NFL Exec VP/Communications JOE LOCKHART has "found himself in the conservative confines of a league staggered by the reaction to players' demonstrating during the playing of the national anthem at games," according to a profile by Ken Belson of the N.Y. TIMES. Several owners "seemed pleased with his approach to addressing the anthem controversy, which was to strive for a way for the NFL to appear patriotic while respectful of its players who were kneeling to raise awareness of racism and police brutality toward African-Americans." But there "has been friction." Some owners were "upset with a comment by Lockhart a few days after PRESIDENT TRUMP criticized the league and its players over the kneeling during the anthem." Lockhart said talking about police brutality is "what real locker room talk is." The statement was "viewed as a flagrant jab at the president." In a meeting at NFL HQ the next day, Cowboys Owner JERRY JONES and Redskins Owner DAN SNYDER "confronted Lockhart to tell him that his remarks would inflame an already fiery issue." Several owners, team execs and league officials said that Lockhart had "helped amplify the league’s message, even if they questioned whether more could have been done to anticipate problems before they turned into crises." Lockhart, a lifelong Democratic operative, said that he "understood why the owners were frustrated, but that his job was to keep pushing the league’s view, and pushing back at those who opposed it." Belson writes there has been some "speculation on whether Lockhart is long for the job." But if there is a movement to "oust him, it is a quiet one." Some of the "tone and messaging of the league’s statements, which Lockhart helped craft, have also been in line with a Democratic progressive, a point some owners, a group that includes several staunch supporters of the president, have not missed" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/30).
