Trump and NFL at odds on how to get players to stand for anthem

World
Europe

The National Football League rejected US President Donald Trump’s calls to punish players who kneel for the national anthem to protest racism but said on Wednesday players “should” stand and it hopes the demonstrations will stop.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made clear he will take a more patient approach than the one urged by the president: Rather than using discipline, the league will continue to nurture players’ efforts to fight racial disparities in the criminal justice system, believing this would make the urge to protest fade.

"We have about six or seven players that are involved in this protest at this point,” Goodell told reporters after a two-day meeting with team owners and the players’ labor union in New York City, saying he hoped that number would eventually be zero. “What we’re trying to do is deal with the underlying issue and understand what it is they’re protesting.”

The commissioner cited bail reform and ending mandatory sentences as justice topics of concern for players.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a news conference following the NFL owners autumn meeting in New York City, US, October 18, 2017. /Reuters Photo

In contrast to Trump, who has scorned any player who protests as a “son of a bitch” who should face suspension, Goodell praised the athletes as political activists trying to improve their communities.

Trump responded to Goodell’s approach with impatience.

"Too much talk, not enough action,” he wrote, referring to the league, in a Twitter post on Wednesday afternoon. “Stand for the National Anthem.” It was the most recent in a series of semi-regular rebukes since he first expressed his disdain for the protests at a rally in September.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump expressed his anger at the previous day’s news that the NFL rulebook, which says players “should” stand for the anthem but stops short of mandating it, was not being changed any time soon.

While the president and the league appeared to have reached a stalemate, some fans have said they are heeding Trump’s calls to boycott games while the kneeling continues, which Trump has said is unpatriotic and an insult to the country’s military veterans.

Players kneeling during the national anthem are protesting at the killing of unarmed black men and boys by police across the United States, as well as racial disparities in the criminal justice system. More than half of all NFL players are black.

Source(s): Reuters