A league source said there is no hard timeline on a potential compromise to the anthem issueGETTY IMAGES
After the NFL and NFLPA announced an agreement to put the league's new anthem policy on hold, parties on both sides "expressed hope" that a resolution will be "agreed upon before the start of the regular season," according to Mark Maske of the WASHINGTON POST. Bills LB Lorenzo Alexander, an NFLPA exec committee member, said that arrangements were "being made for face-to-face meetings in which players would participate" and he is "optimistic about a resolution before the season." Alexander: "We need to sit down and talk. That's probably how it should have started out in the first place." A source said of the potential anthem compromise, "There's no hard timeline, but obviously everyone knows when the games are." The source added that halting the original policy's rollout "did not come at the behest of an arbitrator pushing for the parties to try to resolve the matter" before a grievance filed by the NFLPA is addressed. It is clear what the league and owners "will seek in deliberations" -- an "agreement by the players to stand for the anthem." What is "less clear is what, if anything, the players might seek in return and what the owners might be willing to offer." Meanwhile, President Trump revisited the anthem issue on Twitter on Friday, tweeting, "The NFL National Anthem Debate is alive and well again - can’t believe it! Isn’t it in contract that players must stand at attention, hand on heart? The $40,000,000 Commissioner must now make a stand. First time kneeling, out for game. Second time kneeling, out for season/no pay!" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/21).
TALK IT OUT: THE UNDEFEATED's Jason Reid wrote backing off on "implementing the policy" and talking with the NFLPA are "good moves for the NFL" (THEUNDEFEATED.com, 7/21). Ravens S Eric Weddle said, "It's a good sign that the owners and the players association are having a dialogue and can come to a solution, whatever the case may be, and move forward" (BALTIMORE SUN, 7/21). In Phoenix, Greg Moore wrote NFL-NFLPA dialogue "marks progress" (AZCENTRAL.com, 7/20). In Miami, Greg Cote wrote this "whole issue remains a holy, unwinnable and unsettled mess entering its third season" (MIAMIHERALD.com, 7/21).
COULD BE A WIN FOR BOTH SIDES: In N.Y., Mather & Belson wrote it is possible the talks could "fall apart, the league starts the season with its current policy, the grievance proceeds and the issue bubbles from there." Then again, the NFL and NFLPA could "figure out a way to make both sides happy." Both sides "need each other." The NFL "does not want to be fighting a war with the union during the season when it is trying to keep the focus on the field." At the same time, the NFLPA "needs to defend its members, the players, and does not want them penalized by their bosses and publicly criticized by the president and some fans" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/21). In Boston, Ben Volin wrote the NFL and NFLPA "don't work together harmoniously often, but the league has realized that this is one issue that needs more thoughtful conversation, not a heavy-handed quick fix" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/22). NFL Media's Jim Trotter said, "The thing here with this is, from a national perspective, the clubs aren't necessarily being hurt, but all politics are local. There are teams on the local level who are being hurt by fans who are upset about players demonstrating. You're hearing those owners speak out and saying, 'We need to do something'" ("NFL Total Access," NFL Network, 7/20).
IS THERE A WIN HERE? PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio noted as the NFL and NFLPA negotiate a "possible Anthem Policy 3.0, some in league circles realize that, no matter the current solution, the situation never will truly be solved." The more likely reality is that the "argument over anthem protests has become part of the NFL's new normal" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 7/22). In San Jose, Gary Peterson wrote it is "instructive to note that the NFL is the only one of the four biggest pro sports leagues in North America to have an anthem conundrum." The NFL is the "only entity that can't get it right" and that "seems to care what the current lessee at the White House thinks." It is the "only entity that does its business as if its employees were an afterthought" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 7/20). In N.Y., Mike Lupica wrote eventually the NFL will "have to come up with an anthem policy that doesn't read and sound as if it was composed on a cocktail napkin" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/22). CBS Sports' Bill Reiter said, "We're here because the NFL continues to struggle to figure out how to get its arms around dealing with something so nuanced and so difficult" ("Evening News," CBS, 7/20). The AP's Jimmy Golen wrote under the header, "Few Good Options For NFL Owners On Player Protests" (AP, 7/21). ESPN's Mike Greenberg: "Nothing is going to make everyone happy. Make a decision, own it, live with it and move on." ESPN's Jalen Rose said, "For a professional sporting league to handle something like this so very poorly is shame on the NFL." ESPN's Maria Taylor said the anthem controversy is a "microcosm of what is going on in society" ("Get Up!," ESPN, 7/23).
FISH STORY: In Miami, Adam Beasley noted Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross over the weekend "suggested those who kneel might not face punishment from the team at all." Ross said that the statement released by the team "regarding the team's anthem policy that leaked" was a "'placeholder' because the league wanted the team's rule at the start of training camp." Ross said the Dolphins "haven't made a decision on what we would do, if anything at that point." Ross added that he is "pleased" that the league decided to "suspend its anthem policy as the league tries to work out a new one with the NFLPA." Many criticized the Dolphins for what they "perceived as a heavy-handed policy -- even though in truth the Dolphins were only codifying what the league had mandated" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/21). In Orlando, Mike Bianchi wrote no NFL owner has been "more progressive and proactive than Ross in supporting his players and contributing time and money to tackle the racial issues important to them," which is why the leak last week was a "misleading story." Bianchi: "Anyone with a modicum of knowledge and sense knows Ross has done everything in his power to support his players since Colin Kaepernick's first national-anthem protest became public two seasons ago." However, when this controversy started, "not a single Dolphins player" on social media "stepped up to vociferously defend Ross" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 7/22). FS1's Skip Bayless said of Giants Chair & Exec VP Steve Tisch's comments that the team will not fine players for kneeling, "For the first time, an NFL owner really going on the record, siding with the black players in their protest. ... What I loved about this is that so many NFL owners, as we know, have just cowered under the onslaught of President Trump" ("Undisputed," FS1, 7/23).
ART OF THE DEFLECTION: In DC, Eugene Scott wrote Trump's tweet response to the anthem developments "should come as no surprise," as he "needs a distraction after a week of headlines about and fallout from his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 7/21). USA TODAY's Nancy Armour wrote of all weeks, this "was not the one for President Donald Trump to lecture anybody on patriotism and respecting our country." The comments "can only be seen as a thinly veiled attempt to distract" (USA TODAY, 7/21). In DC, Sally Jenkins writes to their credit, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFLPA have decided they "won't be dictated to" by Trump (WASHINGTON POST, 7/23). A TAMPA BAY TIMES editorial stated that the NFL "kept an embarrassing situation from becoming even worse." This was a "ridiculous over-reaction to Trump's infamous bullying," and the NFL was "smart to call a time out and pledge to engage in further discussions with players and team owners" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 7/21).
