We’re A-OK with the National Football League’s decision to respect the First Amendment rights of the handful of players using the national anthem as the occasion for symbolic protest. What puzzles us are the messages the league won’t allow.
On Sunday, four Miami Dolphins took a knee as the anthem played, while New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs players raised gloved fists in the “Black Power” salute and the Seattle Seahawks linked arms.
All this in solidarity with the sit-down protest begun by San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick against what he calls racism in the criminal justice system.
On a very different note, the Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars marked the 15th anniversary of 9/11 by joining to hold a giant American flag as the anthem played.
The NFL encourages players to stand during the anthem, but threatens no discipline of dissenters. That’s the wise call — though we agree with those who believe such behavior is grossly and deliberately insulting to most Americans, especially those who fought to defend the right to free speech.
But why, oh why, did the NFL stomp on the Dallas Cowboys?
The team wanted to wear a decal on their helmets this season to commemorate the five Dallas police officers slain in the line of duty last July. The league nixed the tribute, citing strict rules on uniform displays.
Some warned it would open the door to other political statements. Huh? There’s nothing political about honoring five cops who gave their lives — certainly compared to what occurred during Sunday’s games.
Also odd was the NFL’s ban — happily defied — on players wearing special cleats to honor the memories of 9/11’s victims.
The NFL owes it to both players and fans to make the rules clear — and then apply them equally to all.