McCaskey (r) confirmed that team owners didn’t hold a formal vote last month on the anthem policyGETTY IMAGES
Bears Chair George McCaskey said that he "supports the NFL’s new national-anthem policy," according to Patrick Finley of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. McCaskey confirmed that team owners "didn’t hold a formal vote last month" on the anthem issue and that an "informal poll is a common procedure among them." But he was clear that he would have "voted in favor of the policy." McCaskey defended players who have knelt during the anthem and said their chief complaints are “legitimate issues that deserve discussion and action." He added the notion of protesting players being unpatriotic "is not, and was never, the case." McCaskey: "The policy change enacted a couple of weeks ago by NFL teams ... isn’t perfect. But we think it will return the anthem to what it should be -- a unifying force -- while providing an option to those players and other team personnel who choose not to stand." He added, "Our support of this wasn’t really based on anything the president was doing or not doing, or saying or not saying." McCaskey was "less specific about how the Bears, who also haven’t had a single kneeling player, would handle any protests" in '18. Meanwhile, McCaskey said that he had "yet to receive a letter written last week" by four Chicago-area Democratic U.S. House members that "defended the players’ right to protest and requested a meeting with the chairman" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/8).
IN THE MIDDLE: In Chicago, David Haugh writes McCaskey's "reasonable stance alone might anger extremists on opposite sides of the argument who had hoped" for him to come out "more squarely in their corner." McCaskey "wisely ... camped out closer to the philosophical middle ground demonstrating an ability to relate to both sides." He tabled any discussion about "organizational discipline for offenders of the policy" until he had spoken more to Bears LB and NFLPA player rep Sam Acho and other players "about their views." Overall, McCaskey "displayed pliability in a debate defined by polarization" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/8). Also in Chicago, Kevin Williams writes the anthem "isn't a unifying force" and it "isn't supposed to be." Williams: "This anthem dispute is political. And the anthem isn't unifying, particularly not now" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/8).
NOTHING TO DO WITH TRUMP: Giants Senior VP/Player Personnel Chris Mara said of the anthem policy, "I don't think the President has anything to with it." Mara, appearing on SiriusXM's Mad Dog Sports Radio, said, "Whether it was the right decision that the commissioner made or the wrong one, I can't tell you. We're behind the players 100 percent." He added, "We want everyone to stand. I'm as big a patriot as anybody. ... Everyone is over-blowing the whole thing. I think we'll all come together at some point, and hopefully everybody stands." Mara said that Giants coach Pat Shurmur "probably will address the national anthem policy" with his players during "mandatory minicamp" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 6/8).
UNION TIME: THE UNDEFEATED's Jason Reid noted President Trump's criticism of the Eagles and all players who have protested has "promoted pushback" from the NFLPA. Saints TE Benjamin Watson, a player rep, said, "It’s imperative that we, the union, are able to weed out all of the back-and-forth, the name-calling and bickering that we see when it comes to the public discourse, and have a strong stance to continue defending our players and supporting our players." Watson: "We have to keep pushing the truth." Reid wrote Trump has effectively "seized upon the issue to gin up excitement in his base," and the owners have "ongoing fear about angering a large section of both its fan base and corporate partners." Watson said that he "could not rule out the possibility of the NFL making additional changes to the policy." He said, "What this [change in policy is] about is that the league, because of several attacks and insults on players and on the league by the president of the United States, has responded in this way, which I don’t think would have happened if someone else had been president" (THEUNDEFEATED.com, 6/7).
GO TO THE POLLS: In N.Y., John Healy cites a Quinnipiac poll as saying that 58% of American voters "believe NFL players who kneel during the national anthem are not unpatriotic" while 35% percent "believe that they are." A separate question reveals that 53% "believe athletes have the right to protest at work" opposed to 43% "who do not." The poll, conducted May 31-June 5, "surveyed 1,223 voters nationwide." While the "majority of voters do not believe kneeling is unpatriotic, they do agree with the NFL's new anthem policy" by a 51-42% margin. However, 51% "oppose fining NFL teams if a player on the field does not stand for the national anthem" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/8).
