Why Arenât NFL Players Kneeling Over This Pennsylvania Cop Shooting?
Brian Shaw
On November 17  a police officer was killed during a routine traffic stop in New Kensington  Pennsylvania. His name was  Brian Shaw   and he was only 25 years old.
According to reports  the suspect  29-year-old Rahmael Sal Holt  fled his car after he was pulled over  and shot  Shaw  during the subsequent chase. Officials said  Shaw  did not appear to have fired  his  gun  while Holt fired at least six times  landing at least once in Shawâs chest.  Shaw  lay in the street gasping for air before dying in a hospital that night. After several days on the lam  Holt was captured and arrested November 21 with  Shawâs  handcuffs.
CAPTURED: Rahmael Holt was arrested in Hazelwood this morning and placed in  Officer Shaw 's handcuffs. #wtae pic.twitter.com/4kjxd6efWY â Kelly Brennan (@Kbrennan_WTAE) November 21  2017
No NFL players kneeled on Sunday to protest the brutality that occurred to  Shaw . No national cable channels dedicated expansive coverage of the incident  if some even included it at all. It required a Google search to learn about the kind-hearted residents who lined the streets of the small Pennsylvania town holding American flags while firefighters stood in uniform paying their respects during the funeral procession.
But the narrative that cops are always the âbad guys â deserving condemnation and shame across the board  is simply not true. Some cops abuse their power. Others use it to do their duty. Like the five Dallas police officers killed in 2016   Shaw  put on a uniform to serve and protect  his  community. Yet the NFL forbade the Cowboys from wearing special decals on their helmets to honor the fallen Dallas officers  while allowing its players to continue protesting law enforcement.
No superstar athlete has spoken out about Shawâs murder  although he too was once a football player  at Slippery Rock University. Every Sunday   Shaw  likely watched a sport  he  loved only to see a plethora of NFL players kneeling against men and women wearing the same uniform as  him .
But thatâs forgotten in an anti-police narrative en vogue among many. Itâs no wonder thereâs an absence of coverage over  Shaw   when police fatality statistics across the country are hardly ever discussedâa shame  given the recent uptick.
Are these statistics ever mentioned during the debate over Americaâs justice system? For every Colin Kaepernick GQ cover or celebrity rant on social media  there are officers like  Shaw   who do not display an abuse of power in the discharge of their duties. So often during the NFL anthem protests  you hear players vow it has nothing to do with the U.S. military or police (although a lot of Americans are getting just that message). But it seems they have no problem disrespecting the officers who are paid to ensure players get from their cars to the stadium and back to the parking lot safe and sound. Our justice system isnât perfect  and we should work to redress all injustices no matter their victimsâ identities  but that shouldnât detract from the many police officers who do their dangerous jobs well.
Men like  Shaw  risk their lives to do right by their community. Men and women leave their loved ones every morning  not sure if they might come back again. For that  we should take a little time to realize how worthy of respect many police officers are  and temper our complaints about isolated injustices with recognizing they donât represent the norm  and that injustice the other way exists  too.
On November 17  a police officer was killed during a routine traffic stop in New Kensington  Pennsylvania. His name was   [TGT] and he was only 25 years old.
According to reports  the suspect  29-year-old Rahmael Sal Holt  fled his car after he was pulled over  and shot   [TGT] during the subsequent chase. Officials said   [TGT] did not appear to have fired   [TGT]   gun  while Holt fired at least six times  landing at least once in Shawâs chest.   [TGT] lay in the street gasping for air before dying in a hospital that night. After several days on the lam  Holt was captured and arrested November 21 with  Shawâs  handcuffs.
CAPTURED: Rahmael Holt was arrested in Hazelwood this morning and placed in   [TGT]  's handcuffs. #wtae pic.twitter.com/4kjxd6efWY â Kelly Brennan (@Kbrennan_WTAE) November 21  2017
No NFL players kneeled on Sunday to protest the brutality that occurred to  [TGT]  . No national cable channels dedicated expansive coverage of the incident  if some even included it at all. It required a Google search to learn about the kind-hearted residents who lined the streets of the small Pennsylvania town holding American flags while firefighters stood in uniform paying their respects during the funeral procession.
But the narrative that cops are always the âbad guys â deserving condemnation and shame across the board  is simply not true. Some cops abuse their power. Others use it to do their duty. Like the five Dallas police officers killed in 2016    [TGT] put on a uniform to serve and protect   [TGT]   community. Yet the NFL forbade the Cowboys from wearing special decals on their helmets to honor the fallen Dallas officers  while allowing its players to continue protesting law enforcement.
No superstar athlete has spoken out about Shawâs murder  although he too was once a football player  at Slippery Rock University. Every Sunday    [TGT] likely watched a sport   [TGT]   loved only to see a plethora of NFL players kneeling against men and women wearing the same uniform as   [TGT]  .
But thatâs forgotten in an anti-police narrative en vogue among many. Itâs no wonder thereâs an absence of coverage over   [TGT] when police fatality statistics across the country are hardly ever discussedâa shame  given the recent uptick.
Are these statistics ever mentioned during the debate over Americaâs justice system? For every Colin Kaepernick GQ cover or celebrity rant on social media  there are officers like  Shaw   who do not display an abuse of power in the discharge of their duties. So often during the NFL anthem protests  you hear players vow it has nothing to do with the U.S. military or police (although a lot of Americans are getting just that message). But it seems they have no problem disrespecting the officers who are paid to ensure players get from their cars to the stadium and back to the parking lot safe and sound. Our justice system isnât perfect  and we should work to redress all injustices no matter their victimsâ identities  but that shouldnât detract from the many police officers who do their dangerous jobs well.
Men like  Shaw  risk their lives to do right by their community. Men and women leave their loved ones every morning  not sure if they might come back again. For that  we should take a little time to realize how worthy of respect many police officers are  and temper our complaints about isolated injustices with recognizing they donât represent the norm  and that injustice the other way exists  too.