NFL players have begun speaking out against the league’s new national anthem policy, and Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Artie Burns has some very strong feelings about it.
The NFL is requiring players who choose to be on the sideline to stand for the anthem, but players who opt to remain in the locker room during “The Star-Spangled Banner” will not face disciplinary action. While league officials feel that is a good compromise, Burns said Thursday that the policy has the potential to be “humiliating” to players.
Steelers corner Artie Burns on protesting players having to stay in the locker room during the anthem or face discipline/team fines: “You talk about bullying, man. That’s bullying.” pic.twitter.com/kTAeXqd9tp
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) May 24, 2018
“It makes you look bad,” Burns said. “Your whole team’s out there and you come jogging out … who wants to go through that? That’s humiliating to us. As a person, you’re trying to stand for something, but you single us out in front of everybody. You talk about bullying, man. That’s bullying.”
If you want to know who the players as a whole feel about the new policy, the NFLPA’s statement on the matter says it all.
