If we've learned one thing about Donald Trump over the past few months, it's that he's not afraid to speak his mind when it comes to the NFL's national anthem issue.
Trump has made it clear on multiple occasions that he believes that all players should stand for the national anthem at all times, and now, he has actually proposed a national anthem-related rule that he would like to see the NFL implement.
Trump's proposal to the NFL?
If a player kneels for the national anthem, eject him from the game. Then, if a player kneels for the national anthem a second time, suspend him for the season.
The NFL National Anthem Debate is alive and well again - can’t believe it! Isn’t it in contract that players must stand at attention, hand on heart? The $40,000,000 Commissioner must now make a stand. First time kneeling, out for game. Second time kneeling, out for season/no pay!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2018
Trump tweeted out the proposal on Friday and called out NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in the process.
"The $40,000,000 Commissioner must now make a stand," Trump wrote.
This is the first time Trump has publicly pushed an anthem policy since September, when he said that players who kneel should be cut from the team. Despite what Trump wrote, NFL contracts do not require players to stand for the anthem.
It's probably not a coincidence that Trump offered his latest proposal when he did. Trump's tweet came less than 24 hours after the NFL decided to postpone the implementation of its new national anthem policy. The league announced on Thursday that, "No new rules relating to the anthem will be issued or enforced for the next several weeks."
In the meantime, the league said it will work with the NFLPA to hash out a new policy. With no official policy in place, Trump decided to fill the void with his own.
Before Thursday's announcement by the league, the new anthem rule was scheduled to take effect for the 2018 season after being approved at the NFL Spring Meeting in May. As it was written, the new rule called for all players and personnel to "show respect for the flag and the anthem." The rule also would've allowed players to stay in the locker room during the national anthem if they didn't want to be on the field.
It's not clear if the NFL will respond to Trump's proposal (highly unlikely), but we do know that at least one owner is getting tired of listening to the president talk about the national anthem issue. Although Trump has made it clear that he's going to continue chiming in on the NFL's anthem policy, Giants co-owner Steve Tisch is hoping the president will find something else to talk about by the time the 2018 NFL season kicks off.
"Hopefully, he'll have much more going on that he's going have to deal with and should deal with and must deal with than worrying about what NFL players do," Tisch told the Hollywood Reporter. "When the new season starts, I hope his priorities are not criticizing the NFL and telling owners what to do and what not to do."
Tisch's biggest problem with Trump is that he doesn't think the president understands why the players are doing what they're doing.
"He has no understanding of why they take a knee or why they're protesting," Tisch said.
The players who are kneeling during the national anthem are protesting racial inequality and police brutality against minorities. If you're wondering why Trump loves to talk about the issue, it's because he believes that it's a "very winning, strong issue" for him. Also, Trump loves to fire up crowds by mentioning the issue at rallies, like he did in early July, when he called the NFL's new national anthem policy "stupid" during an event in Michigan.
"I don't want to cause controversy, but how about they pass this stupid thing," Trump said at a rally in Michigan. "'You don't have to do this anymore. If you don't respect the flag, or you don't like the country or whatever it is, just go into the locker room.' I think in many respects that's worse."
If the NFL does come up with a new policy, it's highly unlikely that it will be anything close to what Trump has proposed. As for Tisch, if the NFL does decide to implement a new policy this year, no one on his team is ever going to face any punishment for protesting.
"We support our players," Tisch said. "They are not going to be punished. There is not going to be any punitive action taking place against them."
