“Ben, on the other hand, he’s accepted in that world”, he offered. “And when they see him not using it for them, but only for himself, you’re going to have some animosity there, and I think once it got so bad, it was good for AB to go his way, L Bell to go his way. Ben isn’t going anywhere. He’s going to be the future. He’s going to be there for as long as he wants to be there”.
You're exactly right. Based on what Joey revealed, Colbert's 52 Kids comments no doubt furthered the divide with the Five Percenter talking heads around the NFL over white privilege in the locker room.
Ben also wasn't a kneeler and probably fell hard on the side of standing.
Another question to be pondered: Tomlin is "accepted in that world" too. Clearly insulated from consequences if we apply Porter's logic consistently. His supposed strength was being the player's coach that "NFL players would most like to play for." That's been revealed as a myth.
Tomlin also complained about lack of minority hires this offseason. Yet, he failed to develop Joey Porter to even to a D-Coordinator level or one-day HC candidate along the lines of a Mike Vrabel meathead. In fact, his coaching tree and mentoring record is barren. I'd suspect Tony Dungy is not pleased that his prized pupil has failed to reproduce the vision for the next generation.
