Authored by Jonah Bennett via The Daily Caller,
The NFL announced Saturday that there isn’t going to be any change to its national anthem policy, despite an escalating boycott of games over Veterans Day weekend.
The Facebook page “Boycott the NFL” has asked all its followers to celebrate Veterans Day weekend by refusing to watch NFL games “in solidarity with veterans around the country,” given that players are still engaging in national anthem protests and NFL policy remains the same, The Washington Times reports.
Conservative watchdog group 2ndVote also weighed in, asking all of its supporters to #STANDwithVets and turn off NFL games to send a message to the NFL, advertisers and TV networks.
“There has been no change in the current policy regarding the anthem...
Everyone who is part of our NFL community has a tremendous respect for our country, our flag, our anthem and our military, and we are coming together to deal with these issues in a civil and constructive way,” the NFL and NFLPA said in a joint statement Saturday.
Current NFL policy states that players should stand for the national anthem.
However, the NFL does not mandate that players stand, and so according to Eric Reid, who joined former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the 2016 protests, many players have been taking a knee to protest police brutality and racial injustice.
The statement further noted that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith will attend a meeting next week to discuss any progress that can be made on issues players are bringing awareness to as part of their protests.