NFL Team Owners Adopt Policy to Fine Teams for Not Standing During National Anthem
The National Football League will now fine teams and league employees who fail to "stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem." NFL Commissioner Roder Goodell has also made a statement about the new policy, which was announced by the league on Wednesday, May 23.
The policy, which was also a way for the 32 member clubs of NFL to reaffirm their "strong commitment to work alongside our players to strengthen our communities and advance social justice," also allowed players to stay in the locker room if they cannot abide by this new rule.
All team and league personnel on the field are now required to stand and pay respect for the flag during the national anthem. The new policy, however, will revise the Game Operations Manual, to take out the requirement that "all players be on the field for the Anthem."
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That leaves room for players who would choose not to pay respect for the anthem to "stay in the locker room or in a similar location off the field until after the Anthem has been performed."
Any team player or personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem will now prompt the NFL to levy a fine from the club. Other than that, the new policy looks to be leaving any further disciplinary action to each club as they see fit.
"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 new stipulations read, as quoted by Fox News.
League personnel, of course, will be disciplined by the NFL. "The Commissioner will impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem," the new rules said.
Goodell, in his statement, made note of the protests made by the players as their way of bringing about "awareness and action around issues of social justice that must be addressed," as he said in his statement about the new policy.
Protests during the national anthem at the NFL were started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, when he sat and later kneeled during anthems before the team's preseason games in 2016.
By late 2017, NFL protests have become widespread, when at one point 200 players sat or kneeled during the anthem.
"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," Goddell emphasized in his statement, adding that they believe the new rules will help take the focus off of the protests and back to the game and the athletes.
