The NFL continued its battle against protesting during the national anthem this week when it announced a new policy that is meant to curtail players demonstrating or kneeling while the anthem is played.
The hope from the league was that, by providing an option to stay in the locker room rather than making it mandatory players be on the sidelines, they would reach some kind of compromise with this new rule. Instead, they failed to recognize that the point of the protests has not been to disrespect the flag or the troops or whatever else people have gotten upset about, including the president, but is supposed to make a statement about police brutality and racial discrimination in America.
There have been many that have spoken out against the policy from within the NFL from players like Chris Long and Malcolm Jenkins to one of the Jets owners that vowed to pay for any fines players may incur for not following the new rule. Warriors coach Steve Kerr has not been shy about speaking about protests and the importance of players being vocal and forward about causes, and was asked on Thursday for his thoughts on the NFL’s policy. Kerr said he felt this plan was typical of that league.
Steve Kerr criticized the NFL for its national anthem policy pic.twitter.com/eaCXC5WhCj
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) May 24, 2018
Steve Kerr in full on the NFL's stance on the national anthem. pic.twitter.com/NuBeijNrYK
— Melissa Rohlin (@melissarohlin) May 24, 2018
As Mark Medina of The Mercury News notes, the NBA has an anthem policy of its own, but Kerr and Medina pointed out there’s a greater empowerment given to the players by the league and teams to speak out about issues. That partnership, as Kerr calls it, is the important distinction between how the NBA handles these issues compared to the NFL.
The best example of that came on Wednesday, when the Bucks released a powerful statement in support of rookie Sterling Brown following video being released of police officers taking him to the ground and using a taser on him for what should have been a simple parking violation. There is reason to wonder if the NBA should amend their national anthem policy to allow more opportunity for players to use their platform if they so choose, or whether the league should reconsider the necessity of playing the anthem prior to games.
However, there has yet to be a significant issue in the NBA due to that better partnership and open lines of communication from the players and players association and the league and owners, which has allowed players to speak out and use their platforms in a way that the NFL has not often empowered its players to do.
