The man who may be the best player in an NFL uniformsays that the idea of the league forcing players to stand for the national anthem isn't the best.
As Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers told reporters including Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette:
Aaron Rodgers on possibility NFL players forced to stand for anthem: "I don’t think that’s the best message of leadership from the top."
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) October 11, 2017
President Donald Trump claimed that the NFL was taking a more hard-line stance on the anthem in a tweet Wednesday, but the NFL said Trump's words about the league were inaccurate.
"Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand for the National Anthem," said Goodell in a letter to NFL executives cited by CNN. "We want to honor our flag and our country, and our fans expect that of us."
However, the NFL said Wednesday that the letter did not explicitly say it would move forward on demanding players stand during the anthem and not kneel in protest, which many say they have been doing about conditions African-Americans face - particularly when it comes to police brutality.
"Commentary this morning about the Commissioner's position on the anthem is not accurate," said the league in a statement Wednesday. "As we said yesterday, there will be a discussion of these issues at the owners meeting next week. The NFL is doing the hard work of trying to move from protest to progress, working to bring people together....Players from around the league will be in New York next week to meet with owners to continue our work together."
