President Trump capped off a day of back and forth over protests in football on Monday night, October 9, with a tweet commending Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for putting his foot down and demanding that players stand during the playing of the National Anthem.
"A big salute to Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, who will BENCH players who disrespect our Flag. 'Stand for Anthem or sit for game!" Trump wrote and shared on Twitter.
After more than two weeks of bad press over his insistence that owners fire those who kneel during the time-honored pregame ceremony, the tide appears to be turning in the President's favor on the topic of player protests. Slowly, players have reverted back to standing apart from one another with their hands over their hearts for the anthem, after fans saw the entire league bond together to resist the President's statement. And by Monday morning, Jones and Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase came out to make their teams the first to ban kneeling during the anthem. It is reported that at least three more teams have conveyed the message to their players that they will receive infractions if they don't stand for the duration of the song.
Executive Director of the NFL Players Association DeMaurice Smith has since issued a statement defending the protests, stating that he hasn't observed one player "disrespect" the flag or country by asserting their First Amendment rights. Smith also reminded owners and executives that it was established during a meeting with Commissioner Roger Goodell that players' rights to protest would be protected.
