Union takes issue with anthem policy
NFLPA files grievance; woman assaulted at home of Bills’ running back McCoy
The NFL Players Association filed a grievance with the league on Tuesday challenging its national anthem policy.
The union says that the new policy, which the league imposed without consultation with the NFLPA, is inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement and infringes on players' rights. The filing met a statute of limitations deadline and will be heard by an independent arbitrator, an NFLPA spokesman said.
In May, the NFL approved its national anthem policy at its owners meetings in Atlanta. The policy allows players to protest during the national anthem by staying in the locker room, but forbids them from sitting or taking a knee if they're on the field or the sidelines.
Teams will be subject to fines if players don't comply and will have the option of punishing players.
When the league announced the policy, Commissioner Roger Goodell called it a compromise aimed at putting the focus back on football after a tumultuous year in which television ratings dipped nearly 10 percent; some blamed the protests for such a drop. The union said at that time that it would file a grievance against any change in the collective bargaining agreement.
The union said Tuesday it has proposed having its executive committee talking to the NFL instead of proceeding with litigation. The union said the NFL has agreed to those discussions.
The NFLdeclined to comment about the union's action.
In 2016, then-49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick began protesting police brutality and social injustice by kneeling during the national anthem, and the demonstration spread to other players and teams. It became one of the most controversial and sensitive issues in the NFL, with players saying their messages last year were being misconstrued, while others — including President Donald Trump — called them unpatriotic. Trump even said NFL owners should fire any player who refused to stand during the anthem.
Following those comments, more than 200 players protested during the anthem that weekend before the number of protesters dwindled as the season progressed.
“We're here for a bigger platform,” Raiders tight end Jared Cook said during the spring. “We're not just athletes. We're people that live this. It's people in our neighborhood, it's people that we grew up with, it's people that we know who are actually living through these circum- San Francisco 49ers players, from left, Eli Harold, Eric Reid, Marquise Goodwin and Louis Murphy kneel during the national anthem before a game last season. The NFL Players Association filed a grievance with the league challenging its national anthem policy. stances. So when we speak on it, it's not like we're just speaking out of the side of our neck. It's things that actually touch home and things that we can actually relate to.
“All I have to say is, I just think it's sad that it's veered from something that stood for good and the whole narrative has changed into something that's negative when that was not what it was initially about in the first place.”
The NFL started requiring players to be on the field for the anthem in 2009 — the year it signed a marketing deal with the military.
“We want people to be respectful of the national anthem. We want people to stand,” Goodell said at the May meetings, when he dismissed concerns about the lack of union involvement by contending the league met with countless players over the past year.
“We've been very sensitive on making sure that we give players choices,” the commissioner added, “but we do believe that moment is an important moment and one that we are going to focus on.”
The league and the Players Coalition have been working in tandem on efforts to support player initiatives in the community and for a variety of social issues. The NFL is committing $90 million over the next seven years to social justice causes in a three-segment plan that involves league players. McCoy accusations: Police acknowledged Tuesday that a woman was assaulted during a home invasion at a suburban Atlanta house owned by NFL star LeSean McCoy, hours after graphic posts on social media accused the Buffalo Bills running back of bloodying his former girlfriend.
One female was treated and released from the hospital, while another sustained a minor injury during a targeted invasion early Tuesday, Milton police said in a release responding to requests by The Associated Press.
McCoy denied allegations posted on social media earlier in the day accusing him of hurting his former girlfriend.
“For the record, the totally baseless and offensive claims made against me today on social media are completely false,” McCoy said in a statement released on two of his social media accounts. “Further more, I have not had any direct contact with any of the people involved in months.”
McCoy was responding to an Instagram post from a person who said she is friends with the injured woman. The post showed a graphic photo of the former girlfriend and accused McCoy of physically abusing her, his son and his dog, as well as injecting steroids. Panthers’ statue: While new Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper would like the focus to be on his plans for the team's future, he cannot completely put the franchise's sullied past behind him.
Tepper has to keep the prominent statue of Panthers' founder Jerry Richardson outside of the stadium as part of the NFL-record $2.2 billion deal he agreed to in June after Richardson decided to sell the team in December amid reports of sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace.
Tepper said Tuesday when he was introduced as the team's new owner that he's “contractually obligated” to keep the 13-foot high statue of Richardson, a former Baltimore Colt, standing alongside two growling panthers where it is.
The league substantiated the allegations against Richardson following a six-month investigation and fined him $2.75 million.