The trend of kneeling in protest during the National Anthem by NFL players dominated sports headlines and talk shows during the early part of the 2017 NFL Season. Anthem protests made former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick a household name during the previous NFL season and he subsequently became one of the most polarizing sports figures in recent history. As of this writing, Kaepernick is not on an NFL roster and many have speculated that his decision to initiate anthem protests is the reason. Many NFL players have joined in the practice of kneeling during the anthem this season while openly stating that the protest is in no way intended to be disrespectful to the American Flag, the military or the nation as a whole. The cause of the protest is (and has always been) an attempt to draw attention to unfair policing practices in minority communities. Despite clearly communicating the cause that the protests were intended to bring attention to, many people took the act of kneeling during the anthem as an affront to the flag, the military and the nation as a whole. The issue reached a fever pitch when President Trump, while giving a speech at a rally in Alabama, said he would love it if owners would “fire” any “son of a bitch” that knelt during the anthem. The league fought back with more players and some owners performing some form of protest before or during the anthem. Now the NFL and the NFL Players Association are looking move past the protests while maintaining focus on the issues that originally sparked them. This topic has been a regular subject of discussion on the Whiskey Congress podcast (available on iTunes, Stitcher and most other podcast platforms).
A group of NFL players met with commissioner Roger Goodell and several team owners on Tuesday to discuss the issues surrounding national anthem protests, and it is unclear exactly how much progress was made.
Shortly after the meeting ended, the NFL and NFLPA released a joint statement that did not say a whole lot but claimed the meeting was “productive.”
ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported earlier in the day that players wanted to move past the national anthem discussion so they could explore specific ways in which the league and team owners can help them make an impact in the community. One source told Graziano that the best outcome from the meeting would be for the NFL and its owners to “give players a reason NOT to kneel.”
While there have been reports that the NFL is so concerned about losing fans that a rule could be implemented banning national anthem protests, that outcome seems highly unlikely. Even if Jerry Jones essentially told Dallas Cowboys players they cannot kneel, making a league-wide rule would be a public relations nightmare and cause an even bigger divide.
