NFL owners and players from around the league arranged to have a sitdown meeting in New York to address player protests and to determine the best course of action moving forward. The short story is this: NFL owners and players got together and decided now was not a time to make any specific rules targeting the national anthem, much to the dismay of President Donald Trump.
Trump has been attacking the NFL and calling out commissioner Roger Goodell all season, thrusting the NFL into an awkward position. A line was drawn in the sand and the NFL found members of its league as a whole straddling the line. Faced with having to find some uniformity, a meeting of the minds was requested.
“I told [commissioner] Roger Goodell this, and I said it to all the owners this afternoon—I thought this was one of the most open and productive meetings I’ve been in, maybe ever, in any business I’ve been involved with. And I’m 75 years old,” Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said to Peter King of Sports Illustrated. “The players we met with today were deeply emotional and knowledgeable about the issues they’re passionate about. The owners listened, and I thought the owners responded with the same kind of passion.”
From an ownership point of view, of course, the message coming out would suggest the meeting was productive. But what about the players attending the meeting? After all, it is the players who have chosen to raise the awareness of social injustices in their various communities throughout the country. What would be the point of meeting with the players if the owners were just going to drown them out with their powerful voices? The good news is it seems the players did get the opportunities they wanted to share their concerns and reasons for various demonstrations seen around the league.
“This was the first time we have gotten the chance to sit down in front of ownership,” Philadelphia Eagles defensive captain Malcolm Jenkins said. “We felt like they were receptive. We felt like there was real dialogue and conversation and thought it was positive.”
It’s good to know owners and players can come together to discuss social topics in a meeting room. Now, what happens next is perhaps even more important.
For starters, the NFL owners chose siding with the players rather than with the president and his mission to force everyone to stand for the national anthem. That is not an empty gesture, especially considering recent comments by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones suggesting any player on his team kneeling would be subject to a benching. This is a unified front from the ownership of the league, but upholding that front for the remainder of the season will be vital if the league is to help promote awareness of social injustices the way some players have been set on doing.
It’s on the owners now to prove they are on the same side as their players. It is now the league’s responsibility to deliver the message a number of players have been fighting to share in spite of a vocal rebuttal from fans and politicians. It takes courage to do what you feel is right when faced with naysayers and critics. The NFL has an opportunity to take the lead in raising awareness or social injustices, but it will take more than arranging for business meetings in New York with players.