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NFL clubs to be fined if players kneel during anthem | |
(35 minutes later) | |
NFL teams will be fined if players kneel for the US national anthem under a new policy. | NFL teams will be fined if players kneel for the US national anthem under a new policy. |
The American football league said players who do not stand for the Star-Spangled Banner can stay in the locker room until it has been performed. | The American football league said players who do not stand for the Star-Spangled Banner can stay in the locker room until it has been performed. |
The NFL also vowed to "impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem." | The NFL also vowed to "impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem." |
Players said the protests were against policy brutality of African Americans. | Players said the protests were against policy brutality of African Americans. |
"It was unfortunate that on-field protests created a false perception among many that thousands of NFL players were unpatriotic," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement accompanying Wednesday's new policy. | |
"This is not and was never the case. This season, all league and team personnel shall stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem. | "This is not and was never the case. This season, all league and team personnel shall stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem. |
"Personnel who choose not to stand for the Anthem may stay in the locker room until after the Anthem has been performed." | "Personnel who choose not to stand for the Anthem may stay in the locker room until after the Anthem has been performed." |
"All team and league personnel on the field shall stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem," the first provision of the new policy reads. | |
The policy also includes the provision that individual clubs can develop their own rules - that abide by the new principles - about how to handle personnel who do not wish to stand. | |
The statement comes a day after NFL teams pledged $90m towards social justice initiatives, under an agreement reached with all 32 teams in the league. | |
The debate over the kneeling protests began in 2016, when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the anthem. | |
His actions sparked similar demonstrations by players across the NFL. | |
President Donald Trump was highly critical of the protests, calling them "disgraceful" and unpatriotic. He also urged the players to be fired. | |
US Vice-President Mike Pence also left an NFL game because players from Mr Kaepernick's team knelt during the anthem. |