Tampa Bay Buccaneers kneel (not in protest) during a practice at One Buccaneer Place in Tampa, Florida on May 22, 2017. Credit: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers kneel (not in protest) during a practice at One Buccaneer Place in Tampa, Florida on May 22, 2017. Credit: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

You know those non-violent protests professional football players are staging before the start of NFL games?

Yeah, team owners put the kibosh on that Wednesday when they unanimously approved a new national anthem policy that requires players to stand if they are on the field during the performance on the national anthem.

"We want people to be respectful of the national anthem," commissioner Roger Goodell said. "We want people to stand — that's all personnel — and make sure they treat this moment in a respectful fashion. That's something we think we owe. [But] we were also very sensitive to give players choices."

In case you forgot, players have been kneeling or raising their fists to protest police brutality and the inequality that people of color in the United States face in August of 2016.

Here's what ESPN said of the new policy:

"…[it] subjects teams to a fine if a player or any other team personnel do not show respect for the anthem. That includes any attempt to sit or kneel, as dozens of players have done during the past two seasons to protest racial inequality and police brutality. Those teams will also have the option to fine any team personnel, including players, for the infraction."

The new policy does give players the option to remain in the locker room if they prefer.

Kind of goes against this statement that Buccaneers brass sent out last year when the debate around protests was really heating up, huh?


This article appears in May 17-24, 2018.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...