Thread: NFL adopts policy to fine teams if players and personnel don't stand for national ant

NFL adopts policy to fine teams if players and personnel don't stand for national anthem

By Kathleen Joyce | Fox News
38 mins ago

Several players from the Houston Texans seen kneeling during the national anthem in 2017.

The NFL adopted a policy that would fine teams and league personnel did not “stand show respect for the flag and the Anthem,” the league announced Wednesday.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement that the policy was approved "in concert with the NFL"s ongoing commitment to local communities and our country."

The policy read: "the 32 member clubs of the National Football League have reaffirmed their strong commitment to work alongside our players to strengthen our communities and advance social justice."

The teams agreed to the following requirements:

"All team and league personnel on the field shall stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem."
"The Game Operations Manual will be revised to remove the requirement that all players be on the field for the Anthem."
Personnel who choose not to stand for the Anthem may stay in the locker room or in a similar location off the field until after the Anthem has been performed."
"A club will be fined by the League if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem."
"Each club may develop its own work rules, consistent with the above principles, regarding its personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem."
"The Commissioner will impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.​"

Goodell said that the "efforts by many of our players sparked awareness and action around issues of social justice that must be addressed" but it was unfortunate that "on-field protests created a false perception among many that thousands of NFL players were unpatriotic."

"This is not and was never the case," he continued.

The policy comes in wake of the protests that were started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

During the 2016-2017 NFL season, Kaepernick started kneeling during the anthem as part of a protest against police brutality. The hotly contested move was later adapted by other players as well, including former teammate Eric Reid.

After the kneeling triggered fierce debates across the country, and criticism from President Trump, the league moved to pay nearly $100 million to social justice causes supported by some players, despite critics' claims that it was meant purely to appease activist athletes.

NFL players reportedly defended Kaepernick and slammed league owners during an October meeting in New York City, demanding to know why the former 49ers player was, they believed, being blackballed.

NFL owners met this week to consider the new policy.

The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) released a statement regarding the policy.

"The NFL chose to not consult the union in the development of this new 'policy.' NFl players have shown their patriotism through their social activism, their community service, in support of our military and law enforcement and yes, through their protests to raise awareness about the issues they care about," the statement read.

The NFLPA said the vote by the owners "contradicts the statements made to our player leadership by Commissioner Roger Goodell and the Chairman of the NFL's Management Council John Mara about the principles, values and patriotism of our league."

The NFLPA said they would "review the new 'policy.'"

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2018/0...al-anthem.html

I stopped watching the NFL years ago.

I hope they go bankrupt!

In the NBA things are different.

https://mobile.twitter.com/TheRender...26autosize%3D1

Good. Political views shouldn't be in sports and yet somehow nowadays politics is in EVERYTHING, not smart, turns people away.

You're so right, Jean.

CNN is calling it a win for Trump. And it is, but I think it's really a win for America, all Americans. Sports belongs to all the viewers, all the fans, all the time. That big stadium, that big game, that big athletic opportunity, those huge salaries you're paid, all Americans pay for that, when they buy the products of advertisers, when they buy the tickets, when they pay for cable and watch football on TV. None of it belongs to the players, none of it is for their individual platform. That field on game days belongs to football fans in every way, every game day. Players need to respect that. Just as they should respect handicapped parking spaces. Just as they should respect expensive items in a Chinese sunglass shop.

Americans know that athletes have worked their butts off to play for a professional sports team. Americans have never once ever resented the big salaries and benefits paid in return for those who develop these extraordinary skills and probably never will. But Americans will resent certain things, kneeling for a flag you should be standing for, using handicapped parking spaces that aren't for you, and stealing expensive items from the store of a host country. We'll resent it, because we expect better than that.

Originally Posted by Jean

Good. Political views shouldn't be in sports and yet somehow nowadays politics is in EVERYTHING, not smart, turns people away.

You're absolutely right, it just doesn't make good business sense. Why would any business want to alienate part of their possible customer base over politics? From a business standpoint it's about maximizing profits, not finding ways to minimize them.

24 May 2018
Charlie Spiering
724 comments

President Donald Trump reacted to the news that the NFL had changed their policies on players kneeling for the national anthem, praising the American people for voicing their disappointment with the organization.

“I think the people pushed it forward, this was not me,” he said in an interview with Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade aired on Thursday. “I brought it out, I think the people pushed it forward.”

The new rules require all NFL players and personnel on the field to stand for the national anthem or stay in the locker room. The NFL commissioner will impose fines on players who do not comply.

Trump praised the NFL’s decision, even though he did not like the idea that any player would choose to stay in the locker room rather than stand for the national anthem.

“I don’t think people should be staying in locker rooms, but still I think it’s good,” he said. “You have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn’t be playing, maybe you shouldn’t be in the country.”

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...or-the-people/

Originally Posted by MW

You're absolutely right, it just doesn't make good business sense. Why would any business want to alienate part of their possible customer base over politics? From a business standpoint it's about maximizing profits, not finding ways to minimize them.

Individual artists, like Shania Twain, for instance, know that expressing political views can alienate a good part of their potential audience. Such individuals feel the heat. Unfortunately, members of a team have been allowed to get away with this because fans look at the team as a whole.

I look at actors who have said or done despicable things. If we boycott their movies or TV shows, (Bill Cosby "The Cosby Show", Stephen Collins "Seventh Heaven" among others) we end up punishing the innocent costars as well.

The fact that players can opt out by staying in the locker room is a cop-out. And the fines being levied against the team rather than the player is also a cop-out. Their desire to play football should preclude their other priorities!

Originally Posted by Judy

CNN is calling it a win for Trump. And it is, but I think it's really a win for America, all Americans. Sports belongs to all the viewers, all the fans, all the time. That big stadium, that big game, that big athletic opportunity, those huge salaries you're paid, all Americans pay for that, when they buy the products of advertisers, when they buy the tickets, when they pay for cable and watch football on TV. None of it belongs to the players, none of it is for their individual platform. That field on game days belongs to football fans in every way, every game day. Players need to respect that. Just as they should respect handicapped parking spaces. Just as they should respect expensive items in a Chinese sunglass shop.

Americans know that athletes have worked their butts off to play for a professional sports team. Americans have never once ever resented the big salaries and benefits paid in return for those who develop these extraordinary skills and probably never will. But Americans will resent certain things, kneeling for a flag you should be standing for, using handicapped parking spaces that aren't for you, and stealing expensive items from the store of a host country. We'll resent it, because we expect better than that.

I really think that sometimes you can look to the past and find bits of gold.
Think of the NFL with zero black players. How entertaining do you think it will be?

Different sport and a different outcome: The NBA.
The ABA wanted to merge with the NBA but was rebuffed. The old NBA thought of itself as The Institution. The rules were stiff and the game was slower. The ABA, didn't pay as high, but they loosened the rules and let the action take place. The ABA bragged that they had a man that could fly: Dr. J.
The ABA, with its multicolored ball, deemed too gaudy by the stiff NBA, began to be more entertaining than the set shot action of the NBA. The NBA forced a merger in short.

I say, if the NFL doesn't value the players, there is enough talent for a complete breakaway that would crush the NFL's profits.

Let them keep acting a fool. Someone is going to take charge one day.