Brandon Marshall's plan for a TD celebration included raising a white and black glove, in honor of Barack Obama's victory in the presidential election, as well as a tribute to Tommie Smith and John Carlos in the 1968 Olympics.

Brandon Stokely wisely convinced Marshall not to follow through with it, since it likely would have resulted in an excessive celebration penalty. At the time, the Broncos had just taken a 3 point lead (4 points after the PAT) with only 1:14 left in the game. Marshall's proposed celebration, had he followed through with it, may have given the Browns an opportunity to come back and win the game.


Well done on Stokely's part, showing the awareness and intelligence that Marshall seemed to completely disregard in his zeal to play politics during a football game. Celebrating Barack Obama's victory is something that can be done on one's own time, and probably shouldn't be something that is planned on the company's dime. I'm not sure why anyone would feel that it's ok for athletes to make these sorts of political statements when they are "at work," but I'm sure if anyone in a normal job were to celebrate election results at work in a way that could potentially damage the company, it would result in punitive action.

Is there a reason that athletes feel the need to abuse the public stage to express political views? I'm certainly not suggesting they be censored, but I do believe a certain amount of discretion should be considered, and I'm not sure that I see that in sports today.

It doesn't matter who the athlete is supporting. Whether it's Marshall celebrating Obama's victory, or Brady Quinn stumping for John McCain, there's no reason for it. It's not only an abuse of their celebrity status, it's also a testament to the ignorance of the American voter.

Should an athlete endorsement really be something that a politician should want? Should it even make a difference to the American public if someone like Brady Quinn or Brandon Marshall chooses on candidate or another? It's sad that someone who makes a living throwing (or catching) a ball can influence someone else's vote for president of the United States, then something is clearly wrong.

I'm all for free speech, and if Brandon Marshall and every other athlete want to devote all of their free time to furthering various political causes, then go ahead. But keep it out of the games, please.


Teammate Halts Brandon Marshall's Planned Obama Celebration [Shutdown Corner]