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posted by janrinok on Saturday May 26 2018, @10:38AM   Printer-friendly
from the free-speech dept.

Al Jazeera reports

The National Football League (NFL) announced a new policy that will fine teams an undetermined amount if players on the field fail to stand during the national anthem.

[...] The new policy does not require players be present during the anthem, allowing those who wish to protest and not attend the ceremonial act to remain in the locker room.

Players said they were not consulted and threatened to challenge the policy in the courts. A statement by the NFL Players Association said its athletes had shown ample patriotism by way of their social activism and community support initiatives.

[...] New York Jets chairman Christopher Johnson said he supported the measure out of obligation to the membership, but said players can take a knee or perform another type of protest without fear of repercussion from the team. He will pay their fines.

"If somebody [on the Jets] takes a knee, that fine will be borne by the organisation, by me, not the players. I never want to put restrictions on the speech of our players," Johnson said.

New York Magazine notes

The monetary risk to Johnson isn't huge, since no Jets players took a knee last season. [...] Johnson is currently acting as owner of the team while his brother, Woody Johnson, serves as Trump's ambassador to Britain.


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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Saturday May 26 2018, @02:46PM (1 child)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 26 2018, @02:46PM (#684533) Journal

    Select a day and designate it as National Fentanyl Day (eg, NFL).

    Maybe they could make it easier to tell which game is being played when flipping channels on a TV. Basketball is easy to distinguish because it is played indoors on a wooden floor. But football and baseball are more difficult to tell apart. Uniformed guys outdoors on grass surrounded by spectators.

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  • (Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Saturday May 26 2018, @04:07PM

    by SomeGuy (5632) on Saturday May 26 2018, @04:07PM (#684568)

    Nah, baseball, basketball, football, it's all just a bunch of guys playing with their balls. :P