The controversy over NFL players protesting during the national anthem isn’t going away Richard Sherman Jersey , despite – or perhaps because of – team owners’ efforts to stop players from using the forum to speak out on political causes.
The league’s attempt to turn responsibility for disciplining protesters over to individual teams backfired Thursday when the Miami Dolphins tried to categorize raising a fist or kneeling during the anthem as ”conduct detrimental to the club.” That gave them the right to punish a player with a fine or up to a four-game suspension – one game more than Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston got when he was accused of groping an Uber driver.
Hours after The Associated Press reported on Miami’s rules, the NFL and the players union issued a joint statement saying they were putting any anthem conduct policy on hold to see if they could come up with a compromise. But the owners aren’t left with many good ways to defuse the controversy – especially with President Donald Trump fanning the flames by subtweeting Commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday: ”The $40,000,000 Commissioner must now make a stand.”
Here’s a look at some of the options:
LEAVE IT TO THE TEAMS
The Plan: The league’s solution, which the NFL Players Association challenged, was to allow each team to determine whether to punish its own players for protesting during the anthem. The policy adopted in May subjected clubs to fines and required players to stand if they are on the field during ”The Star-Spangled Banner,” though players could choose to stay in the locker room.
This would have given hard-line owners in conservative regions a chance to clamp down while allowing teams in more liberal areas to let their players speak more freely. (Trump called for a season-long suspension for a second violation, a penalty that would violate the collective bargaining agreement.)
But the league quickly backed off after the Dolphins’ rules leaked.
The Winners: None. With players punished in some cities and protesting freely in others, there would always be plenty to complain about for those inclined to do so. And everyone seems inclined to do so these days.
The Losers: NFL owners. Any punishment would be destined to divide the locker room and the fandom; should a team actually suspend a significant contributor, it would only be hurting itself. And the guarantee of unequal treatment between and within teams would surely keep the issue in the news for yet another season.
GO BACK TO THE OLD WAY
The Plan: Ask players to stand at attention during the national anthem, and hope they do.
The Winners: Players Jatavis Brown Jersey , who would retain the ability to call attention to causes they believe in, namely racial inequality and police brutality . And Trump, who gets applause any time he attacks the protesting players as he stumps for Republicans in the November midterm elections.
The Losers: NFL owners, or at least those like Houston’s Bob McNair who have chafed at the notion of the ”inmates running the prison.” They would lose control and remain a subject of Trump’s ridicule.
KEEP PLAYERS IN THE LOCKER ROOM DURING THE ANTHEM
The Plan: Players can’t protest during the anthem if they aren’t on the field during the anthem. Or so the theory goes. But the demonstrations were never about the anthem itself. They started as a way for 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to protest racial inequality and expanded into a leaguewide us-vs.-them after Trump hollered at one rally: “Get that son of a bitch off the field.”
The Winners: Fans who were triggered by the sight of players kneeling during the song. And players, who could surely find another forum for their protests.
The Losers: NFL owners. The president has already said this isn’t patriotic enough for him, so there’s little hope of him easing up on his criticism. And it would cost them the connection to the flag and country they have worked hard to cultivate.
COMPROMISE
The Plan: Other sports worked with their players so that they didn’t have to protest to be heard. Maybe the owners make a donation to the players’ pet projects, play a video on the scoreboard, or otherwise give them a forum for their concerns.
The Winners: Players. It’s not about the protest, it’s about the cause.
The Losers: NFL owners. Even if they could stomach the loss of control, the political intrusion on the sport is bound to alienate some fans.
STOP PLAYING THE ANTHEM BEFORE GAMES
The Plan: Join almost every other country in the world and skip the forced display of patriotism that demands players stand at attention while fans check their phones, finish their hot dogs or visit the bathroom. If teams want to honor the military or local first-responders Adarius Glanton Jersey , let them do so – free from marketing deals.
The Winners: Fans who don’t consider the anthem an integral part of the sports experience, giving them another 90 seconds to spend in game-day traffic without missing anything.
The Losers. NFL owners. Concessionaires. And a whole generation of American Idol also-rans.
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EDITORS NOTE: Jimmy Golen covers sports and the law for The Associated Press.
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Thomas Vanek learned early in his career how tough it is to win in the playoffs.
When Vanek and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers in six games in 2006 to advance, the rookie winger looked across the locker room at 37-year-old Teppo Numminen, who was on the verge of tears. Numminen had never made it out of the first round in his previous 16 NHL seasons and was overjoyed.
”It hit me right there and then, `Man this is hard,”’ Vanek said.
Vanek is now on the other side. In the playoffs for the seventh time, he is the Columbus Blue Jackets‘ oldest player at 34. Just like Rick Nash in Boston, postseason struggles and inconsistencies have followed Vanek his entire career. Based on his play down the stretch and in Game 1 against Washington, he looks poised for some playoff redemption.
”A very consistent scorer throughout his year and has a lot to prove and wants to win the Stanley Cup,” Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Friday. ”That’s why he’s excited to be here. He wants to prove people wrong, if they think that he can’t do it in the playoffs. He wants to show that he can Evan Engram Jersey , and he had a good start.”
Vanek had a goal and an assist to help the Blue Jackets take a 1-0 series lead on the Capitals, and young teammate Artemi Panarin scored the game-winner to finish with three points – two more than he had in Chicago’s first-round sweep at the hands of the Predators a year ago. Kekalainen pointed out Panarin was a point-a-game player for the Blackhawks in the playoffs two years ago, so hold up on the reputation rehab there.
The same goes for Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov, who has been up and down in the playoffs. The 25-year-old from the same town in Russia as Panarin already has more goals in one game this year than he did in the 2016 playoffs, when Washington lost in the second round.
Vanek and Nash know they’re running out of time to win the Cup and make a difference on that journey.
Nash, who drew two penalties and played over 17 minutes in his return from injury in the Bruins’ Game 1 blowout of the Maple Leafs, has seen his goal production drop by half from the regular season to the playoffs over the course of his career. The 33-year-old trade-deadline pickup should get plenty of chances to show he can still be a playoff performer.
”He’s an important player for us,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. ”That deal was made for a reason. He’s an elite player … makes us more of a threat (as) a team. He’s just a proven player in this league that can finish, that can win pucks and get to the net.”
Getting to the net has never been a problem for Vanek, whose power-play goal in Game 1 came from crashing the crease. But he hasn’t always found it easy to score in the playoffs and has struggled with a minus-16 rating in six previous appearances with the Sabres, Canadiens and Wild.
Vanek didn’t know how he would fit in with Columbus Jake Ryan Jersey , though the reviews from coach John Tortorella are positive – and honest. Vanek’s propensity for defensive miscues and mistakes with the puck, and his sometimes frustrating inconsistencies, have given Tortorella and others grey hairs.
”I think he really is thriving and is excited about the role he has, that he was and we were in a playoff hunt and now he’s in the playoffs,” Tortorella said. ”I can see why he gives coaches nightmares in some of the things he does. I get that. But I think sometimes you need to ignore some of that and allow him to play and not get in his way. I think he’s been terrific.”
Several times leading up to the start of the playoffs and even after his goal, Vanek was asked about making an important contribution in the playoffs. Each time he changed the subject to the need for someone, anyone, on the team to have success.
”You can tell how excited everyone is,” Vanek said. ”It doesn’t matter if you score or not.”
Scoring or not, making a long run a reality would be Vanek’s real redemption.