Dear Commons Community,

Refusing to buckle under pressure from President Trump, Commissioner Roger Goodell said yesterday that the National Football League won’t stop its players from kneeling during the playing of the national anthem.  As reported by The New York Daily News:

[Goodell said] … the league wants to help them in their political activism — in the face of President Trump’s sharp criticism of the quiet protests during “The Star-Spangled Banner” at numerous games this season.

“We spent today talking about the issues that our players have been trying to bring attention to. About issues in our communities to make our communities better,” Goodell told reporters.

During the meeting at the Conrad Hotel in Manhattan, the protests themselves actually weren’t discussed very much, players said.

“We were really more talking about solutions and how we get the results that we want to get,” said Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, a players spokesman.

“Conversations are ongoing,” Jenkins added. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity to really put a good plan together.”

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross called the meeting “constructive.”

“We heard what they had to say, and they heard us,” Ross said. “It’s open talks, and that’s a good thing.”

Outside the hotel, two dozen supporters of Black Lives Matter New York held a rally backing the players — particularly former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who started the wave of gridiron activism when he knelt during the national anthem last year in protest of racial injustice in America.”

Right decision on the part of the NFL.

Tony