NFL owners got together Wednesday to vote on a policy that would in hope remedy the National Anthem protest saga that’s plagued the league for two seasons by voting on a rule that would allow the league to fine teams if players protest on the field instead of remaining in the locker room.
Jets CEO Christoper Johnson has other ideas. Johnson, the brother of team owner Woody Johnson, vowed not to make his team’s players stand for the anthem against their will with consequence, promising to pay the team fine if they do so choose to kneel.
“I do not like imposing any club-specific rules,” Johnson said, via Bob Glauber of Newsday. “If somebody [on the Jets] takes a knee, that fine will be borne by the organization, by me, not the players. I never want to put restrictions on the speech of our players. Do I prefer that they stand? Of course. But I understand if they felt the need to protest. There are some big, complicated issues that we’re all struggling with, and our players are on the front lines. I don’t want to come down on them like a ton of bricks, and I won’t. There will be no club fines or suspensions or any sort of repercussions. If the team gets fined, that’s just something I’ll have to bear.”
