NFL considering letting teams craft their own national anthem policies
By admin - 2018-05-06 19:07:33

NFL teams have been somewhat divided over national anthem protests, with some allowing players to take a knee and other completely forbidding it.

According to the Washington Post, the league is looking into the possibility of giving each franchise the authority to decide its own policy on the issue. The NFL Players Association is reportedly at odds with the idea, saying that every player has the right to decide for themselves whether to protest or not under the NFL’s own rules, which currently feature zero restrictions on player action regarding the anthem. The measure is expected to be voted on by team owners later this month.

“My guess is they will leave it up to the teams,” a high-ranking official said of the expected changes, according to the report.

The owners held a meeting about possible changes to the rules back in October, and owners like Jerry Jones of the Cowboys and Bob McNair of the Texans came out against players protesting during the national anthem.Owners like Jeffrey Lurie of the Philadelphia Eagles, meanwhile, took the opposite side.

In any case, giving owners sole authority to decide for themselves how to handle the situation means taking pressure off the league office and  NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. But what it would really boil down to is how fans react to whatever stance their teams decide to take on this divisive issue.