The NFL will formally support the criminal justice reform bill championed by the top Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the latest sign the league will sign up for players' social justice causes in an effort to defuse the anthem controversy. The NFL will send a letter to the committee today, the league said, supporting the “sentencing reform and corrections act.” While NFL Exec VP/Communications Joe Lockhart did not link the controversy over kneeling with the Senate bill, the league’s apparent solution to the controversy is to support players on issues like criminal justice reform.
Whether that will entail needing the players to agree to stand for the anthem is unclear. Lockhart said he did not anticipate a proposal to ban kneeling during the anthem at the upcoming owners meeting, though it is hard to see the league leaving the status quo intact. NFL owners meet tomorrow and Wednesday as the league has become engulfed by political controversy, amid signs of a toll on attendance and TV ratings. Ratings have been sluggish this year and attendance in certain markets weak. Lockhart said there is no change in ticket sales from last year, though that does not address no-shows as many tickets were sold before the season began.
