic Elementary School in Oyster Bay weren't nearly as lucky.

Neither were many of his neighbors.

"It was all around us," Catapano said. "As anybody in New York knows, it was just a terrible, terrible day."

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, including 2,750 at the World Trade Center.

"I remember one of my classmates being on TV and announcing his father's name as one of the victims," Catapano said. "It's just horrible. ... When you say 15 years, it seems like a long time ago. But, it's really just like yesterday."

During the days and weeks after the attacks, Catapano remembers joining his mother, a member of the neighborhood Rotary Club, going door-to-door bringing food and checks to people who lost the breadwinners of their household.

They did the same with families affected near his grandmother's home in nearby Bethpage.

Sunday marks the 15-year anniversary of the attacks, and Catapano will be on the field at MetLife Stadium for the Jets' season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rookie Jordan Jenkins, the projected starter, is dealing with a calf injury and hasn't practiced all week. That could open the door for Catapano to make his first NFL start.

He is excited for the possibility, but the game will take on even greater meaning for Catapano and his family.

"I remember the country really coming together right after the attacks, even as a little kid," Catapano said. "I could sense that, and I'm sure you will feel that in the stands Sunday. That's a special thing. It shows the resiliency of humans, the resiliency of the United States. It's much bigger than the game of football.

"It's cool to be a part of those feelings and kind of put it on the field and do it for those people in the stands."

The memories of that day in 2001 will again be all around him before the game when the Jets hold a pregame tribute to remember the victims. Members of Tuesday's Children, an organization that supports youth, families and communities impacted by terrorism and traumatic loss, will participate.

Representatives from the FDNY, NYPD and PAPD and the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Tower Foundation will be honorary captains, along with members of the Jets' 2001 team, who will also be featured in a video shown during the ceremony remembering 9/11.

Current players will wear commemorative helmet stickers, and coaches will have lapel pins on their shirts.

Catapano will also carry lots of emotions with him onto the field, and feels a responsibility to those former classmates, friends and neighbors who will spend part of that day grieving for lost loved ones.

"It takes it to a bigger picture outside of football when you're representing New York and it's Sept. 11," Catapano said. "It makes you think about more than the game itself and how important the game can be to other people in New York. I'm just proud to be able to represent New York."

[nj meadowlands]

[Villain The Foe]

This is the full song of our National Anthem. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner

O! say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave![19]

 

If the national Anthem was played in its entirety you would see about 80% of the league take a knee anytime the song was ever played. The song directly talks about there being "no refuge for slaves from the terrors", the same slaves who were fighting their oppressors so joined the British in an effort to get free from their bondage. 99% of the people who are making a big deal about guys taking a knee on the anthem didnt even know their own anthem said this in it. 99% of the players that this song directly talks about in regards to their ancestors dont even know that the very song says it because they never heard the anthem in its entirety. 

 

To watch guys like Kaep and Marshall receive such backlash yet at the same time know the lyrics to the entire anthem makes this entire situation pretty damn ironic. 

This anthem subject should be left alone and we should stick to the actual story posted. 

[Larz]

The nfl must be terrified of 9/11 anthem kneel downs. Not a good look

[dbatesman]

Guys can all of us please share our personal opinions about race and racism in America? Please be as emotional as possible

[Nostradamus]

1 minute ago, Larz said:

The nfl must be terrified of 9/11 anthem kneel downs. Not a good look

Kneel downs on 9-11 should be banned...period.  Any other sunday ok....but on 9-11?   Nah.   Its more than a bad look

[Matt39]

5 minutes ago, Larz said:

The nfl must be terrified of 9/11 anthem kneel downs. Not a good look

All they have to do is tell the networks not to show it.

[Larz]

Just now, Matt39 said:

All they have to do is tell the networks not to show it.

That might work in 1955

[Matt39]

Just now, Larz said:

That might work in 1955

Huh? They dont show fans running on the field.

[Larz]

1 minute ago, Matt39 said:

Huh? They dont show fans running on the field.

People have phones that take pictures now

[Nostradamus]

4 minutes ago, Matt39 said:

All they have to do is tell the networks not to show it.

Don't show the National Anthem on 9-11??   Are you kidding?

[Jetdawgg]

America would not have to worry about showing it if there was equal justice and Liberty for all here. 

USMC Veteran

[Matt39]

Just now, Nostradamus said:

Don't show the National Anthem on 9-11??   Are you kidding?

No. Just dont show the one stooge sitting down. Not terribly difficult.

[PS17]

Let the players peacefully protest, and maybe pay attention to why they're protesting. If you like militant nationalism, maybe North Korea is the country for you.

[Nostradamus]

Just now, PS17 said:

Let the players peacefully protest in peace, and maybe pay attention to why they're protesting. If you like militant nationalism, maybe North Korea is the country for you.

Ya fine but not on 9-11

[peebag]

My father, my two older brothers and myself have all served in the military.  With that said, I would defend to the death the right for these few individuals to do their "protest".  As long as they understand that I have the right to really, really despise them and their misguided idiotic efforts.

[no psls]

Who gives a sh*t who kneels and who doesn't !! The world has gone mad !!!!!!!!!

[Nostradamus]

Just now, peebag said:

My father, my two older brothers and myself have all served in the military.  With that said, I would defend to the death the right for these few individuals to do their "protest".  As long as they understand that I have the right to really, really despise them and their misguided idiotic efforts.

Its true...they have the freedom and the right do protest as they wish.....but having said that if I was the NFL as their employer I would forbid this kind of protest on one sunday of the year (9-11)....they can do so ANY other day.  the other 15 weeks, playoffs, even the Superbowl but not on 9-11.  Thats my opinion

[TJ]

I liked what Herm Edwards said about this stuff.   Colin has the right to protest the way black people are treated here,  but if you don't stand for the National Anthem you create a whole other situation. 

 

[nyjunc]

38 minutes ago, Villain The Foe said:

This is the full song of our National Anthem. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner

O! say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave![19]

 

If the national Anthem was played in its entirety you would see about 80% of the league take a knee anytime the song was ever played. The song directly talks about there being "no refuge for slaves from the terrors", the same slaves who were fighting their oppressors so joined the British in an effort to get free from their bondage. 99% of the people who are making a big deal about guys taking a knee on the anthem didnt even know their own anthem said this in it. 99% of the players that this song directly talks about in regards to their ancestors dont even know that the very song says it because they never heard the anthem in its entirety. 

 

To watch guys like Kaep and Marshall receive such backlash yet at the same time know the lyrics to the entire anthem makes this entire situation pretty damn ironic. 

This anthem subject should be left alone and we should stick to the actual story posted. 

http://www.snopes.com/2016/08/29/star-spangled-banner-and-slavery/

 

[Mike135]

16 minutes ago, Matt39 said:

All they have to do is tell the networks not to show it.

Yup. Espn and all the news networks made the story.  I never would have known this was a thing if they didn't report it.  

If anyone disagrees with it, just don't read stories or watch reports about.  Don't click or change the channel.  It's that simple.  

Hundreds of players could do it and no one would have to know.  They're 100% entitled to do as they please so long as it's a peaceful protest (which it is), and others are entitled to completely ignore it.

[Matt39]

2 minutes ago, Mike135 said:

Yup. Espn and all the news networks made the story.  I never would have known this was a thing if they didn't report it.  

If anyone disagrees with it, just don't read stories or watch reports about.  Don't click or change the channel.  It's that simple.  

Hundreds of players could do it and no one would have to know.  They're 100% entitled to do as they please so long as it's a peaceful protest (which it is), and others are entitled to completely ignore it.

Pretty much. Once the real games get into gear everyone forgets anyways. ESPN has taken an aggressive steer into politcs for whatever reason.

[rillo]

20 minutes ago, Jetdawgg said:

America would not have to worry about showing it if there was equal justice and Liberty for all here. 

USMC Veteran

This.

 

Thanks for your service.

[jetfan39]

don't know which team did it but I though I read that they played the anthem before the players came out on the field. Problem solved.

[Kevin L]

53 minutes ago, Jetdawgg said:

America would not have to worry about showing it if there was equal justice and Liberty for all here. 

USMC Veteran

Navy for me. Whatever my personal feelings on the subject, I took an oath to defend other peoples right to protest peacefully.

[HessStation]

Sounds like Doug Baldwin and Seahawks have some sort of plan to bring unity....yes, ******* CIVIL UNITY, to this whole fiasco. Which is hopefully great. 

[HessStation]

59 minutes ago, jetfan39 said:

don't know which team did it but I though I read that they played the anthem before the players came out on the field. Problem solved.

That was w Ripeno and the women's soccer league. I spelled her name wrong 

[RutgersJetFan]

1 hour ago, dbatesman said:

Guys can all of us please share our personal opinions about race and racism in America? Please be as emotional as possible

[predator_05]

Pleased to read some of the sensible responses here. A lot of obnoxious voices are showing up (not here specifically, but all over the internet), with reasonable ones far and few in between.

But when it comes to 9/11; this flag means a lot to New Yorkers, even moreso than for other Americans. I know of families and friends who lost loved ones. We'll never forget. If there is one time when all should stand as one, this is it. This country is far from perfect, but it's all we have. We can fix inequalities, we can resolve differences, but on this particular day, i'll stand for what we have.

[Jet9]

3 minutes ago, predator_05 said:

Pleased to read some of the sensible responses here. A lot of obnoxious voices are showing up (not here specifically, but all over the internet), with reasonable ones far and few in between.

But when it comes to 9/11; this flag means a lot to New Yorkers, even moreso than for other Americans. I know of families and friends who lost loved ones. We'll never forget. If there is one time when all should stand as one, this is it. This country is far from perfect, but it's all we have. We can fix inequalities, we can resolve differences, but on this particular day, i'll stand for what we have.

The day might mean more to NYers, but the flag doesn't. 

[The Crusher]

Wow.  The civility of this thread has me awestruck.  I love each and everyone of you unique weirdos.  But remember this..  Without people of different races ethnic food would not exist.  Not the world I want to live in.  Think about it.  

[predator_05]

1 minute ago, The Crusher said:

But remember this..  Without people of different races ethnic food would not exist.  Not the world I want to live in.  Think about it.  

 

LOL, professional sports in this country wouldn't exist. A fact that is lost on many, especially those pathetic ****tards writing #boycottNFL on twitter.

 

[ARodJetsFan]

I can understand people wanting to show their displeasure towards the perceived mistreatment of people of color and/or minorities and we absolutely have the freedom of expression & the freedom of speech to do it.

As a U.S. Navy Desert Storm Veteran and as a current U.S. Merchant Marine I'll say that kneeling during our country's national anthem is absolutely the wrong way to do it.

There are more proper and appropriate ways to show your displeasure towards the government and/or law enforcement about the way minorities are treated in this country.

Now that being said, I'll say this:

America - love it or leave it.

If you don't like the country your living in - pack your bags and get the hell out.

[Jet9]

2 minutes ago, ARodJetsFan said:

I can understand people wanting to show their displeasure towards the perceived mistreatment of people of color and/or minorities and they absolutely have the freedom of expression & the freedom of speech to do it.

As a U.S. Navy Desert Storm Veteran and as a current U.S. Merchant Marine I'll say that kneeling during our country's national anthem is absolutely the wrong way to do it.

There are more proper and appropriate ways to show your displeasure about the way minorities are treated in this country.

Now that being said, I'll say this:

America - love it or leave it.

If you don't like the country your living in - pack your bags and get the hell out.

Really?

 

So you say there are more appropriate ways and then say if you don't like it you should leave. Which is it?

[ARodJetsFan]

17 minutes ago, Jet9 said:

Really?

 

So you say there are more appropriate ways and then say if you don't like it you should leave. Which is it?

Yes really.

I'm not going to bicker with you - what I said makes perfect sense if you have the proper perspective; figure it out.