Earlier Tuesday, the NFL issued the new policy, which states that all players who are on the field during the anthem must “stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.” Players are allowed to stay in the locker rooms during the Anthem, which effectively silences their protests. Except:
Former NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels on Wednesday laid waste to the league’s new policy mandating that players either stand for the national anthem before games or wait inside their locker rooms until the anthem is finished.
And then Christopher Johnson, owner of the NY Jets, just told his players to feel free to take a knee. “I do not like imposing any club-specific rules,” Johnson says, as reported by Newsday. “If somebody [on the Jets] takes a knee, that fine will be borne by the organization, by me, not the players.”
I never want to put restrictions on the speech of our players,” Johnson continued. “Do I prefer that they stand? Of course. But I understand if they felt the need to protest. There are some big, complicated issues that we’re all struggling with, and our players are on the front lines. I don’t want to come down on them like a ton of bricks, and I won’t. There will be no club fines or suspensions or any sort of repercussions. If the team gets fined, that’s just something I’ll have to bear.”