i find vance's and john's message to be a little weak.  vance i can understand has he has less sway.  however, as we just saw with the chicago pd selfie incident, when you put on a uniform, or logo, or whatever that identifies you as an employee you are no longer speaking for yourself.  these players who are "protesting" are speaking on behalf of vance and john and everyone else that works for the nfl.  that's why most employers do not let their employees stump for political issues while on the clock, or while identifying as an employee.  because no one chose to stand up and challenge these players, what they say now is of no consequence.