The NFL and the NFL Players Association, met on Tuesday to discuss the anthem protests that have dominated so much coverage of the league. The two sides did not come to an agreement, but did agree to meet again.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter:
Joint NFL-NFLPA statement: pic.twitter.com/v4Swz4WhvW
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 17, 2017
The two sides met for about four hours in New York City. The MMQB’s Jenny Vrentas spoke with a couple of the players in attendance:
Colts S Darius Butler on today's meeting: "It's not going to be fixed overnight, no resolution made right now, but it was a good dialogue."
— Jenny Vrentas (@JennyVrentas) October 17, 2017
The anthem was a very small part of players' meeting with owners. "I don't think they can make a rule change," says 49ers safety Eric Reid.
— Jenny Vrentas (@JennyVrentas) October 17, 2017
If that last part is true, that the NFL cannot reach enough of a consensus amongst the owners and the players’ representatives to put a stop to the protests, that news is nothing short of disastrous for the league. The news that they met for four hours without coming to an agreement to end the protests is bad enough. If the league has lost the ability to reign-in its social justice warriors masquerading as football players, then that might be all the few remaining fans need to bail on the league for good.
However, of course, there are also politics involved here. By not announcing an agreement after the first meeting, the league gives the players a chance to save face and make it look like they fought the good fight. If they had announced a change in anthem policy after the first meeting, the perception might have been that the players caved too easily.
Let’s hope that is what’s going on here.
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