KING: Ben Fields not being charged is why Kaepernick protests

[sheshe2]

How in the hell could this be?

After an outrageously long 11-month investigation into a 15-second incident that was caught on video, an ex-South Carolina cop will not be charged for grabbing a young girl by her neck while she was sitting in her classroom, yanking her out of the desk, tossing her across the room, then handcuffing her ... for having a cellphone in class.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is why Colin Kaepernick is not standing for the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

This is why his teammate Eric Reid joined him.

KING: Ben Fields would've been arrested if he weren't a cop


Spring Valley High School resource officer Depucty Ben Fields is seen on video in a confrontation with a female student.
Spring Valley High School resource officer Depucty Ben Fields is seen on video in a confrontation with a female student. (Jimmy Paradise/via Twitter)

This is why Jeremy Lane, who plays for the rival Seattle Seahawks, joined both of them.

Ben Fields is a longtime bodybuilder. He was the strength and conditioning coach for the high school football team and he brutally attacked a petite teen girl. The entire nation was outraged over this. The man was fired over this, but the investigation determined "the incident looked worse in the video than it did in the classroom."

Really? It looks worse on video? What does that even mean?

video at link.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-ben-fields-not-charged-kaepernick-protests-article-1.2776912

Fuggim!




[malaise]

1. That was a horrific attack on that teenager

Fugg 'em is right.

I support Kaepernick

[sheshe2]

4. I support him as well!

Fugg everyone else.

I am so angry, yes I am white. Yet I will stand with you every damn time.

Fugg the assholes.

[oberliner]

18. Have you read the report?

I would encourage you to do so.

[NuclearDem]

2. No, he won't stand because he's a whiny brat desperate to not sink into irrelevance.

Oh, and LOL Shaun King.

http://ijr.com/2016/02/541958-shaun-king-calls-sportswriter-a-coon/

Shaun King ✔ @ShaunKing
It makes sense that @WhitlockJason was fired (twice) by ESPN and now works for Fox. You fit right in there man.

Dude will coon for cash.

Oh well. Leave it to a racist poseur to come to the aid of an America-hating crybaby.

[Lucky Luciano]

6. How is he being a whiny brat.

He is taking a huge career risk. He could just quietly comply and that would be much easier.

[NuclearDem]

7. Oh, poor baby, he'll only have a few million to bat around, not a few hundred million.

My heart breaks.

[heaven05]

8. concerning the incident with the student

and kaepernik, there is not much heart there.... sad really....but well

[Chakab]

11. Not that long ago, I honestly would have been surprised to see nonsense like this posted here.

Now, it's a daily occurrence.

[Mojorabbit]

41. It is amazing isn't it? nt

[Ken Burch]

12. Is there a reason why you can't accept that an African-American quarterback

might actually CARE about the unjust beating administered by a white cop on an African-American girl?

It's a national anthem, not the Shroud of Turin.

[oberliner]

13. Is it relevant that the cop is white?

I mean that question sincerely.

[Ken Burch]

14. Yes. It goes to the attitude the cop holds towards the student.

It is much more likely that a white cop WOULD beat a black student(and do so for a trivial offense-if it was a white student on a cell phone, all that would have happened was that the student would have been sent to the principal's office and we all know it).

The race of the student caused the white cop to not see her as fully human.

[oberliner]

15. You are saying a white cop beat a black student for talking on her cell phone?

Because the white cop, due to his race, did not see the black student as being fully human?

You seem to making a lot of assumptions and not presenting the circumstances entirely accurately.

Just out of curiosity, have you read the solicitor report?

She was using her cell phone during class after being told repeatedly by her teacher not to. She was asked to go the principal's office and refused to go. The teacher asked her to go and she told him to get out of her face. An administrator was contacted, came to the classroom and asked the student to leave, and she refused to do so. The administrator then contacted Fields who told her to leave which she continued to refuse to do.

None of that excuses what happened next and was captured on video, but I don't see how you can make the claims and assumptions you've made. There are fifteen witness statement that do not support what you've written.

[Mojorabbit]

42. Nevertheless, this is a child.. and the violence which

was used to pull her from her seat was unnecessary and way over the top. I can't believe what I am reading in this thread.

[oberliner]

49. Agreed

His actions definitely appear to be over the top and not necessary.

Also, the idea of calling a police officer into a classroom to remove a student seems like a recipe for disaster.

I think the teacher and administrator ought to have handled the situation differently.

[Stellar]

53. So the child should be body slammed?

No one tried to contact her relatives? I would have let her sit there until hell freezes over. She would have eventually left on her own power, and I would not let her back in with out a guardian. But no body builder would be slamming a kid around.

[oberliner]

58. Absolutely not

I think the situation was handled poorly from start to finish.

I do not think the teacher and administrator should have called the student resource officer into the classroom and instructed him to remove her physically from the classroom. And I do not think said officer should have handled her so roughly.

I think the teacher should have written her up and then dealt with the situation after class was over.

[Stellar]

60. now that's a smart move. nt

[AllyCat]

37. It's all about the money to the folks hiding their racism

Stunning really. You conveniently "miss" the point blaming money.

[oberliner]

19. Alternatively, he is getting a lot more press than any other QB right now

And could potentially use that to his advantage, especially as his playing ability has been on the decline in recent years.

[Chakab]

33. His advantage how? Everybody with clout in the league wants him gone, and he's getting roasted

by almost every single opinion column in the mainstream media. CNN would have us believe that his piggy socks are a bigger danger to civility in political discourse than the neo-fascist clown running for President.

What exactly do you people think that he's going to gain from this that will replace the perks of being in the NFL long-term even as a back up QB? I keep hearing about how this is all about Kaepernick himself, but I've yet to hear a coherent theory about how he's going to use all of this negative attention and his toxic status for financial post football.

[oberliner]

45. His profile is raised and he is being lauded by many for his brave stand

I don't know that he had a lengthy career ahead of him as a back up QB, necessarily. In any case, he will have many many more years of his life as an ex-football player than as a football player.

Perhaps his courageous stand and all of the publicity surrounding it could open up opportunities for him in the future.

John Carlos was vilified at the time for his act of protest at the 1968 Olympics. Over time, views of him (by many) changed and he was seen as a hero by much of the population. His post-Olympics career was certainly enhanced by the controversy.

[Chakab]

50. John Carlos could only find work washing cars for years after an injury ended his athletic

career. He was blackballed from the track and field and Olympic community. (As was Peter Norman in Australia)


Outside of some kind of guest column in a liberal outlet The Nation magazine, what exactly is the praise that Kaepernick is getting for doing this going to do for his future prospects? And how is the praise that he's going from quarters like DU doing anything to offset all of the hate and irrational anger that's being directed at him?

You can't possibly believe that his future prospects have been positively affected by the stand he's taken.

[oberliner]

54. As time passed and the backlash subsided, Carlos was gradually invited back into the fold

As time passed and the backlash subsided, Carlos was gradually invited back into the fold. He became involved as an outreach co-ordinator in the organising committee for the group bringing the Olympics to Los Angeles in 1984 and worked for the US Olympic Committee.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/30/black-power-salute-1968-olympics

He has also since written a book, been a paid speaker, and a college track and field coach and counselor.

I would point out that most track and field stars of the 1950s and 1960s had a hard time finding work once their careers were over. In the days before corporate sponsorship and whatnot, it was really tough for these athletes.

Henry Carr (1964 gold medalist) was one of the best athletes in the world and couldn't find work after his track career ended. (Certainly nobody would publish a book that he wrote or would book him as a motivational speaker).

Kaepernick has gotten a lot of praise for his actions. Here's an article from USA Today:

More power to 49ers' Colin Kaepernick for taking a stand against social injustice

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/bell/2016/08/27/colin-kaepernick-national-anthem-protest-san-francisco-49ers/89485948/

You don't get any more mainstream than USA Today.

[Duckhunter935]

55. He still has a job

The team would be crazy to let him go due to his performance on the field.

[AllyCat]

38. Are you saying he planned this to make money after he retires?

And you think someone feeling race had anything to do with this is reading too much into it.

[oberliner]

46. No

But I am saying that his taking a stand now could benefit him in his post-football life.

As to the incident with the student, I don't think race was a factor. I think the officer would have behaved the same way under the same circumstances if the student had been white. There is certainly no evidence to suggest otherwise.

[Duckhunter935]

52. No career risk

There is no way the team can let him go now.

[Chakab]

57. You have no idea what you're talking about. He's gone after this season unless he can

somehow reassert himself as one of the better starting QBs in the league. There's no way that they're going to continue to pay his $100 million contract for him to sit on the bench.

If this hadn't happened, he would have been given a second chance on a different team (like RGIII in Cleveland) due to the paucity of competent QBs in the league. However, there have been several league executives who've stated that Kaepernick is universally despised by team executives and that nobody is going to offer him a contract when he's done in San Francisco.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/31/colin-kaepernick-traitor-national-anthem-protest-nfl

He's actually torched his football prospects. The fact that there are people running around claiming that he hasn't taken any risk or that this is somehow going to benefit him financially in the future is laughable.

[Duckhunter935]

59. Key words, "after this season"

But now is the time the teams are cutting the rosters.

[oberliner]

61. Kaepernick Jersey Sales Soar Amid Controversy

Sales of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick jerseys have skyrocketed in the wake of his refusal to stand for the national anthem, which he says is protest against America's treatment of "black people and people of color."

Kaepernick's decision not to stand during the playing of the anthem, which was first noticed by the media in a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on August 26, has added to the debate in America over the subjects of race, patriotism, sports protest and violence by and against police.

News of Kaepernick's growing marketability, at least in terms of jersey sales, adds an additional layer of complexity to the story of his protest. San Jose Mercury News reporter Mike Rosenberg first noted on Twitter that sales of Kaepernick jerseys had jumped from 20th among 49ers players to first.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/kaepernick-jersey-sales-soar-amid-controversy/story?id=41861482

[Chakab]

10. "desperate to not sink into irrelevance"

I'm confused. He's basically guaranteed that no other team with pick him up after SF gets rid of him to avoid paying out the rest of his contract. A group of league executives stated off the record that they're going to blackball him.


http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/09/an-nfl-executive-compared-the-dislike-for-colin-kaepernick-to-that-for-rae-carruth


What exactly is it that you think he's gaining by giving up a ton of money and painting a huge target over his back?

You can disagree with the form of protest, but any claim that this is some sort of stunt for the purpose of self-promotion is laughable.

[Iggo]

26. Okay, that's enough.

[Blue_Tires]

28. I'm no big fan of King

But for the record Whitlock *is* a piece of shit...

Very fitting that they put him on the same show as Cowherd

[Chakab]

32. ...and now that other troll Skip Bayless is on the network as well.

It's like ESPN had a long overdue colonoscopy and all of the festering detritus ended up with Fox Sports contracts.

I wonder how long it will be before Fox hires Curt Schilling as a baseball analyst.

[Stellar]

3. "the incident looked worse in the video than it did in the classroom."

In other word F*ck you lying eyes!

[sheshe2]

5. Hmm, yes.

Assault and battery always looks worse on the fugging video.

I am sure being dragged out of your chair, a tiny girl, not a woman yet is okay. Just a little girl with a cell phone.

Can you imagine if she was white and carrying an AK 57? The American Dream, they probably would be sing the national anthem. Fuug!

[oberliner]

20. "Just a little girl with a cell phone"

Actually a high school student who when told by her teacher not to use her cell phone in class responded by saying "get out of my face." And who refused to go to the principal's office when asked to by first the teacher and then another administrator to the point that they decided to call the resource officer.

None of that excuses physical violence on the part of said officer, who was fired immediately after the incident.

It does beg the question of why there are student resource officers in schools in the first place.

[AllyCat]

39. And now found to have done "nothing wrong"

[oberliner]

47. That's not true

Just nothing criminal. The report indicated that his firing was entirely justified.

[DLevine]

40. You keep saying the violence inflicted on the girl is inexcusable,

then go on to defend it by making excuses for the officer. Yes, he was fired, but he also should have been charged with assault.

[oberliner]

48. Not making excuses for being so rough with her

I don't think there is any excuse for a man of his size and strength who is a trained police officer to have handled this student so roughly. I think that he was rightfully fired for doing so.

Whether or not his actions rise to being criminal, I can understand how the investigation could conclude that they don't.

An interesting question to consider is whether or not it is appropriate for there to be a student resource officer in a school at all.

And if there should be one, should they be called in to physically remove a student from a classroom under circumstances like this?

[oberliner]

17. That's actually a quote from one of the witness statements

It's not the conclusion of the investigation.

Read the report if you are interested.

[Chakab]

9. "The entire nation was outraged over this."

Part of the nation was outraged. Part supported Fields, including a large group of students at the school who walked out of class as a protest in solidarity him.

[oberliner]

31. Spring Valley students stage walkout in support of Ben Fields

Students at Spring Valley High School staged a brief walkout in support of school resource officer Ben Fields, the Richland County sheriff's deputy caught on camera slamming and dragging a student out of a desk earlier this week.

Hundreds of students walked out of class around 10 a.m. and into the school's atrium before school administrators returned the students to class.

Principal Jeff Temoney told the students none of them would be suspended if they returned to class.

"We've heard your voices, okay," Temoney said. "We appreciate you taking time to do this, but again, as you know, we always focus on teaching and learning, so let's head on back to class."
http://www.wistv.com/story/30393934/spring-valley-students-stage-walkout-in-support-of-ben-fields

[oberliner]

16. Read the report

Read the witness statements.

Don't let Shaun King pick and choose which facts to present.

If you really care to know what happened, read the report and read the witness statements.

There are fifteen of them.

[sheshe2]

21. What are you going on about?

First it would be great if you gave a link.

Second I think Fields is a POS! I am pretty sure I made that clear. Aaaaah, I see, ya think King is making shit up. Fields never did what was in the video. Damn my lying eyes. Ya right. He never assaulted her and never threw her across the room, he was so small and weak and in fear for his life. He had no choice! Apply maximum force. Cell phones are deadly weapons, I hear they can give you brain cancer. No wonder he was terrified.

That and he is really skeerd of little girls.

[oberliner]

22. The link is in the OP you posted.

The report of the solicitor is linked to in the first full paragraph of the King article (where it says "will not be charged" - it links to the main NY Daily News article on this topic which includes the solicitor's report).

King is definitely making things up.

He wrote:

the investigation determined "the incident looked worse in the video than it did in the classroom."

This is a lie. The investigation does not make that determination. That is a description given in one of the witness statements.

I encourage you to read the report.

Here's a direct link:

https://www.scribd.com/document/322864271/SLED-Investigative-Flie-No-32-15-0130-Spring-Valley-Matter#from_embed

You can read the statements of fifteen witnesses who were actually in the classroom, along with statements from the student in question, her guardian, and the student who filmed the video (and Fields himself).

[NuclearDem]

23. It's almost like Shaun King is a dishonest hack.

Whoulda thunk it?

[oberliner]

24. I just wish people would read the actual report

And then draw their own conclusions.

[G_j]

27. The video is enough

No action short if pulling a weapon, could warrant a physical assault. None. Nada.

[oberliner]

29. Thankfully, that's not how the criminal justice system works

The video did lead to this person being immediately terminated from his position.

In terms of criminal charges, however, an investigation is actually what the law requires.

Edit to add: What would it hurt to read it? Even just to skim it? It's only a dozen pages.

[Chakab]

34. Don't play dumb. If a cop weren't invovled, there wouldn't have been an 11 month

investigation into a 15 second video that clearly shows battery without justification.

Average people get indicted, convicted and thrown in prison on evidence that isn't anywhere near as inculpatory as that video day in and day out.

[oberliner]

43. Sadly, I'm not playing!

I do agree that people get convicted and thrown into prison with scant evidence.

I am just saying that there is generally an investigation of some kind, as there was here.

This incident did happen in a school in front of students and adults.

It's not every day that there are so many eye witnesses to speak with.

[Chakab]

51. When prosecutors investigate average people who've clearly committed crimes, the

purpose of said investigation generally isn't to look for excuses to avoid bringing charges.

[oberliner]

56. I would agree

An investigation of a police officer is certainly different than a typical investigation.

[sheshe2]

36. I read and posted to you then my computer froze.

Here.

#1 Did not THINKshe would leave without force.

#2 Out of my line of vision...only saw the desk fly.

#3 Never saw the altercation but THINKS.....

#4 Did not THINK...then said he Threw her across the room.

#5 Threw her to the floor.

#8 Did not resist...Fields threw the desk.

K

[oberliner]

44. Thanks

Those are all good points.

[Iggo]

25. "Ben Fields would've been arrested if he weren't a cop."

[oberliner]

30. Obviously

But he was specifically called into the classroom because he was a cop.

Whether or not there should be student resource officers in schools at all is a fair question to ask.

In fact, the report itself poses that very question.

[DemocraticWing]

35. The whole league should threaten to go on strike until the government stops murdering black people.

Of course we'd see the racists take off their masks when that happens. They let them slip when they attack Kaepernick.

[oberliner]

62. Can they keep murdering white people?

Up to nearly 800 white people killed by police officers in the past year.

[GreenEyedLefty]

63. Murder by police is unacceptable in any case

However, the issue of this particular discussion is that of police brutality and violence against black people.

[oberliner]

64. Agreed

But if we are talking about every NFL player walking out, then we are taking things up a notch.