Protests are at the top of the owners' agenda despite other significant league developmentsGETTY IMAGES
The NFL owners' meeting begins tomorrow in Atlanta, and there "remains a high percentage chance that once again, nothing changes" regarding player protests, according to Charles Robinson of YAHOO SPORTS. Owners since before the '17 season have been "divided on player protests," and at the league's annual meeting in March, they agreed any "meaningful discussion would be tabled" until the meeting this week. The issue is the "top item in this week's meetings, despite some gargantuan league developments that should be far more pressing." Under normal circumstances, the Supreme Court's "landmark gambling decision would have overwhelmed this week's NFL business docket," not to mention the sale of the Panthers to David Tepper. Even the debate about "potentially eliminating kickoffs or where to place" the '19 NFL Draft "would have been banner headlines in almost any other year." There are two "reasons to believe this is an unsolvable riddle for the NFL." First, there is a "high percentage of agreement" among them that player protests "fan a political debate that impacts the value of the game the league is selling." Second, there is a "low percentage of agreement between owners on how to resolve the situation." A handful of "powerful voices collectively continue to seek some kind of expiration date on kneeling during the anthem," and this segment "isn't going away anytime soon." The "demand for resolution at this Atlanta gathering guarantees little." There "doesn't appear to be any kind of decision-making consensus," which is why "complete opposite ends of the spectrum remain on the table" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/20).
TUNNEL VISION? THE UNDEFEATED's Jason Reid wrote owners will "probably do something significant to address the divisive situation." Former NFLer and Players Coalition co-leader Anquan Boldin said, "I would be naive to think that the NFL would continue to have this be at the forefront, or have this (even) be a topic of discussion, this coming season. I would be shocked by that. I do expect something like that (preventing players from protesting) to happen." Sources have said that one proposal is to "add wording that would prohibit teams from being on the field while the song is being performed." Boldin: "If they do come up with a policy change, if they come up with a way to prevent guys from protesting during the anthem, in no way does that stop the work guys should be doing in the community" (THEUNDEFEATED.com, 5/18).
MUSIC CITY LIVING: In Nashville, Jason Wolf noted the site of the '19 NFL Draft "will be announced at some point" during this week's meeting, and Nashville "has 'emerged as the leading contender' among the five cities vying to host" in '19 or '20. The other candidates are Las Vegas, Denver, K.C. and Cleveland/Canton (TENNESSEAN.com, 5/19).
