The NFL quietly changed its rules on players protesting the national anthem following a torrent of criticism from President Donald Trump, according to reports.
Trump slammed the organization last month as more and more players took a knee during the anthem prior to games. “NFL must respect this!” he tweeted on September 25, followed the next day by: “The NFL has all sorts of rules and regulations. The only way out for them is to set a rule that you can’t kneel during our National Anthem!”
On Sunday, as Cowboys GM Jerry Jones spoke to reporters, it emerged that he had spoken to Trump “about an NFL policy in game operations manual that dictates players stand for the national anthem.” […]
Crucially, it warns that failure to follow these rules “may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations.” This rule, however, seems to have been altered.
According to Deadspin, the 2014 edition of the game operations manual—officially named the Policy Manual for Member Clubs—is significantly different when it addresses punishment. It says: “Failure to be on the field by the start of the National anthem may result in disciplinary action from the League Office.”
The version currently being pushed out by the NFL differs in two ways: Firstly, there are increased penalties for not standing for the national anthem, but also the punishment does not have to come from the league office now.
Anyone here tired of winning yet. Not me. Ah, but too little, too late. Insincere gestures toward our Country, military and the flag won't fly. The toothpaste is out of the tube, the thugs hate America and hate us. Now, when I see them standing I know that they are being forced to stand and they don't really feel it in their hearts. As far as I am concerned, they can stay on their knees. The NFL doesn't want the public to know it was really the fan's protest that won. The NFL saw a decline in dollars and knew they were in deep shit, but didn't want us to know just how powerful we can be if we put our minds to it. But we did, and I dont want an apology from these BLM'ers or their owners! Won't change anything for me. We're on to them now. They are just highly paid, America hating, thug assholes and they could sing the National Anthem at the top of their lungs now and I could not care less. The question is: now that America has seen that the NFL and certain players don't give a flying f**k about the anthem or the flag unless it hits them in the wallet, will Americans return to watching? I know I won't.
