NFL doubles down on protest sanctions

PHILADELPHIA (AP):

Now that the NFL is drawing the line against players kneeling during the national anthem, athletes protesting police brutality and racial inequality may need to find a new playbook.

The question is whether they intend to escalate their protests in some way.

"The owners can try to prevent kneeling, but they open another can of worms," said Randal Maurice Jelks, professor of African and African-American studies and history at the University of Kansas. "Imagine if players decide as a team to not come out for the national anthem. Or if one-third of the team decides not to come out."

Hoping to quell the furore started by quarterback Colin Kaepernick two years ago, the NFL announced on Wednesday that players can stay in the locker room during "The Star-Spangled Banner" but must stand if they venture on to the field. Not doing so will result in a fine against the team.

The decision was lauded by President Donald Trump, who suggested yesterday in a Fox interview that: "Maybe you shouldn't be in the country" if you don't stand for the anthem.

While NFL players who have supported kneeling in the past have not revealed their plans for this season, it is unlikely the new policy brought an end to the controversy.

"There were a lot of players who thought they could work with the league," said Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color of Change, a social justice organisation that mobilised members to boycott the NFL and its corporate sponsors last season. "Players will have to make a decision about whether they speak out. These owners are not just trying to keep the league without controversy they've picked a side."

Like protesters before them in past social movements, the players face a familiar dilemma: What to do when their public platform is taken away?

From the American Revolution through the civil rights era and, more recently, the Black Lives Matter movement, history has shown that when one avenue of protest is taken away, activists often move on to other - sometimes more disruptive - methods of protest.