NFL Orders Players To Stand For Anthem Or Stay In Locker Room

NFL orders players to stand for anthem or stay in locker room

National Football League owners reached agreement Wednesday on a policy requiring players to stand during the national anthem but giving them the option of remaining in the locker room if they preferred

Los Angeles, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd May, 2018 ) :National Football League owners reached agreement Wednesday on a policy requiring players to stand during the national anthem but giving them the option of remaining in the locker room if they preferred.

The issue of how to handle player protests of kneeling during the pre-game playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" has loomed over the NFL club owners meeting in Atlanta, with the sport anxious to avoid a repeat of the controversy that divided the league last season.

America's most popular sport found itself at the center of a political firestorm in 2017 after President Donald Trump described players who kneeled during the anthem to draw attention to racial injustice as "sons of bitches." The remarks prompted a wave of protests across the league in September, angering some fans and placing several conservative, Trump-supporting team owners in an awkward position.

With the NFL's leadership reluctant to issue a blanket decree ordering players to stand for the anthem, the deal approved Wednesday represents a compromise. Under current NFL regulations, all players are required to be on the field during the anthem.

The new policy removes that requirement, allowing players who do not wish to stand to remain in the locker room. Players who do come onto the field for the anthems would be required to stand or teams would be fined.

"This season, all league and team personnel shall stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "Personnel who choose not to stand for the anthem may stay in the locker room until after the anthem has been performed."