NFL Commissioner Issues Memo to Team Owners Saying Anthem Mess Needs to Be Cleaned Up
How quickly things change.
While the NFL was instinctively supportive (though not enthusiastically so) of national anthem protest among the player ranks, the outcry at, resistance to, and even anger toward kneeling players on the part of fans has prompted those presiding over the game to think twice about their embrace of a social justice narrative.
In addition to expressing vocal, and virulent, objections to the protests, fans are avoiding watching games altogether, leaving stadium seats empty and TV viewership on the decline.
Well, if NFL leadership didn���t get the message before, it seems clear they have it now.
According to NBC Sports, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo on Tuesday to all teams, letting them know that the matter of the national anthem, and player protests of same, will be a central issue at league meetings next week. The memo says, in part, that ���the current dispute over the National Anthem is threatening to erode the unifying power of our game, and is now dividing us, and our players, from many fans across the country.���
Translation: ���We���re getting ready to lose a BUNCH of money.���
A little later, Goodell admits that players ��� and the league, really ��� have been on the wrong side of the issue up to this point:
���Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand for the National Anthem. It is an important moment in our game. We want to honor our flag and our country, and our fans expect that of us. We also care deeply about our players and respect their opinions and concerns about critical social issues. The controversy over the Anthem is a barrier to having honest conversations and making real progress on the underlying issues. We need to move past this controversy, and we want to do that together with our players.���
America.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
