Kneeling for the national anthem is now officially against league policy. The NFL approved a policy today that allows players to stay inside the locker room during the anthem. However, if they’re out on the field it requires them to stand and \u201cshow respect for the flag and anthem.”<\/p>\n
The full statement from Roger Goodell can be seen below:<\/p>\n
\nStatement from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pic.twitter.com\/1Vn7orTo1R<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 NFL (@NFL) May 23, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The statement mentions that the protests created a false sense that NFL players are unpatriotic. To combat that, it requires that they stand during the anthem, or stay in the locker room. The Game Operations manual will be revised to allow players to stay in the locker room. It also allows teams to develop their own rules for disciplining players who \u201cdo not stand and show respect for the Anthem.\u201d<\/p>\n
The protests have been a polarizing issue in the NFL since former San Francisco 49ers<\/a> quarterback Colin Kaepernick<\/a><\/strong> began protesting the anthem in the 2016 pre-season. He emphasized that it was not protesting the flag, but instead to call attention to social injustice and police brutality<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Since then, other players like Michael Bennett<\/a><\/strong>, Chris Long<\/a><\/strong>, and Eric Reid<\/a><\/strong> have joined in. The controversy grew after President Donald Trump tweeted that players who kneel should be removed from the field.<\/p>\n
However, until now there were no explicit rules that prohibited players from protesting during the anthem. Teams decided individually how they wanted to deal with the issue. Most simply allowed players who wanted to kneel to do so.<\/p>\n
The NFLPA has backed the protesting players throughout this ordeal. Today they issued a response to the decision, condemning the decision to create the policy without consulting the NFLPA:<\/p>\n
\npic.twitter.com\/3FvuGyy4tA<\/a><\/p>\n