In an effort to quell the growing controversy surrounding players protesting during the national anthem, the NFL decided to make some changes to their official policy this offseason. This new policy, which now requires players either to stand for the national anthem or to stay in the locker room while the anthem is being played, was met with much displeasure from players around the league.
As a result, the NFL Players’ Association has taken action and filed a grievance against the league to try and change this unpopular new policy.
“Our union filed its non-injury grievance today on behalf of all players challenging the NFL’s recently imposed anthem policy,” the NFLPA said in a statement. “The union’s claim is that this new policy, imposed by the NFL’s governing body without consultation with the NFLPA, is inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement and infringes on player rights.
“In advance of our filing today, we proposed to the NFL to begin confidential discussions with the NFLPA Executive Committee to find a solution to this issue instead of immediately proceeding with litigation. The NFL has agreed to proceed with those discussions and we look forward to starting them soon.”
The league had hoped this new policy would be a fair compromise that would appease both sides of the controversy. Instead, it doesn’t seem to have pleased anyone. President Donald Trump, who has led the charge against the player protests, recently said that the new policy is actually worse than what it was before.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see whether the NFL dares draw even more of Trump’s ire by giving in to the NFLPA’s grievance. But it seems that whatever the league does, a good number of people still won’t be satisfied.
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