If you want to hang out and protest, so be it. Else, don’t.

Is it played in government buildings??
Is it played at the White House when Trump rolls out of his coffin??

But if you play it 15 minutes later each year, in 40 years it will start somewhere between midnight and Starbucks. That should be acceptable to all.

And rolling out the flag and troops.
It is offensive.

nationalism is the best explanation.

Get rid of it....maybe have singers singing songs folks will actually want to listen to and not fall asleep.

My father fought in three wars and he did not risk his life so soldiers could be paraded like mascots at football games.
He fought for freedom from shit like this.

that you have to play it before football games.

I just hope Jesus is on the right side of the Ohio State/Mich game.

My son-in-law is a Michigan grad, so we’re all watching that at my house and then heading out to see the Gamecocks take on the Clemsux hillbillies at 7:30.
Without divine intervention we may be 0-2 on the day.

But Jesus just went by my house and He was wearing red and gray.

I agree, NFL and every other sport should refrain of national, religious or political signs. No Flag, no Anthem and definitely no overfly.
It's all business.

No one wants to talk about the all too often deadly effects of racism when they can distract from it with flag waving and denial.

Joe the Flag Waving Blowhard wants players to perform for him instead of using their status to bring attention to the ill effects of racism. Which Joe the Flag Waving Blowhard doesn't think about anyway, and couldn't care less about. Joe the Flag Waving Blowhard thinks a black man making more money than he does is somehow protected against all the racism coming from all the Joe the Flag Waving Blowhards in the country. Besides, they were drafted to entertain Joe the Flag Waving Blowhard on Sundays and Mondays and don't his feelings matter? Won't you think of Joe the Flag Waving Blowhard? Won't someone get Joe the Flag Waving Blowhard a Papa John's pizza? He's too busy using one hand to wave the flag, his other hand is over his heart, and his mouth is busy whitesplaining how bad he has it as a white man in America.

These Joes aren't really bright enough to grasp how they look to sane people.

Lights on. Check the doors and windows hourly. Happy thoughts only.

They're ultimately an entertainment and sports organization. What the hell can they do to help dismantle inherent racism in police departments and the over-prosecution of black and brown people in our criminal justice system.

I would imagine any change in the rules would come with a hefty donation of time / profit from owners and organizations to address these issues. They'll probably work with the NFLPA to help decide where and how to spend that money.

And i can see it from the owners POV also. These players are kneeling, they're not accomplishing anything substantial, and they're pissing off NFL fans that are boycotting games / tv / sponsors. Banning the protests, and dedicating time and a percentage of profits to potential solutions can be seen as a win / win for everyone involved. At least that's how owners will see it / try to sell it.

#2 - Everyone of conscience can help to lessen the effects of systemic/institutional racism by speaking out against it, protesting against it, and recognizing that it exist. So, yeah, the owners actually can help by supporting the protest. They could also help by donating money to organizations that fight against discrimination and police brutality. They can do both.

#3 - As long as people are still talking about the protest, they are accomplishing something - if only by exposing the racists who don't support the protest and who turn it into something it isn't so they can have something to complain about.

The players kneeling are drawing attention to a very real life or death problem for people of color. There are those who would rather pretend the need doesn't exist. I have no use for those in denial.

None.

When did the whole anthem thing start anyway?

Some kind of hand signal or gesture in the end zone.

Then 45 can't complain.

trying to fix their lousy Racist attitudes? Or are they trying to avoid a major Labor Walk Out? Eighty five percent of the Players are African American. With the exception of one Owner,the remainder are just Racist White Guy's.

pay the piper

You just know there will be a Labor Stoppage if Jerry Jones gets his way. Wow.

sick of that crap from the NFL.

The players have no way to eradicate police violence by walking out of the NFL. They'd just be throwing the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak.

As long as players remain in the NFL they can bargain (at least some) and the peaceful protests can continue in other ways. For example the players could decide to wear protest armbands or patches on their uniforms, etc.

If they all up and quit the NFL, they'd lose their biggest bargaining chip.

They have done it before. Did it to the referees too when they went on strike.

Nobody will watch the games, and they won't mean anything. The owners know it too. TV ad money will vanish.

If the players break their contracts and leave the league, the owners will hire replacement players anyway, and pay them more money. What's the upside for the players?

they have very few years to play. I don't know what the average career in football is. I'd guess three years.

So asking a player to sit out possibly a full year without pay is awfully tough.

No one forces anyone in the stands to sing it or stand for it. I know because I don't sing it any more and no one says jack.

so don't have to think about saluting. The only places I salute are aboard Camp Lejeune at Retreat and veteran parades as the flag goes by.

A lot of coverage about peaceful protest, which is a good thing it has started a dialogue that is long overdue. Unfortunately, Trump and the NFL owners are so old that they must have forgotten about the 1st amendment, unless they weren't taught about it at their elite schools.

forbids Congress from tampering with the freedoms of religion, speech, assembly, and the press, and has little to do with the private sector. The NFL is free to change to National anthem policy next season if they choose to.

Basically the 1st Amendment means the COPS / Military can't come out and force people to stand for the anthem "or else."

Those players are wearing a team uniform, they're representing the team while in that uniform, and they're taking money from the owners to be there wearing that uniform. The owners are under no obligation to continue employment of people that are ultimately costing them money.

If those players continue to cost the NFL profits / attendance / mindshare, they'll be dropped like a cheap suit. There are optics considerations they'll want to avoid, but at the end of the day, employment decisions will be made based on profitability.

If i was Eric Berry, Marshawn Lynch, or anyone else who regularly kneels, I'd be VERY aware of my potential for injury. Injury would be an easy way for ownership to cut your ass, and not have to address the elephant in the room of kneeling for the national anthem.

I'm going to get a call from my boss very quickly telling me it's great that I'm protesting, but keep it on my own time away from the business.

They seem so much more outraged by the symptom than by the disease. These owners tend to be movers and shakers in their communities. Why don't they get their teams together with mayors, or police chiefs and start productive discussions? Especially since I do believe that some of the owners are taking the players' side, or at least trying to understand what they're protesting?

I said I thought it would be more effective for the owners and some representative players to meet with mayors and police chiefs in their towns to discuss strategies about police brutality than to talk about it internally.

It would be more effective, in my opinion, than all this hand wringing. The point is to force some action, and who is better positioned to take that action than prominent business leaders in a community, which most NFL owners are?

I don't think the owners meeting with each other will accomplish a damned thing. They are influential people. I would like to see them use that influence, but they need to break out of their cabal.

That is the extent to which they are obligated to perform on the field in public. They're contract employees, not slaves.