The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People slammed Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, for not permitting any of his players to play if they engage in “anything that is disrespectful to the flag.”
“Jerry Jones’ comments are more than tone-deaf, more than misinformed and misguided — they are a public commitment by an NFL owner to violate his players’ Constitutional right to free speech,” Tony Covington, a former NFL safety and the NAACP’s senior director of corporate affairs, said in a statement Tuesday.
“This is not an issue about our flag, this is an issue about police brutality, racism, and the ability of members of the NFL whose communities are disproportionately impacted by police misconduct to peacefully say enough,” added NAACP interim President and CEO Derrick Johnson. Jones told players Sunday they would not be allowed to play if anything disrespectful to the flag was done, in response to Vice President Mike Pence leaving an Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers game on Sunday after several 49ers players knelt during the national anthem.
However, in September, the whole Cowboys team, including Jones, knelt before the national anthem at a Monday night game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Originally led by quarterback Colin Kaepernick, a number of players took a knee starting last season during the national anthem to protest the treatment of African American and minorities in the U.S. and police brutality.
The protests have continued this season after Trump said football players who took a knee during the national anthem should be fired during a rally last month for Alabama Sen. Luther Strange.
