Under the new anthem policy, players must stand for the anthem if they are on the fieldGETTY IMAGES
The controversy surrounding the NFL's national anthem protests "dominated headlines last fall, and all indications are that it won't go away anytime soon," according to USA Today's Trysta Krick. The NFLPA on Wednesday filed a grievance with the NFL over the new anthem policy, and USA Today's Jarrett Bell said the NFLPA on "multiple occasions interpreted things that they thought were workplace rule changes, so there is language in this CBA that covers workplace rules." Bell: "The other side of the argument is whether or not this is something that is specifically spelled out in the CBA. To my knowledge, it's not." He noted team owners are "aware that there's a lot of controversy and a lot of feedback, and they feel like the feedback they've gotten from fans about the protests over the past couple of years compelled them to do something." Bell: "We've got more controversy and more attention about something that doesn't have to do with that piece of pigskin." Bell said players he has spoken to have not decided "how they are going to adhere or not to the policy." Bell: "Many players around the NFL are really having to process exactly how out front they want to be and frankly, when you see what's happened to Colin Kaepernick and you see what has happened to Eric Reid, two players who are in the prime of their careers or should be, don't have jobs. It's a deterrent that is unfortunate" ("Sports Pulse," USATODAY.com, 7/12).
CONTENTIOUS ISSUE: The Washington Post's Kevin Blackistone said Cardinals President Michael Bidwill's comments that players should restrict statements on social justice issues on game days is "duplicitous and it's disingenuous." Blackistone: "I'm all for everything that Bidwill had to say here except where he draws the line by saying, 'I'm going to restrict freedom of speech on game days.' That's really important, because on game days is when guys are in the midst of more media than they are all during the week." ESPN's Michael Smith said of Bidwill's public support of Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination, "Endorse who you want to endorse, but you don't have to do it on the team's official website." ESPN's J.A. Adande said Bidwill's comments brings the anthem issue "back up, the one issue that the NFL desperately wishes and wants to go away." He said of team owners, "They keep bringing it back up through their own actions such as this" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 7/11).
