I love sports, I love controversy in sports, this story that I have come across while going through my facebook feed was very interesting and contained both sports and controversy. This blog will be different then my previous ones, and if you are sensitive, I don't suggest continuing to read unless you can continue with out taking any personal offense to this. As I am no expert on this matter at, just a man simply reading an article and writing about it, probably very similarly to what the person who wrote the article did.
As most of us are aware there has been some "terrorist" type incidents going on lately involving our country. A recent one occurred in Oklahoma where a man who they say is Islamic and practicing that religion came into a work place and be-headed his co worker. You can read the article about that here. It is a truly tragic story of a lady who's life was taken to quickly by a senseless act from a man with something to prove. This man who's name is Alton Nolen claims to only of been doing that which his god had asked him to do, he was making a sacrifice to his god to show his loyalty. Whatever the reason he claims, something like that is not going to go over easy in our country, and shouldn't go over easy anywhere in the world.
So how does this connect with sports? In a game last sunday there is a player that plays for the Kanas City Chiefs of the NFL. His name is Husain Abdullah. The controversy started when he caught a touchdown pass, and immediately dropped to the ground in Islamic prayer. The article can be found here. When he did this, the ref's of the game immediately through a penalty flag. Citing un sportsman like conduct. After the game, all the speculation begins. Some say he was penalized because it was an Islamic prayer, some say it was because of his name, some say because it was religion in general. Speculation ran wild with it for days until the NFL came out with a statement saying that he should not have been penalized for the prayer, that he was with in his celebration rights to do that and they apologized.
The problem people saw with this, was that just 4 days prior, a man was beheaded by the Islamic man in Oklahoma, who practiced the same thing this football player did. And now this man on the chiefs performs this prayer and the people lose it and start trying to make all kinds of ties to this man and the man who beheaded the lady. Click here for more on how they are trying to relate the two incidents.
The article points out a lot of things that make you wonder, things such as Alton and Husain, both practiced the same religion, they both worshiped the same god, they both attended a retreat type thing in Boston near the time of the Boston Bombing, they both were big followers of the same Islamic leader, they both supported a lot of the same beliefs. All of which are Cogent, and accurate bits of information. What this article does and what the media has done with this article is make them seem like they are more connected then needs be.
The timing of this mans prayer on the football field was obviously poor, but just because he does that, does not mean him and this man from Oklahoma knew each other. Like the article insinuates. There is so many bits of Falacious information in this article that it really has opened my eyes to what they media will do to create a story. I in no way at all support the man who beheaded the women in Oklahoma, but I also have no problem with the man playing for the Chiefs offers up a prayer to his god. Many athletes do that all the time, people just blew it in the wrong direction because of what happened recently in Oklahoma and because they believe in a different god, so he must be intentionally trying to bring harm to people right? Contrary to what the article makes you believe, and don't get me wrong there are some truths and some eerie similarities to the two people. But that's just it, they are similarities. They have not met, like the article suggests, they don't talk, they haven't run into each other, they don't have a history together. All of which the article suggests, and what that suggestion has done is create buzz around the nation and even the world about a story that shouldn't even be. All because a man offered a prayer, he is all the sudden related to a terrorist.
I found this article and this whole situation very interesting. Its finally showing me that the world really will do what ever it takes to create news and to cause drama instead of letting people just live their lives. This story has been interesting to follow to see what the NFL has said about it, to see what other media outlets have said, what the player for the Chiefs has said, and just to see everyones take on it. Everyone seems to be on the same side of the table (that they have no ties to each other, simply that they have the same religion), but then this article comes up and people act like they forgot how to use their brains.
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