ESPN: NFL Won’t Institute New National Anthem Policy This Season

"The new policy is going to be no policy" for this season, sources told ESPN.

Members of the Houston Texans, including Kevin Johnson #30 and Lamarr Houston #58, kneel during the national anthem before the game at CenturyLink Field on October 29, 2017 in Seattle, Washington.  (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
Members of the Houston Texans, including Kevin Johnson #30 and Lamarr Houston #58, kneel during the national anthem before the game at CenturyLink Field on October 29, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
Getty Images

This past weekend, fewer than 10 NFL players across the league protested on the league’s opening Sunday.

While they received compliments from Colin Kaepernick, none of them were disciplined by the NFL.

And, if more players choose to join Albert Wilson and Kenny Stills of the Dolphins and the rest of the players who protested, it’s unlikely they’ll be disciplined either as the NFL is reportedly not planning on updating its national anthem policy at all during the upcoming season.

No matter how many meetings and conversations occur regarding the topic, “the new policy is going to be no policy” for this season, sources told ESPN.

There is continuing dialogue about the topic between the NFL and the NFLPA and, thanks to Nike’s decision to use Kaepernick as a spokesman, the issue was in the news a lot during the NFL’s opening week.

However, thanks to the relatively small number of players who protested on Sunday, national anthem protests were not a huge part of Week 1 NFL coverage.

And, if the NFL doesn’t implement a new policy, that could remain the case going forward.

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