NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell: ‘Everyone should stand for the National Anthem’

After weeks of pressure from both left-wing social justice warriors and patriotic God-fearing Americans to take a stand in the current debate over NFL players kneeling for our National Anthem, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has finally spoken.

According to a leaked memo to the NFL’s 32 teams from Tuesday, October 10, 2017, Goodell appeared to make the league’s point-of-view on the Anthem controversy rather clear:

“Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand for the National Anthem. It is an important moment in our game. We want to honor our flag and our country, and our fans expect that of us.”

Goodell also went a step further, ensuring there are no questions on how the league is now approaching this matter, by calling ongoing national anthem protests by NFL players “divisive.”

“The current dispute over the National Anthem is threatening to erode the unifying power of our game, and is now dividing us, and our players, from many fans across the country.

(…)

The controversy over the Anthem is a barrier to having honest conversations and making real progress on the underlying issues. We need to move past this controversy, and we want to do that together with our players.”

Interestingly, Goodell’s memo comes on the heels of a Monday statement from NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith in which he claimed Goodell “assured our union leaders, in the presence of other owners, that they would respect the Constitutional rights of our members without retribution.”

More clarity on how the league will actually handle future National Anthem protests should become more clear at next week’s previously scheduled league meeting, where Goodell indicated the NFL will present a plan for handling such situations.