Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

The NFL's New Anthem Policy Sounds Like It Was Written by Trump, and the Players' Union Just Clapped Back

The NFL's New Anthem Policy Sounds Like It Was Written by Trump, and the Players' Union Just Clapped Back
SEATTLE, WA - OCTOBER 29: Members of the Houston Texans, including Kevin Johnson #30 and Lamarr Houston #58, kneel during the national anthem before the game at CenturyLink Field on October 29, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. During a meeting of NFL owners earlier in October, Houston Texans owner Bob McNair said "we can't have the inmates running the prison," referring to player demonstrations during the national anthem. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

So much shade.

NFL owners have unanimously approved a new national anthem policy that would require players to stand if they are on the field during the performance. If the players do not stand, their team will face fines.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement that the policy was approved "in concert with the NFL's ongoing commitment to local communities and our country."


"We believe today's decision will keep our focus on the game and the extraordinary athletes who play it––and on our fans who enjoy it," he continues.

The complete statement is below.

NFL membership "strongly believes" the following:

  • All team and league personnel on the field shall stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.
  • The Game Operations Manual will be revised to remove the requirement that all players be on the field for the Anthem.
  • Personnel who choose not to stand for the Anthem may stay in the locker room or in a similar location off the field until after the Anthem has been performed.
  • A club will be fined by the League if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.
  • Each club may develop its own work rules, consistent with the above principles, regarding its personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.
  • The Commissioner will impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.

In response, The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) released a statement condemning the policy.

"The NFL chose to not consult the union in the development of this new 'policy.' NFl players have shown their patriotism through their social activism, their community service, in support of our military and law enforcement and yes, through their protests to raise awareness about the issues they care about," the statement read.

Adding that they would "review the new 'policy,'" the NFLPA said the vote by the owners "contradicts the statements made to our player leadership by Commissioner Roger Goodell and the Chairman of the NFL's Management Council John Mara about the principles, values and patriotism of our league."

The NFL's announcement was met with praise from the White House.

Vice President Mike Pence tweeted the news along with this simple caption: "#Winning."

But the move was quickly met with heated criticism.

Satirical news website The Onion slammed the new policy as a symbol of authoritarian leanings.

Cameron Kasky, a survivor of the February mass shooting which took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, said that the policy is "a great way to address the terrible brain diseases torturing former players to death." (Kasky was referencing studies which have revealed the link between football and traumatic brain injury, particularly one which found that the overwhelming majority of deceased NFL players had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disorder associated with repetitive head trauma.)

"The NFL is about 70% black. If united and didn’t take the field at all, it would upset a lot of people and a lot of executives," wrote Dominique Hamilton, a defensive tackle with the New York Giants. "Today the NFL went backwards not forward. The NFLPA was not made aware of this new policy."

Previous NFL policy required players to be on the field for the anthem but did not mandate them to stand. In 2009, NFL players began standing on the field for the national anthem before the start of primetime games. Prior to 2009, "players would stay in their locker rooms except during the Super Bowl and after 9/11," according to Axios.

But NFL players standing during the national anthem only became a hot-button issue after former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick chose to kneel during the 2016 season, sparking a national conversation on the perils of systemic racism and police brutality.

When asked why he refused to stand, Kaepernick replied: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Kaepernick later filed a grievance with the NFL for collusion to keep him out of the league. The filing alleged the NFL and its owners “have colluded to deprive Mr. Kaepernick of employment rights in retaliation for Mr. Kaepernick’s leadership and advocacy for equality and social justice and his bringing awareness to peculiar institutions still undermining racial equality in the United States.”

Internal team documents unearthed this week in the collusion case against the league revealed that NFL teams view Kaepernick as a good enough player to be a starting quarterback in the league. Despite this, Kaepernick has not started a game since the 2016 season with the San Francisco 49ers.

The NFL's policy change has come under attack for appearing to cave to President Donald Trump's relentless criticism of players––particularly Kaepernick––who lean during the national anthem.

“I watched Colin Kaepernick, and I thought it was terrible, and then it got bigger and bigger and started mushrooming, and frankly the NFL should have suspended him for one game, and he would have never done it again,” Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity in an interview conducted before an audience at the Harrisburg Air National Guard Base last year, shortly before Kaepernick filed his grievance with the NFL.

Last spring, the president took credit for Kaepernick's failure to be signed by an NFL team since breaking from the 49ers.

“There was an article today…that NFL owners don’t want to pick him up because they don’t want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump,” the president told a crowd at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky at the time. “You believe that? I just saw that. I said, ‘If I remember that one, I’m gonna report it to the people of Kentucky because they like it when people actually stand for the American flag.’”

More from People/donald-trump

Screenshot of Riley Gaines; Simone Biles
Fox News; Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images

Riley Gaines Ripped After Boasting About Getting 'Groveling' Apology From Simone Biles

Anti-trans activist and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines was called out after she boasted about getting a "groveling" apology from Olympic gymnast Simone Biles just days after Biles criticized her for regularly attacking the transgender community for participating in sports instead of promoting inclusivity.

Last week, Biles ridiculed Gaines in a post on X after Gaines complained about a recent victory by a Minnesota high school softball team that has become a focus of conservative media attention due to the reported inclusion of a transgender girl on the roster.

Keep ReadingShow less
Olivia Munn, John Mulaney; Ms. Rachel
Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Women's Cancer Research Fund; Ms Rachel - Toddler Learning Videos/YouTube

John Mulaney Speaks Out After Wife Olivia Munn Gets Death Threats Over Ms. Rachel Comment

Actor and comedian John Mulaney has taken to Instagram to lambaste users for sending death threats to his wife Olivia Munn and their kids.

Munn sparked major controversy last week when she said in a People magazine interview that she hates watching popular kids' YouTuber Ms. Rachel, whose full name is Rachel Anne Griffin Accurso.

Keep ReadingShow less
Vincent Scardina

Florida MAGA Voter Tears Up After ICE Detains A Third Of His Workers—And Now He Can't Find New Ones

As MAGA Republican President Donald Trump ramps up the agenda put forth for him by the misogynist, White supremacist, Christian nationalist Heritage Foundation's Project 2025—which includes importing White people and deporting as many Black and brown people as possible in response to the Great Replacement conspiracy theory—more and more 2024 Trump voters are asking why they're being negatively impacted.

Business owners, who as a matter of routine hired non-White documented and undocumented immigrants, are complaining that the agenda they endorsed in the voting booth is now hurting their bank accounts. People like roofing company owner Vincent Scardina of Florida.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Jesse Watters from Fox News
Fox News

Jesse Watters Blasted For Hypocrisy After Using Term He Was Previously Outraged By

Fox News personality Jesse Watters was called out for hypocrisy after he described the oustings of ABC News correspondent Terry Moran and Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg as them having been "86'd"—just weeks after complaining about the term "86 47," which he sees as a clear call to assassinate President Donald Trump.

The term "86" means to eject, discard, or disprove of, and though it's said to have military origins, it's commonly used in restaurants when getting rid of unruly customers or when a patron has specific dietary restrictions. For example, saying "86 the mushrooms on the burger" means to prepare a burger sans mushrooms. Similarly, saying "86 the burger with mushrooms" means to not make the burger at all.

Keep ReadingShow less
Guest or second bedroom
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

Married Couples Explain Why They Decided To Sleep In Separate Bedrooms

Every couple is different, and what they will expect from their relationship and what they will need in order to feel fulfilled will differ, as well.

Some obvious examples would relate to wealth and sex drive, but there are other, less obvious examples, too, like sleep schedules and sleep hygiene.

Keep ReadingShow less