Business

NFL Anthem Protests: President Trump Wants Players “Out For Season/No Pay”

REX/Shutterstock

President Donald Trump weighed in once again on the National Football League national anthem policy today, calling for harsh measures if players refuse to stand at attention during the songs performance before games.

“The NFL National Anthem Debate is alive and well again – cant believe it!” Trump tweeted. “Isnt it in contract that players must stand at attention, hand on heart? The $40,000,000 Commissioner must now make a stand. First time kneeling, out for game. Second time kneeling, out for season/no pay!”

Trumps remarks came after last nights announcement by the NFL and NFL Players Association, who issued a joint statement that league and team policies regarding conduct during the national anthem will not be issued or enforced for several weeks as part of a standstill agreement between the two sides.

That announcement came as word broke of a special plan by the Miami Dolphins to punish players. The league and the Players Association were already headed to an independent arbitration on the anthem policy, but the revelation of the Dolphins plans clearly moved up the timeframe.

The Dolphins owner, Stephen Ross, walked back the anthem punishment controversy today, saying the Dolphins policy revealed by the Associated Press in a policy handbook was meant as a “placeholder,” and the team has not decided what it will do if players protested. The handbook indicated they could face up to a four-game suspension.

“We havent made a decision on what we would do, if anything, at that point,” Ross said in a statement released by the Dolphins on Friday.

Training camps open for rookies this week, and the pre-season starts Aug. 2 with the Hall of Fame game between the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears.

The decision for a standstill temporarily avoids a potentially ugly dispute between the league and players who have become increasingly vocal about their right to protest during the national anthem. The Players Association contends that banning protests infringes on the players civil rights.

Under the current collective bargaining agreement, players can be fined a weeks salary or suspended up to four games for incidents deemed “conduct detrimental to the club,” which is the language contained in the Dolphins discipline manual.

The NFL was plagued last season with an anthem dispute that dominated headlines and, at times, threatened to overshadow the games. Sponsors, advertisers, and fans all chose sides in the dispute, while television ratings plummeted and the league endured negative publicity, including blasts from President Donald Trump several times.

The league solution was to come out with a new policy in May. The new rule said all players on the field must stand at attention during the anthem. Those that did not wish to do that should stay in the locker rooms. Teams would be fined for violations of the rules, and individual teams could take further steps. Todays Dolphins reveal was the first indication that some teams planned to take such actions, creating a potential schism between employers and employees.

Now theres a cooling-off period where the policy can be refined.

The NFL National Anthem Debate is alive and well again – cant believe it! Isnt it in contract that players must stand at attention, hand on heart? The $40,000,000 Commissioner must now make a stand. First time kneeling, out for game. Second time kneeling, out for season/no pay!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2018

Original Article

[contf]
[contfnew]

Deadline

[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]

Related Articles

Business

Pressed by COVID-19 and low oil prices, Nigeria slips into recession

africanews– Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, entered recession for the second time in...

Business

EU Reeling From Yellow Vest Protests. What Happens if There Is a Debt Crisis?

There is a lot of talk about which economic bubble will burst...

Business

EU Reeling From Yellow Vest Protests. What Happens if There Is a Debt Crisis?

There is a lot of talk about which economic bubble will burst...

Business

Till Trump do they part: Top tech firms cut ties with Huawei following US trade blacklisting

Last week, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at...