NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell shocked many when one day after President Trump sparked blowback over his call for team owners to fire players who kneel during the National Anthem, the league's top executive issued a statement in defense of protesters that dubbed the Commander-In-Chief's words divisive. Many of those who were taken by surprise by Goodell's backing is not shocked to learn, however, that it now appears he's pulled a 180.
Goodell's position would mark the beginning of a feud between the White House and the National Football League, that after two weeks has appeared to win the NFL some moral virtue while losing millions of pro-Trump and anti-protest fans to a boycott. He'd hold up his defense for as long as he deemed it feasible, but by midday, Tuesday, October 10, the Commissioner all but threw in the towel, when he sent a memo that urged each of the league's 32 teams to "move past" the contentious ritual the pregame ceremony has come to be.
"Like many of our fans. we believe that everyone should stand for the national anthem. It is an important moment in our game. We want to honor our flag and our country, and our fans expect that of us," Goodell's memo read. But in kind, the Commissioner also made it clear that the league doesn't want to simply gloss over the position players have taken up, writing: "We also care deeply about our players and respect their opinions and concerns about critical social issues. The controversy over the Anthem is a barrier to having honest conversations and making real progress on the underlying issues. We need to move past this controversy, and we want to do that together with our players."
In terms of how Goodell looks to deliver a compromise that might have protesters feel like they are not being dismissed, the letter notes that the NFL intends to "include such elements as an in-season platform to promote the work of our players on these core issues." The solution rings familiar to that which has been proposed by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who recently informed players that they must stand for the anthem while promising they'd have a chance to get their messages of social welfare out via video and other displays that take the protests away from the Star Spangled Banner.
Source: espn.com
