NFL announce fine for teams whose players kneel during national anthem

Donald Trump politicised the issue by attacking players who kneel in protest and suggesting they should lose their jobs

Donald Trump has advocated punishing players who kneel during the national anthem (Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports)

The National Football League (NFL) will fine teams whose players kneel during the national anthem, moving to punish a form of protest that Donald Trump has repeatedly denounced.

Athletes seeking to protest police brutality have in recent years used the highly visible platform of football game broadcasts, with players kneeling to call attention to killings of African-American men.

Those demonstrations have proven deeply divisive, praised by some as rallies for social justice and condemned by others - including the president of the United States - as unpatriotic displays.

A new policy adopted by the NFL will lift a requirement that players remain on the field during the national anthem. But those who remain will be punished if they do not stand, with their team facing fines if players fail to “show respect for the flag and the Anthem”, the NFL said.

In a statement announcing the move, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sought to project solidarity with protesting players. He said the NFL was working “with players to advance the goals of justice and fairness in all corners of our society” and lauded activism that “sparked awareness and action around issues of social justice that must be addressed”.

“It was unfortunate that on-field protests created a false perception among many that thousands of NFL players were unpatriotic. This is not and was never the case”, Mr Goodell said.

But the association representing NFL players assailed the decision, saying owners had not consulted the players’ union. The the NFL Players Association said in a statement that the vote “contradicts statements made to our player leadership” about “the principles, values and patriotism of our League”.

“NFL players have shown their patriotism through their social activism, their community service, in support of our military and law enforcement and yes, through their protests to raise awareness about the issues they care about”, the organisation said.

Debate about the appropriateness of anthem protests was elevated to a political issue after Mr Trump began attacking the players in tweets and speeches.

“Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he's fired. He's fired’”, Mr Trump said in a speech last year to supporters, laying out a theme he would reiterate in tweets.

Those comments drew an angry backlash from NFL players and from elected officials who called them dehumanising. A Texas Democrat specifically connected an effort to impeach the president to that remark, saying it “brought discourse to a new low”.

But the Trump administration continued to highlight the issue, with vice president Mike Pence attending an Indianapolis Colts game and pointedly walking out when some players kneeled.

“I left today's Colts game because President Trump and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem,” Pence said in a statement after. In response to the rule change, Mr Pence tweeted the word “winning”.

The high-level attention has rippled out and affected youth sports. Some high schools have followed the president's lead in announcing players must stand for the anthem.