Proud Americans enjoyed a major win in the NFL national anthem protest battle on Wednesday.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell unveiled the league’s 2018 anthem policy which mandates that all players and personnel present on the field during the national anthem must stand for it. If the players kneel, they will be fined by the league and potentially their team. Furthermore, if players still don’t want to stand, they have the option to stay in the locker room out of sight for the national anthem, as they could pre-2009.
The move is one that may be able to appease both sides. NFL TV ratings dropped 8 percent in 2016 and an additional 9.7 percent in 2017, so the league may be able to recoup some of those lost viewers and the $500 million per year in lost revenue it resulted in, according to Clay Travis, formerly of Fox Sports. After all, the anthem protests were the top reason for fans tuning out of games, according to a UBS study conducted earlier this year.
The deal is also generous for the players. First of all, they are not “forced” to stand, even though as a private business the league has the right make that a condition of employment, like how the NBA mandates that their players must stand for the anthem and cannot stay in the locker room. Plus, the NFL and the NFLPA struck a deal last year where the league will donate $89 million to social justice causes over the next seven years in hopes of creating positive change in the African-American community.
Unlike the NFL, the NBA doesn’t give their players anything in exchange for standing for the anthem. They just expect them to do it because not showing respect for the country is detrimental to the league’s profitability. NFL players should feel lucky they are at least getting something in exchange when their league is under no obligation to do such.
Thus far, the New York Jets were the first team to come out and say they would pay their players’ fines if they were to kneel. The statement came from team CEO Christopher Johnson. However, the team’s owner, Woody Johnson, is the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom under President Trump, who is fervently against players kneeling, so it is possible that they change their minds. It’s also worth noting that the Jets play in a two-team market. If people feel slighted by the Jets, then they can watch the Giants.
What matters now is that there will be more teams out there respecting the flag.
Every job has conduct requirements that could be considered infringing on personal freedoms because having a job isn’t a protected right. Not all speech is welcome in the workplace, not everyone is allowed to carry a firearm on the job, and most can’t enjoy their 21st Amendment (drinking alcohol) at their day job.
NFL players make millions of dollars to play a game, and they are able to do so because of the loyal fans who indirectly pay their salaries. If fans don’t want to see these players kneeling for the anthem because they feel disrespected, then they should not have to because they’re not obligated to fund the league.
To their credit, the NFL recognized this issue and made what they believe to be a fair deal in hopes of appeasing everyone. Sure, not everyone will be thrilled with it, but then again, the solution that makes everyone in the country 100 percent satisfied is nonexistent.
The league wants to keep their fans and players happy, and this decision might just be the best solution possible for now. The NFL did its best on Wednesday to solve the problem and deserves credit for it.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a freelance writer who has been published with USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Federalist, and a number of other media outlets.
