They could have sought a compromise by making the anthem policy a decision made by the home team for each game. That was the approach taken by owners when they met last October in New York and did not change the previous anthem policy. That previous policy, written into the game operations manual given by the league to teams, required players to be on the sideline for the anthem. The issue became a national controversy last season after President Donald Trump and some fans were sharply critical of protests during the anthem by some NFL players. “It was unfortunate that on-field protests created a false perception among many that thousands of NFL players were unpatriotic.

Source: National Post May 23, 2018 15:28 UTC