NFL owners and players met Tuesday at the NFL’s headquarters in New York to discuss social issues, but did not discuss a rule change regarding the national anthem, according to one of the owners in attendance.
Eleven NFL owners and a dozen players met at 10 a.m. at 345 Park Ave. and discussed enhancing the players’ platforms for speaking out on social issues.
The NFL released a list of owners, players and NFLPA members present at Tuesday's meeting. Among the owners present was Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. Washington Redskins Josh Norman, Kansas City Chiefs Eric Reid, Philadelphia Eagles Chris Long and Los Angeles Chargers Russell Okung were some of the players present for Tuesday's meeting, according to Monday Morning Quarterback writer Albert Breer.
“We heard what they had to say and they heard us,” said Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, who also was in attendance. “It’s open talks and that’s a good thing.”
The meeting comes a week after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced he would have a meeting with NFL owners to discuss player protests of police brutality and social injustice.
Ross said that the NFL’s policy on the national anthem “did not come up.” That policy states that the players “should” stand for the anthem, and some have suggested the league would seek to change that to “must” stand. Goodell said in a memo to the teams last week that the NFL prefers for players to stand during “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The players’ union and the league issued a joint statement just before the annual fall owners meetings began.
“Today owners and players had a productive meeting focused on how we can work together to promote positive social change and address inequality in our communities,” the statement said. “NFL executives and owners joined NFLPA executives and player leaders to review and discuss plans to utilize our platform to promote equality and effectuate positive change. We agreed that these are common issues and pledged to meet again to continue this work together.”
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
