NFL Will Not Discipline Teams That Skipped National Anthem

In response to President Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, several teams stayed in the locker room during the anthem Sunday in protest. Even though that the action against league rules, the NFL said it will not punish the teams.

“There will be no discipline handed down this week,” said NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart in a conference call with reporters Monday. “We also believe our players have a right to express themselves.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans all did not take the field for the national anthem Sunday.

The NFL’s game operations manual calls for “all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem.”

It also lists a wide range of punishments for an infraction.

“Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses,” states the manual.

Trump called for player’s that kneel during the anthem to get fired during a rally in Alabama Friday, and then continued to rail against the NFL and its players over the weekend and into Monday across 15 tweets and retweets.

Players and owners rebuked the president for his comments, calling them “divisive.” Many players kneeled Sunday in protest.

“I’ve never seen an event that more forcefully pulled together and united a group in defense of the game,” said Lockhart. “When the president of the United States calls anyone a son of a bitch, that’s a story.”

Lockhart also said that “this is what real locker room talk is,” referencing a 2005 videotape that was revealed during the campaign in which Trump talks and brags about groping women without permission in vulgar terms. The president chalked the tape up to “locker room talk.”

During the rally Trump also said that new rules aimed at bolstering player safety were ruining the game, Lockhart said this notion was “out of touch.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell responded to his player's actions Monday.

“The way we reacted today, and this weekend, made me proud," Goodell said to Sports Illustrated. “I'm proud of our league.”

Trump continued to address the protests Monday.

“The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!” said Trump in a tweet.