NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he and other team owners “believe everyone should stand for the national anthem” but left the league’s policy about asking players to do so unchanged.
Goodell made the comments in a press conference Wednesday, one day after an annual meeting in which owners and players met at NFL headquarters in New York City. The NFL owners met separately Wednesday morning, where they “spent a great deal of time talking” about the issue and why the players should stand for the anthem, calling it an “important part” of the game.
“It’s also important for us to honor our flag and our country, and we think our fans expect us to do that, so that is something we continue to focus on this morning,” Goodell said.
Earlier, Goodell said owners at the meeting “did not ask” players to stand during the anthem, instead focusing on ways they could make communities better.
“We spent today talking about the issues that players have been trying to bring attention to –- issues to make our communities better,” Goodell said.” I think we all agree there’s nothing more important than trying to give back to our communities and make them better. That was the entire focus of today.”
President Donald Trump took to Twitter Wednesday morning to lash out at the National Football League’s decision not to force players to stand for the national anthem.
Goodell defended the league in response to Trump’s criticism, saying that “players are not being disrespectful” when they protest, but emphasized that he wants to “get back to football” and “stay out of politics.”
Source- ABC
