N.F.L. Owners Won't Penalize Players for Kneeling During Anthem
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XPost: alt.politics.usa, alt.tv.pol-incorrect, alt.sports.football.pro
XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.sports.football.nfl
The N.F.L. for now will continue to let players kneel or sit during
the national anthem without a penalty, capitulating to demands by
the athletes for free expression but potentially further alienating
fans who object to the protests and feel they are disrespectful to
the flag and the military.
But, after a meeting Tuesday with union representatives and players,
the league did promise to help support some of the causes targeted
by the protesting players, including reform of the criminal justice
system.
The owners’ decision to not toughen the league’s stance on anthem demonstrations showed yet again the contortions they have been going
through to display support for their players while wrestling with
the political fallout of the sideline protests that have persisted
since last season.
The players, largely on social media, had made clear they would not
abide penalties for sitting or kneeling during the pregame anthem,
while legal experts wondered if any punitive change would hold up in
court. The gestures began last season, spurred by Colin Kaepernick,
then the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, to draw attention
to racial oppression and police brutality against black Americans.
The Miami Dolphins’ owner, Stephen Ross, speaking in New York at a
business meeting of the 32 owners, said that the league had made no
changes to its policy and that players would be free to protest
again this weekend.
“I can’t really tell you what people are going to do,” Ross said
when asked if players would continue to protest. “The league has a
policy. It hasn’t changed.”
The league’s rule book never required players to stand for the
anthem but says they must be on the sideline during the song and
“should” stand for it.
The ambiguity in the rule has made it difficult for the league to
fine players who have either sat or knelt for the anthem, and the
owners had discussed clarifying the wording to make standing for the
anthem mandatory.
By leaving the rule alone, the league has chosen to avoid more
internal strife with its players and to potentially weather more
criticism from fans and President Trump, who has repeatedly
ridiculed the league for not firing players who demonstrate during
the anthem.
“We need to be above petty attacks from anybody, because racial and socioeconomic inequality has existed in this country for too long,”
Jed York, the chief executive and co-owner of the San Francisco
49ers, said when asked about the president’s criticism of the
league. “You got to block out the noise and go do your job, and
that’s what we need to focus on.”
The meeting on Tuesday included the N.F.L.’s commissioner, Roger
Goodell; the director of the players’ union, DeMaurice F. Smith; and
11 owners, including Robert K. Kraft of the New England Patriots and
Arthur M. Blank of the Atlanta Falcons. They met for almost four
hours with a dozen players, including Malcolm Jenkins of the
Philadelphia Eagles, Eric Reid of the 49ers and Kenny Stills of the
Dolphins, all of whom have protested during the anthem.
“We just talked about how the owners could come alongside us and we
could, collectively, collaboratively, work together to actually
create some change, real changes,” Jenkins said afterward, flanked
by other players. “We feel a real responsibility to our country, to
our communities, so we’re working through ways to really have long
lasting, real change.”
Jenkins said there had been no discussion during the meeting about
prohibiting players from kneeling during the national anthem;
whether players continue to do so, he said, would be an individual
decision.
He also said that Kaepernick had been invited to the meeting but
chose not to attend. Kaepernick’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, later said
it was possible that Kaepernick would attend future meetings.
The league’s broadcasters and sponsors have tried to tiptoe past the
public spat as pockets of fans have said they would no longer go to
games or buy N.F.L. merchandise. Some teams, too, have had to handle
a large number of calls from angry fans. Last week, the Jaguars took
the unusual step of apologizing to military leaders in the
Jacksonville area for demonstrating during the national anthem
before their game in London last month.
According to a copy of the letter obtained by The Associated Press,
the Jaguars’ president, Mark Lamping, said that the team was “remiss
in not fully comprehending the effect of the national anthem
demonstration on foreign soil has had on the men and women who have
or continue to serve our country.”
To find a way to extinguish the crisis, Goodell has tried to
persuade the players’ union to help him to persuade the players to
stand for the anthem.
On Monday, Goodell and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin
sent a letter of support to the congressional sponsors of the
Sentencing Reform and Correction Act, a bill designed to increase rehabilitation of people convicted of crimes.
Protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement gathered outside the
hotel where the owners were meeting. One demonstrator, Hank Newsome,
said Kaepernick was being unfairly treated by the N.F.L. because he
brought attention to uncomfortable issues, including racism.
“What I see with the N.F.L. owners is a bunch of good old boys
telling the players: Stay in your place,” he said.
Not long after, two protesters confronted the Dallas Cowboys owner
Jerry Jones as he walked through the lobby of the hotel, saying that
the players were kneeling during the anthem to end white supremacy.
Jones listened to the protesters but did not speak to them.
Goodell said late Tuesday that the owners had not asked the players
for a pledge to stop protesting during the anthem. He said the
league and players would most likely meet again in the next two
weeks.
Goodell’s efforts to forge a consensus among the owners come as they
are considering whether to extend his current contract by another
five years.
Goodell has tried to mollify the players by visiting Philadelphia,
Miami and other cities to speak to them and witness their work in
the community.
But with the president continuing to harangue the N.F.L. on Twitter,
and fans increasingly upset about the league’s handling of the
issue, including in Jacksonville, where a fan paid to have a plane
fly over the Jaguars’ stadium carrying a message calling for a
boycott of the team and the N.F.L., the owners continue to fret over
the protests and how they will affect the league’s brand when
television ratings have started to slip.
The league also continues to grapple with Kaepernick, who filed a
grievance accusing the owners of colluding to keep him from joining
a team. Kaepernick, who led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2013, has
remained unsigned since leaving the team in March.
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