Cleveland Cops to Protest National Anthem Protest with National Anthem Protest

If that headline seems as confusing as an M.C. Escher drawing, it accurately reflects the circular logic that seems to have gripped the Cleveland Police Union. After checking to verify that this wasn't actually a story from The Onion I can now report the following:

• Several Cleveland Browns players took a knee during the national anthem during week 2 of the preseason.
• The Cleveland Police Officers Union did not like that very much.
• The union is now refusing to hold the American flag during the Browns first regular season game.

Did you catch all that? The police union in Cleveland is responding to a protest involving a patriotic display by staging their own protest involving a patriotic display. Is anyone else starting to miss the simple days when the Defense Department would pay millions of taxpayer dollars to have overt patriotic displays at NFL games? Oh, yeah, that totally happened! Those were the days, when no one's patriotism was questioned even though almost everybody's should have been.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a police union spokesman said, "It's hypocritical of the Browns ... to have an armed forces first-responder day and have us involved when they allow their players to take a knee during the national anthem. That's why we aren't going to."

So, you're protesting something you don't feel is right by refusing to participate in a show of patriotism. Guys! I think we just found some of that "common ground" we're always hearing about!