New NFL policy bans kneeling protest during National Anthem

OWNERS  of the National Football League (NFL) in the United States have approved a new policy today requiring all athletes and staff to stand during the national anthem.

This comes after protests sparked by former San Francisco 49ers player, Colin Kaepernick, created controversy back in 2016 when he decided to kneel for the national anthem in protest of racial injustice in the U.S.

The new policy will permit players to stay in the locker room during the “The Star-Spangled Banner” but requires them to stand if they come to the field.

In a sign that players were not part of the discussions, any violations of the policy would result in fines against the team — not the players.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said the change was approved unanimously by the owners at their spring meeting in Atlanta, but it was met with immediate scepticism by the players’ union.

“We want people to be respectful of the national anthem. We want people to stand,” Goodell said.

“That’s all personnel, and to make sure they treat this moment in a respectful fashion. That’s something that we think we owe. We’ve been very sensitive on making sure that we give players choices, but we do believe that moment is an important moment and one that we are going to focus on.”

The NFL Players Association realising a statement about the new policy.

“The vote by NFL club CEOs today 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.

“Our union will review the new ‘policy’ and challenge any aspect of it that is inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement.”

President Trump turned the anthem protests into a campaign issue, saying the NFL should fire any player who takes a knee during “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The NFL hasn’t gone that far, but Kaepernick has yet to land another job and one of his former teammates and fellow protesters, safety Eric Reid, is also out of work.

Both have filed collusion grievances against the NFL.