At next week’s NFL owners’ meeting in New York, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will discuss players kneeling in protest of police brutality and social injustice during the national anthem.
In a statement sent to teams and obtained by several news outlets on Tuesday, Goodell wrote that he and the league believe every player should stand during the national anthem to honor the flag and the United States and because it’s what “our fans expect out of us.”
“The current dispute over the national anthem is threatening to erode the unifying power of our game and is now dividing us, and our players, from many fans across the country... (The league cares) deeply about our players and respect their opinions and concerns about social issues,” Goodell wrote. “The controversy over the anthem is a barrier to having honest conversations and making real progress on the underlying issues. We need to move past this controversy and we want to do that together with our players.”
At next week’s league meeting, topics of discussion will include an in-season platform to promote players’ work with social issues and assuring that each team is working with the community to help the players’ initiatives succeed. The owners and commissioner will also discuss how to keep an open dialogue with the players.
“Everyone involved in the game needs to come together on a path forward to continue to be a force for good within our communities, protect the game and preserve our relationship with the fans throughout the country,” Goodell wrote. “The NFL is at its best and we ourselves are unified. In that spirit, let’s resolve that next week we will meet this challenge in a unified and positive way.”
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