The NFL Solved Its National Anthem Crisis By Doing Nothing

The league has yet to make any official changes to its policy dealing with player protests.

FOXBOROUGH, MA - SEPTEMBER 30:  Kenny Stills #10 and Albert Wilson #15 of the Miami Dolphins kneel during the national anthem prior to their game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on September 30, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.  (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - SEPTEMBER 30: Kenny Stills #10 and Albert Wilson #15 of the Miami Dolphins kneel during the national anthem prior to their game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on September 30, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
Getty Images

The NFL has handled its issue with the national anthem by doing something unexpected: nothing.

After announcing the league would be negotiating a new anthem rule in tandem with the NFLPA, the NFL has yet to make any official changes to its policy for dealing with player protests.

The approach was based on data that showed that President Trump’s tweets about the anthem issue were inflammatory among his base, but didn’t have a huge impact on how football was being discussed across America.

What was having an impact on public perception was NFL owners talking about the tweets and, by extension, the ongoing anthem situation.

Behind the scenes, the owners have tried to shift the conversation from “protest to progress” and teams have quietly been attempting to placate players by instituting social justice initiatives.

“The league has done a good job in terms of talking to players and letting this be a discussion,” 49ers CEO Jed York said after this week’s NFL fall meeting. “And the more, on any issue, that you can just have a discussion and let people’s voices be heard, and try. You see different teams doing different things in terms of social justice, because social justice means different things to different people. Players, if they want to have their voices heard, you have to give them that platform and that opportunity, and I think a lot of teams are doing that in their own way. I do think we’ve come a long way from where we were two or three years ago, to players and owners having a better understanding of each other.”

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