NFL considering on-field penalty for anthem protesters - report
NFL owners held a private meeting on Tuesday to discuss a number of sensitive league subjects, according to Sports Illustrated.
To the surprise of absolutely nobody, one of the biggest topics discussed was national anthem protests.
Starting in 2016 with then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, anthem protests continued to gain traction for the following two seasons.
Even when Kaepernick spent the entire 2017 season as a free agent, anthem protests persisted. Players such as Michael Bennett, Marshawn Lynch, Marcus Peters and Malcolm Jenkins all protested during the anthem in different ways. Some sat, some knelt and others raised their fists.
The issue hit a boiling point when President Donald Trump ripped NFL anthem protesters during a September rally.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b—- off the field right now, he’s fired’?” Trump said at the rally.
The NFL as a whole responded en masse when not just individual players but entire teams protested during the anthem as a direct affront to the president and his comments.
Now, the league has been scrambling to address the issue.
Considering the diversity among NFL owners, the league predictably has been unable to reach any sort of a consensus on how to broach the subject.
Some owners, such as Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, have indicated they would prefer to simply leave things as is. Others, such as Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, want to outright forbid anthem protests.
Now, SI is reporting that one idea gaining traction involves an on-field penalty.
Under the proposal, the home team reportedly would decide whether both teams would even be present for the national anthem. If the teams are present during the anthem and a player is seen kneeling, his team would incur a 15-yard penalty — not unlike a chop block or face mask penalty. It’s unclear whether there would be offsetting penalties if both teams had protesting players.
First and foremost, a 15-yard penalty incurred before the game starts would presumably be applied to kickoff. Considering that kicking a football out of the back of the end zone puts the opposing team on the 25-yard line, it hardly seems like a penalty for the offending team.
Second, this again just seems like the NFL passing the buck. Even if this rule change were to happen, the NFL would be placing the onus on the home team. Commissioner Roger Goodell and his team would hardly be lifting a finger, and yet would claim that they’re doing something about anthem protests.
Then there are other questions: If both teams have protesting players, would that be offsetting penalties and thus no penalty at all? Is it right to empower the home team to force the visitors to follow its whims on being on the field for the anthem? And so on.
One last thing to consider is that this idea was leaked in the wake of Kaepernick’s ongoing collusion grievance. Even though he already has an uphill battle to prove collusion, it could become even more difficult if the NFL can distance itself further from any sort of mandates on anthem protests.
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