As I'm sure you have all heard, earlier this week the NFL ruled that players cannot kneel, sit, or otherwise show disrespect during the national anthem:
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2...-anthem-policy
I'm 100% behind this decision, and it boggles my mind how any rational human being can think otherwise.
This is NOT about freedom of speech or freedom to protest.
This is about an employer's right to prevent political protest at the workplace which would damage their business.
It is clear that most of the dedicated NFL fan base does NOT like the anthem kneeling, and wants to see it stop. Therefore, the NFL does not want to see the kneeling continue, as it will hurt their brand and profitability.
An employer ALWAYS has the right to dictate that employees refrain from controversial or off-putting behavior while at work. It is never your right to use your workplace as a platform for political protest.
These football players are receiving millions of dollars to work for NFL teams, and in fact only have their high-visibility platform (TV coverage) thanks to the NFL. Therefore, the NFL has every right to set down rules regarding their behavior.
If the players were protesting the anthem on their own time, this would be more complicated. However, it is totally absurd that people think that employees should just be able to decide for themselves if they want to disrupt the workplace with political protests, and expect their to be no consequences if they continue when asked not to.
These players have no right to decide that they can hurt the NFL brand because they feel like it.
This is not about "forced patriotism", either. The players ARE allowed to stay in the locker room during the anthem if they choose. Seems like a good enough concession to me. Now nobody is forced to be part of the anthem ceremony, but they also can't disrupt it.