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An NFL star thinks we're asking the wrong question about the league's new anthem rule.

Ahead of the 2018 season, the NFL announced a new rule designed to put a stop to silent protests during the national anthem.

Seemingly designed as a compromise — even if it's not — meant to quash the tradition started by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016, the new rule states that players can choose not to be on the field during the anthem (this was the norm until 2009, when the league mandated that players be on the sidelines during the anthem), adding that players who are on the field must "stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem."

The new rule sparked outcry, with some accusing the NFL of corporate censorship in an effort to shut down protest and others (including Donald Trump) saying the league didn't go far enough.

Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images.

The NFL Players' Association (NFLPA) released a statement expressing disappointment that the league didn't consult them before implementing this new rule. On the other hand, President Trump said that while he agrees with the new rule, "maybe [players who stay in the locker rooms] shouldn't be in the country."

One of the most thoughtful responses to the new rule came from Chicago Bears linebacker Sam Acho, who pledged to keep fighting for what's right.

Sam Acho. Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images.

"Obviously, from the beginning, no one's intent, and no one's purpose, was to disrespect the flag," Acho said in a statement first reported by NBC 5 Chicago's Mike Berman.

Acho went on to note that the purpose of the protests have always been to take a stand against the police brutality facing people of color, recommitting himself to finding "a way to stand up for people who are being unjustly treated, find a way to stick up for justice in whatever way, shape, or form you can possibly do it."

When it comes to the question of whether he's OK with the new rule, he proposed a different question for himself and other players: "What do you do now?"

"Obviously, the protests have brought a ton of awareness to the abuses of power that are going on in our country, and I think that was a great method to start our conversation. And now ... we're seeing action," he wrote, noting that he, his teammates, and many others in the NFL are putting time and money towards off-field activism work.

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images.

It's been nearly two years since Kaepernick took a knee, and we're still talking.

"I think a lot of players are happy about the conversations that are happening. So the protests served their purpose," Acho concluded:

"And if guys still want to protest, obviously the ruling is if you don't want to stand for the anthem, according to the owners, you can stay inside. ... I will say we continue to do what we're doing and speak up for those who can't speak for themselves."

It's easy to ignore the underlying issue being protested, to smear players as spoiled, and to argue that they should do more off the field if they actually care about these issues.

The truth is that, as Acho and the NFLPA have said, players do do a lot of work off the field to help their communities and to fight for causes they believe in.

Kaepernick donated a million dollars to charity and traveled across the U.S. helping people out. Veterans around the country have come out in support of the expression of free speech shown in these pre-game protests, even if they don't necessarily agree with the cause or the method.

As Acho said, though, the new rule is what it is. The real question is how NFL players — and the rest of us — can help continue this conversation and work for a better world.

After all, there's nothing more patriotic than working to make your country a place where we are all truly equal.

Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images.

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ACUVUE launches a new campaign to inspire Gen Z to put down their phones and follow their vision

What will you create on your social media break? Share it at #MyVisionMySight.

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If you’ve always lived in a world with social media, it can be tough to truly understand how it affects your life. One of the best ways to grasp its impact is to take a break to see what life is like without being tethered to your phone and distracted by a constant stream of notifications.

Knowing when to disconnect is becoming increasingly important as younger people are becoming aware of the adverse effects screen time can have on their eyes. According to Eyesafe Nielsen, adults are now spending 13-plus hours a day on their digital devices, a 35% increase from 2019.1. Many of us now spend more time staring at screens on a given day than we do sleeping which can impact our eye health.

Normally, you blink around 15 times per minute, however, focusing your eyes on computer screens or other digital displays have been shown to reduce your blink rate by up to 60%.2 Reduced blinking can destabilize your eyes’ tear film, causing dry, tired eyes and blurred vision.3

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Mom who packs her child a meal when going out to restaurants has parents fired up

Does she have a good point?

via UnbreakableMomma/TikTok

Karlie Smith shows the meal she's bringing to the restaurant for her son.

A mom who admitted she packs her 2-year-old a meal when they go out to dinner has started an interesting debate on TikTok about restaurant etiquette and how it applies to young children.

The video posted by Ohio mom, Karlie Smith (unbreakablemomma on TikTok), has received nearly 600,000 views and has over 1,850 comments.

“Call me cheap, call me whatever, but if we’re going out to a restaurant, I’m packing my kid a meal," Smith, 21, said in her post. "I do this for many reasons. On Friday nights, my family and I get together, and tonight, we’re getting food out. My son is not getting food out.”

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Man rewatches shows from his childhood and his recaps of the bonkers storylines are priceless

Rob Anderson's hilarious recaps of shows like "Mighty Ducks," "Beethoven," and "7th Heaven" might make you wonder how they got made in the first place.

@hearthrobert/TikTok

These plots makes zero sense.

While there are no doubt some timeless classics from our childhood that remain every bit as amazing as we remember, many are straight-up cringey upon a later viewing. Really, it’s to be expected as societal viewpoints change…sort of a marker of how far we’ve collectively come.

And so, what do we do with these problematic pieces of old-school pop culture? Well, we can certainly update them to better reflect a more modern attitude, but that also comes with a set of potential problems. Or we could simply never watch them again. Certainly an option given all the content out there. But then we might miss an opportunity to better understand what seemed to work for the mainstream then, and why it doesn’t work now.

And then there’s the third option—allow ourselves to be entertained by their cringiness.

That’s certainly the route taken by Rob Anderson. Over on TikTok, Anderson has taken ultra-popular movies and television shows from his childhood and given them hilarious recaps capturing how absurd some of the storylines are.
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Man's 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' lifeline call to dad is still thrilling 24 years later

This might be the greatest game show moment ever.

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Some moments never get old.

On November 19, 1999, a man named John Carpenter made game show history and quite possibly gave us all the greatest game show moment of all time.

Carpenter was a contestant on the very first season of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” shot in America. Hosted by the late Regis Philbin, the quiz show featured three "lifeline" options to help them with difficult questions, the most popular being able to “Phone-a-Friend.”

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Woman decides that she is the love of her life and marries herself at her retirement home

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77-year-old woman decides she's the love of her life and marries herself.

We joke about marrying ourselves or a platonic friend if some arbitrary amount of time has passed without a proposal from an imaginary suitor. And sure, some people do wind up marrying a friend in more of a business arrangement, but it's not very common that someone follows through with marrying themselves.

Dorothy "Dottie" Fideli, decided that she was going to break the mold. The 77-year-old sat down and thought about all of the things she had done in life and who was with her the entire time cheering her on. It was an easy answer: herself. She was her biggest cheerleader, the person who always showed up and the love of her life, so Fideli made the plan to marry herself.

On a beautiful May day, friends and family gathered in the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Community, where Fideli is a resident, to witness the ceremony.

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12-year-old Texas girl saves her family from carbon monoxide poisoning

She knew something was wrong with her mom and brother, which wound up saving her whole family.

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Carbon monoxide is called a silent killer for a reason. Many people don't realize they're experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning before it's too late. The gas is colorless and odorless and tends to have a sedating effect that causes people to sleep through the fatal poisoning. Having carbon monoxide detectors is one of the most effective ways to identify the gas before it's too late to get out of the house, but not every home has one.

A little girl in Fort Worth, Texas, experienced a terrifying encounter with the deadly gas, but her quick actions saved her entire family. Jaziyah Parker is being held up as a hero after she realized something was wrong with her family members and called for help.

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In a touching, unscripted moment, Drew Barrymore rushes to comfort a crying audience member

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via Eva Rinaldi/Flickr

Drew Barrymore speaks during the FLOWER Beauty launch at Westfield Parramatta on April 13, 2019, in Sydney, Australia.

Drew Barrymore, 48, has been in the public consciousness since she starred as Gertie in 1982’s mega-blockbuster, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. So, it makes sense that many people of a certain age feel as if they’ve grown up with her.

Barrymore has consistently starred in hit films and movies that are rewatchable cable-TV staples, such as “Charlie's Angels” (2000), “Never Been Kissed” (1999), “Scream” (1996), “The Wedding Singer” (1998), “50 First Dates” (2004) and “Fever Pitch” (2005).

Now, she’s an even more significant part of people’s lives as the host of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” which runs every weekday on CBS. So far, the show has been a big success, attracting an average of 1.21 million views per show, and ranks as the #4 talk show in syndication. It was recently renewed through the 2024 season.

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