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The NFL has gone to great lengths to try to put a stop to player protests during the national anthem and, in May, league owners unanimously approved a new policy that explicitly makes kneeling or sitting during the anthem against league rules. The teams themselves are considered to be the responsible party under the new rule and an individual franchises will be fined “if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.” League owners’ responses to player protests have varied; the New York Jets chairman Christopher Johnson, for example, said while he prefers the team’s players stand, if someone chooses to protest, the club will cover the fine. “If somebody [on the Jets] takes a knee, that fine will be borne by the organization, by me, not the players,” Johnson said in May. “I never want to put restrictions on the speech of our players.” The Miami Dolphins have taken a different approach and, according to its new player conduct guidelines reported by the Associated Press, the franchise will impose a punishment of up to four games for players who refuse to stand for the anthem.

from Stories from Slate https://ift.tt/2O1Lar3