The NFL said Friday it doesn’t have a prepared mandate that would force players to stand for the national anthem after President Trump put pressure on the league to do so.
Instead, when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL Players Association meet with team owners next week in New York to discuss the controversial protests, plans to present a possible solution on how to end them, Reuters reported Saturday.
“[Goodell] has a plan that he is going to present to owners about how to use our platform to both raise awareness and make progress on issues of social justice and equality in this country,” NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said on a conference call.
“What we don’t have is a proposal that changes our policy, we don’t have something that mandates anything. That’s clear. If that was the case I doubt the head of the NFLPA would have put a joint statement out with us.”
Player protests against police brutality were pushed back into the forefront last month when Trump railed against players who knelt during the national anthem, calling for them to be fired.
Lockhart said next week’s discussions will focus on how the NFL and its players can use their platforms to make process on equality, social justice, and criminal justice reform.
“That’s what we are discussing. So for everyone who has speculated over the last few days that somehow there is a proposal that is set for a vote on Tuesday or Wednesday you are speculating,” Lockhart said.
