NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says players should stand for anthem

In a September 24 editorial titled “The Day the Real Patriots Took a Knee”, the newspaper chastised President Donald Trump for suggesting that NFL owners should fire players who kneeled in protest during the playing of the national anthem.

You only needed to hear the language at the end of the meetings to understand where Jones stands now – on an island, left alone as the only team owner inclined to discipline players for any form of protest during the anthem. Total disrespect for our great country!

“We believe that players should stand during the national anthem “, said the commissioner of the NFL Roger Goodell at a press conference.

After the meeting, Goodell spoke about what he called a “productive” session. Even if true (and how can it be when Goodell himself has said he’s committed to working with the players on social issues?), it’s a little late for that. Among the topics discussed was enhancing the players’ platforms for speaking out on social issues.

Although American universities are often perceived as sheltering their students from the real world, they consistently serve as gathering places for those hoping to stand up for what is right. The owners – like Goodell – just want the issue to go away. Has been a saints ran for his many years as I can remember her whole life and I doubt in black and gold watch yeah I mean you know and we always talk football. “And with our commitment, they wanted to work together to try and address these issues”. He said their commitment is “admirable” and the owners want to help them.

“We need to keep the focus on the fact that we believe that our players should stand for the National Anthem“, Goodell said.

On Tuesday, in an unprecedented move for a league meeting, a group of 11 owners and more than a dozen players met for more than two hours at NFL headquarters. The meeting between owners and players ended with no agreement on the thorny issue of protests during “The Star-Spangled Banner”, which has bitterly divided the sport and fans of the game. The issue is to find ways for National Football League teams and players to reach common ground to address problems of inequality and unfairness that exist in many communities.

In a joint statement, the National Football League and the union have ensured that ” every member of the community National Football League has a huge respect for our country, our flag, our anthem and our soldiers “.

The comments seemed to invoke former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who chose to kneel during the National Anthem last fall as a way to enhance awareness surrounding police brutality. During his speech to supporters, the former host of “The Apprentice” chose to shift topics to the growing number of NFL players protesting the national anthem before games.

Finding out that NFL owners are not forcing players to stand during the national anthem is a big win for the players and an even greater win for the First Amendment.

“They’re talking about equality issues, making sure that we’re doing everything we possibly can to give people an opportunity, whether it’s education or economic”, he added. “We respect our flag”, Trump said to loud applause at the campaign event.