The Oct. 11 editorial “Pence walkout part of the plan” was thought-provoking on two levels.

First, rather than identify who might not be offended by someone kneeling during the national anthem, you point out that “many Americans, like veterans and their families (including Gold Star?) and friends are genuinely offended.” “Right or wrong, these are genuinely held emotions.” You make no case that would justify “wrong.” You also criticize the president, the commander-in-chief and vice president, both duly elected to lead our country and sworn to defend the Constitution, for speaking out in defense of the flag of the U.S. Would you rather have them not defend our country and flag?

Second, NFL players claim their protests center on diversity and racial inequality. The NFL 2017 Diversity Report mentions opportunities for coaches but no goals for actual players. For the 1,600 players in the NFL the minimum starting salary is $500,000 (the top 2 percent of wage earners). The average NFL pay of $2 million is obviously in the top 1 percent. I can offer a solution for the players’ NFL diversity problem.

The diversity statistics for the U.S. are: 12 percent black, 60 percent white, 18 percent Hispanic, 10 percent Asian/Other. For NFL players the diversity numbers are: 70 percent black, 27 percent white, 1 percent Hispanic, 2 percent Asian/Other. NFL TV viewership is 16 percent black, 70 percent white (80 percent of stadium seats), 9 percent Hispanic, 4 percent Asian/Other. No other U.S. business, public or private, would be allowed to have their diversity numbers as far out of balance as those in the NFL.

The solution is a moratorium on hiring black players until diversity levels are back to parity. There is a huge pool of college football players of all races and nationalities that have been denied their opportunity for these lucrative positions due solely to artificial hiring practices (which apparently favor one group over another) by the NFL. Just as UPS or the postal service is not made up of 70 percent black employees, the NFL players should reflect the diversity they demand throughout the rest of working America. Quite possibly the viewing public, which pays the NFL to exist, would positively view this effort to return the NFL to the diversity levels that we have been trying to practice in America for years.

John Conway

Jackson