NFL players will be encouraged to stand for the national anthem at the start of football games, league officials told reporters today.
After two days of meetings with the owners of each NFL team, players’ union representatives and the players themselves, the NFL reiterated its decision to maintain its existing policy of not requiring players to sit during the hymn. Goodell said yesterday that the league would don’t set a rule which penalizes players who refuse to stand for the anthem.
“We believe everyone should stand for the national anthem,” he told reporters at a news conference today. “It’s an important part of our policy. It’s also an important part of our game that we’re all very proud of. And it’s also important for us to honor our flag and our country and I think our fans expect us to do that “.
Goodell’s remarks came after President Donald Trump continued his criticism of the NFL this morning. On Twitter, Trump said: “The NFL has decided not to force players to stand for our National Anthem. Total disrespect for our great country!”
After former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during the anthem last year to protest police killings of unarmed black men, dozens of other players joined in to him to draw more attention to social and racial injustice. Last month, Trump said the NFL should fire players who did not stand for the anthem.
The players “are not doing it in any way to be respectful of the flag,” Goodell said today. “But they also understand how it’s interpreted.”
Goodell also said the league wanted to stay out of the political arena on the issue.
“We are not looking to get into politics,” he told reporters. “What we’re trying to do is continue to get people focused on football.”
