League: Message being lost in political firestorm over anthem

The NFL says the message players and teams are trying to express is being lost in a political firestorm.

The issues have been “overtaken by political forces,” NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said Thursday, referring to President Trump’s criticism of the league, team owners and players for kneeling during the national anthem.

More than 200 players either knelt or used other means as expressions of unity last weekend. Lockhart said such actions are not a protest against the anthem or the flag.

“One of the impacts is to distort the views of the NFL and particularly our players,” Lockhart said.

Along with the players who knelt last weekend, full teams, along with some team owners, linked arms either before or during the anthem. Three teams — Pittsburgh, Seattle and Tennessee — did not take the field until after the anthem.