NFL Plots Course Forward Amid Mounting Player Protests

Officials, owners and players meet to decide how to proceed after Week 3.

National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a press conference on September 19, 2014 inside the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City. Goodell took the time to address personal conduct issues in the NFL.  (Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a press conference on September 19, 2014 inside the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City. Goodell took the time to address personal conduct issues in the NFL. (Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

When President Trump began his Twitter and public tirade on the NFL, its players, and their anthem protests, he opened a pandora’s box of opposition. And now, according to the New York Times, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, some owners, and a group of players met to try and figure out how to proceed from Week’3 league-wide protests.

Because, surely, it won’t be the end of them.

One player who attended the meeting, but was quoted anonymously in the piece, said he felt that the owners wanted all their players to stand, despite the NFL not making any league-wide decree. As the Times notes, “The issue has pushed the NFL into an unusual dilemma of balancing respect for the wishes of its players, who often are critical of the owners on issues of health and labor agreements, while taking into account some signs of a backlash among many fans.”

The overall strategy, though, appears to be not kicking the hornet’s nest that is President Trump. Writes the Times: “Instead, the players, with input from team officials, are seeking to shape a message that shows their desire to stand together while still addressing the original intent of the protests: raising awareness of police brutality against African Americans and racism in general.”

 

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