The NFL is still working on a solution to deal with the issue of national anthem protests in 2018, and it sounds like kneeling will be strongly discouraged if not banned.
According to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham, owners are leaning toward asking players who do not want to stand at attention during “The Star-Spangled Banner” to remain in the locker room. However, teams will likely reserve the right to decide whether they will allow their players to go that route.
All politics is local, all owners have different relationships with players, and so I believe that owners will leave today’s morning session with a resolution to ask players to stay in the locker room rather than protest, but to allow teams to set their own anthem policy.
— Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) May 23, 2018
As Wickersham notes, it sounds as if there will be two options from the league’s perspective — stand during the anthem or don’t take the field. If team owners require their players to be on the sideline and the players still protest, it’s possible that the team — not individual players — will face a fine.
Owners right now expected to vote on a proposal that would remove requirement for players to be on the field for national anthem, allow them to stay in locker room if they wish, and will fine clubs, not players, if “personnel do not show proper respect for the flag and anthem.”
— Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) May 23, 2018
Another report indicated that the NFL is considering making the penalty for kneeling part of the game, so there are obviously still a lot of details to iron out.
As we have seen, kneeling is only one way for players to take part in political demonstrations during the anthem. If the league or individual teams try to end kneeling, players could come up with other ways to protest like they have done in the past.
