Jets, Trump at odds on anthem

ORLANDO — Jets CEO and Chairman Christopher Johnson didn’t let his inherently precarious position surrounding the NFL national anthem protest debate prevent him from giving a blunt assessment of the situation.

“I can’t speak to how other people run their teams,” Johnson said Sunday at the NFL meetings, “But I just think that trying to forcibly get the players to shut up is a fantastically bad idea.”

Christopher Johnson’s brother, Woody, of course, is the UK Ambassador for the Trump Administration. The President, of course, has made it abundantly that NFL players should stand for the anthem.

Owners will discuss this hot-button topic this week, but Christopher Johnson made it clear that he doesn’t support changing the league bylaws to include a mandate to stand during the anthem.

“I don’t approve of changing the current status,” Johnson said. “I know there’s some discussion of keeping players off the field until after the Anthem. I think that’s a particularly bad idea…. But I'm only one of 32 owners. So, we'll see how that goes.” — Mehta