Bennett said that he would have preferred a different policy regarding the anthemGETTY IMAGES
With the NFL changing its policy regarding kneeling during the national anthem, Eagles DE Michael Bennett said that the "focus should now be on what the players can do to work on social issues in their cities," according to Bob Condotta of the SEATTLE TIMES. Bennett: "It isn't so much about the gesture anymore. ... We don’t have to take a knee." He reiterated that "protesting 'was never about the flag' but about raising awareness of a number of social issues." Bennett said, “It was about every issue you could think about that people were going through." Asked about a report that players could consider boycotting the season due to the anthem policy, Bennett said, “I’m not sure that’s the right answer" (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/20). Bennett said that he "would have preferred a different policy" regarding the anthem, and he "had no idea how other players would respond." PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Darin Gantt noted Bennett "made a point to say the attention should be on the work players are doing in communities to remedy social problems" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 6/19). In Portland, Geoffrey Arnold noted Bennett in '17 was "one of the more prominent participants during the height of the national anthem controversy" (Portland OREGONIAN, 6/21).
CALL TO ACTION: Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin, Eagles S Malcolm Jenkins, Saints TE Benjamin Watson and former NFLer Anquan Boldin in a special to the N.Y. TIMES write President Trump "recently made an offer" to NFLers suggesting they "give him names of people we believe were 'unfairly treated by the justice system'" instead of protesting during the national anthem. Trump said that if he "agrees they were treated unfairly ... he will pardon them." But a "handful of pardons will not address the sort of systemic injustice that NFL players have been protesting." These are problems that our government "created, many of which occur at the local level." If Trump "thinks he can end these injustices if we deliver him a few names, he hasn't been listening to us." Trump "could use his powers, including the clemency power, to make a real dent in the federal prison population." People "should not be given de facto life sentences for nonviolent drug crimes in the first place." Trump "could stop that from happening by issuing a blanket pardon for people in that situation who have already served long sentences" (NYTIMES.com, 6/21).
STILL A POINT OF CONTENTION: Jenkins said the new anthem policy "bothered me because I thought we headed in a good direction when it came to the relationship between the league and its players." Jenkins: "Players were naturally gravitating more toward the work and probably gravitating away from the anthem just because of the confusion and the dialogue that was around it. The wording that they used in their statement pointed back to the same rhetoric about respect for the flag and the troops, when they worked hand-in-hand with players and knew it has never been about disrespecting the flag or about our patriotism." Jenkins added the protests during the national anthem have "always been about black and brown communities being marginalized, our school systems and police brutality, and they know this and used the rhetoric to play both sides and what they ended up doing is really pissing off everybody." Jenkins: "There is a sense of urgency for players and the entire community to get involved, start working and not focus too much for what’s happening those two minutes before a football game" ("Get Up!," ESPN, 6/21).
