Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has spoken out about President Donald Trump’s frequent quotes about the NFL’s national anthem issue, and he thinks the President should let it go.
Jones said Wednesday that Trump’s interest in players protesting during the national anthem and the subsequent rules to govern it is “problematic,” and he wishes that Trump would simply allow it to “go away.”
Jerry Jones: President Trump’s interest in the national anthem issue is “problematic” for the NFL. “Everybody would like for it to go away.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 25, 2018
Jones is speaking as an owner with an eye on the bottom line here. When the national anthem protests are in the news, it’s a divisive issue that the NFL can’t really win on no matter what they do, as they’ll be angering someone either way. Trump knows that and uses it as an issue to whip up fervor among his supporters, which is why he’s happy to keep bringing it up. It makes owners uncomfortable, however, and isn’t good for business, which is going to be Jones’s primary concern.
As for the Cowboys’ policy, Jones said that players would be required to stand on the field during the anthem and would not be permitted to remain in the locker room, even though the leaguewide policy permits players to do that. He did not say how players would be punished, if at all, if they defied the rule.
Jerry Jones said players will be required to stand for the anthem and not stay in the locker room prior to the game. He said President Trump's comments about the anthem situation have been "problematic," and added, "everybody would like it to go away."
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) July 25, 2018
The NFL’s recent passage of new national anthem guidelines was meant in part to placate Trump, but it clearly has not worked. Ultimately, Jones’s stance doesn’t come as a huge shock since Trump spent some time pestering him on the issue last season.
