NEW YORK: NFL club owners are considering potential 15-yard penalties for kneeling during the national anthem among ways of coping with a backlash over player protests, Sports Illustrated reported Tuesday. Ideas to handle players kneeling during the anthem included allowing home teams to decide if players should be out of the locker room during the pre-game playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" or not. If players are on the sideline, then 15-yard penalties could be imposed on teams with players who kneel during the anthem. The kneel protest was started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016 as a way to protest police brutality, racial injustice and social inequality. Free agents Kaepernick and Eric Reid are suing the NFL, saying league owners colluded to keep them unsigned.

Source: Bangkok Post May 23, 2018 04:41 UTC