NFL teams under no time pressure to form own anthem policies

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NFL teams under no time pressure to form own anthem policies

2018-05-25 11:11 Last Updated At：11:11

With no deadlines to meet and a monthlong summer break coming up, NFL teams are in no hurry to formulate a policy on demonstrations during the national anthem.

One day after league owners mandated that players must stand for the "Star-Spangled Banner" — they now have the option of remaining in the locker room for the playing of the anthem — few of the 32 teams had done more than preliminary work on the issue.

The NFL gave teams the option of developing their own workplace rules, which many players interpreted as a backhanded way of subjecting them to fines, suspensions or loss of jobs should they carry on with the protests.

For now, other than New York Jets owner Christopher Johnson's decision to pay any fines doled out by the league without passing punishment to the players, each franchise's approach is uncertain.

After all, once mandatory minicamps end in mid-June, teams don't get together again until training camps open in late July. The opening preseason game — the first time the anthem would be played before an NFL match — is Aug. 2 when Baltimore and Chicago face off in the Hall of Fame game.

"I'm sure it's something that will be addressed, by the players and by the coaches, collectively," Lions receiver Golden Tate said Thursday.

"But right now, we don't play a game until August, and that's when it's going to be applicable in football stadiums. So we've got time to kind of brainstorm some ideas on how we could stand for justice and what we can do."

What some teams have done in the past likely indicates how they will handle disciplining players for demonstrations during the anthem — regardless of the intent. Owners Jerry Jones of the Cowboys and Robert McNair of the Texans have been among the staunchest advocates of no exceptions to standing during the anthem.

Others have taken a less stringent stance, emphasizing working together with the players in their communities rather than focusing on how the message about social injustice is being delivered.

"I have always believed it is the responsibility of sports teams to be very proactive in our communities," says Jeffrey Lurie, owner of the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

"In this great country of ours, there are so many people who are hurting and marginalized, which is why I am proud of our players for continuously working to influence positive change. Their words and actions have demonstrated not only that they have a great deal of respect for our country, but also that they are committed to finding productive ways to fight social injustice, poverty and other societal issues that are important to all of us.

"We must continue to work together in creative and dynamic ways to make our communities stronger and better, with equal opportunities for all."

One certain thing: The uncertainty about how each team will deal with players who defy the NFL's mandate will last for weeks.

Not so for any league personnel such as game officials, sideline crews, et al. They will be disciplined for any violations of the anthem policy, though the exact punishments have not yet been determined by the NFL.

One organization, the National Action Network, will march on league headquarters Friday to "advocate for players' right to kneel and call on NFL owners to reverse (the) dangerous decision violating players' First Amendment rights by imposing fines for not standing during the national anthem."

Such protests could become more prevalent if teams decide to strongly discipline players who demonstrate during the anthem. But some franchises aren't sure they need their own policy. Or if that is even the proper description.

The Falcons' position is any players on the field will stand, so no need to make plans for any other outcome.

Team spokesman Brian Cearns suggested it's too strong to say they have a team policy: "The word policy sounds like it was mandated. It was discussed as a team and agreed upon as a team," Cearns said in an email to The Associated Press.

Defensive linemen Dontari Poe and Grady Jarrett knelt during an early season game at Detroit last year. Coach Dan Quinn said that was a "one-off" and, sure enough, after that game all players stood together on the sideline, with arms interlocked, the remainder of the season.

Buffalo linebacker Lorenzo Alexander doesn't expect his team "to do anything."

"I understand where they're at. And it's hard," Alexander said. "And I understand that from a business perspective trying to be socially responsible. And people can act like it's in a vacuum and say you have to pick a side. But it's not that simple. It's a very complex situation.

"And so I respect them, because I was a business owner and I understand it. It makes a big impact. I'm in this to grow the business, grow their brand, and us doing this does have an impact, whether we say it or not. That's what we want, because we're trying to bring attention to it. But they have to have a foot over here, a foot over here. It's hard."

India begins second phase of national elections with Modi's BJP as front-runner

2024-04-26 16:57 Last Updated At：17:11

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indians began voting Friday in the second round of multi-phase national elections as Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to galvanize voters with his assertive brand of Hindu nationalist politics.

People lined up outside polling stations as voting opened at 7 a.m. Turnout was expected to pick up as the day progresses.

The outcome of Friday’s voting will be crucial for Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, as the 88 constituencies up for grabs across 13 states include some of its strongholds in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Most polls predict a win for Modi and the BJP, which is up against a broad opposition alliance led by the Indian National Congress and powerful regional parties.

Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi is running in Wayanad constituency in southern Kerala state for a second time, after he was defeated in 2019 elections by Smriti Irani, a BJP leader, in the northern Indian city of Amethi — a traditional stronghold for the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Other prominent candidates in the second phase of voting include Shashi Tharoor of the Congress party, popular BJP Bollywood star Hema Malini and actor Arun Govil, who played the role of Hinduism's revered Lord Ram in a 1987 television adaptation of the ancient epic Ramayana.

Prime Minister Modi urged people to vote in record numbers to strengthen democracy.

“I especially urge our young voters and women voters to turn out in great numbers. Your vote is your voice!” Modi said in a message on the social media platform X.

The BJP has already won one parliamentary seat from Surat in Gujarat state, where the Congress party candidate was disqualified Monday. Election officials said they found discrepancies in the signatures on the nomination and other candidates pulled out of the contest, leaving BJP nominee Mukesh Dalal as the winner by default.

Nearly 970 million voters — more than 10% of the world’s population — will elect 543 members to the lower house of Parliament for five years during the staggered election, which runs until June 1. The votes will be counted on June 4. There are a total of 28 states in India.

The turnout of the first phase of polling on April 19 was estimated around 62% of 166.3 million eligible voters. About 160 million are eligible to vote in the second phase.

By comparison, India’s 2019 national election registered the highest-ever voter turnout — 67.11% — in the history of Indian parliamentary elections. The turnout is expected to increase for five more rounds of voting.

Voters’ relative apathy has surprised some political analysts, but they say that the BJP remains a front-runner.

"You could argue that the listlessness is a consequence of a foregone conclusion,” said Pratap Bhanu Mehta, an Indian political scientist.

"But for Modi’s party which is expecting to win 400 of the 543 seats the joyous surge is missing," he said in an article in the Indian Express daily.

Critics of the prime minister, an avowed Hindu nationalist, say India’s tradition of diversity and secularism has come under attack since the BPJ won power a decade ago. They accuse the party of fostering religious intolerance and sometimes even violence. The party denies the accusation and says its policies benefit all Indians.

Modi stirred a huge controversy over the weekend when he said that the Congress party, if voted to power, would distribute the country’s wealth among “infiltrators” and “those who have more children,” in an apparent reference to the Muslim community.

Hindus make up 80% of India's 1.4 billion people, while Muslims account for 14% and Christians and Sikhs 2% each.

The Congress party leaders met with election officials and urged them to investigate whether Modi’s comments violated the body’s code of conduct that bars politicians from appealing to voters based on caste and religious feelings.

The BJP also filed a complaint against Congress's Gandhi, accusing the opposition leader of falsely asserting that poverty was increasing and driving a wedge between the North and South of India based on language and region in order to disrupt the electoral environment.

The election authority recognized the complaints on Thursday and asked the presidents of the two parties to file their responses by Monday. The authority is expected to give its ruling next week.