NFL Commissioner Says Players Should Stand for Anthem

CHARLOTTE, NC — A national tragedy in Las Vegas. Natural disasters in Puerto Rico and California.

But it’s controversy surrounding the NFL, the flag and the national anthem dominating headlines, and tweets from the president.

Today the commissioner weighed in, urging teams to move past the issue.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned through all this, more so than anything else, is that we all have rights,” said Panthers Coach Ron Rivera at his Tuesday press conference. “You know, and we all have a right to choose. That’s what our men and women of the service, of the military, did for us, was to protect those rights.”

The controversy lingers over the NFL. What started as a protest about racial injustice in America, has been twisted into a fight over patriotism, nationalism and free speech.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all 32 teams, saying the league believes everyone should stand for the national anthem.

The White House is applauding.

“Our position hasn’t changed on that front,” said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders Tuesday. “We’re glad to see the NFL taking positive steps in that direction.”

“There can’t be change without some form of resistance,” says Charlotte activist Shaun Corbett. “And so the things that we’re seeing in the NFL, you know, these are changes.”

Corbett, who sat on a panel with NFL players at Super Bowl 51 in Houston to discuss race and policing, says it’s good to see players standing up, or kneeling, for what they believe in.

“So now you have all these players, from all these different parts of the United States, saying hey, this is going on in my hood,” says Corbett. “This is going on in my hood. Okay, we need to get together and have this conversation, because it’s time for us to use that platform. So I don’t think it’s about the flag, or anything like that.”

President Trump has a 30-year vendetta against the NFL, including a billion dollar lawsuit against the league in the 1980’s.

He’s made the NFL protests an activating issue for his base. Using profanity to refer to players who kneel. Sending Vice President Mike Pence to protest the protests in Indianapolis on Sunday. And tweeting about taking away massive tax breaks for the league, which gave up tax exempt status in 2015.

The NFL protests have become a political football.

“Those players aren’t protesting the national anthem or the flag, they’re protesting racism and injustice,” said former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday. “And they have every right to do so. ”

Thursday night’s Panthers-Eagles game in Charlotte will be the first NFL contest since the commissioner’s memo.

Only Julius Peppers has protested during the anthem this season for the Cats, staying in the locker room before the game against the Saints.