ATLANTA -- Why is this so hard for the NFL, this national anthem stuff? The owners spend months hand-wringing and days discussing only to come up with a complicated new rule that wrinkles the noses of some in their own membership. Commissioner Roger Goodell announces the decision as “unanimous,” but within hours, 49ers owner Jed York says he abstained, and Jets owner Christopher Johnson tells Newsday that he’ll never fine a player who violates it. The Trump administration claims victory, the players’ union says it has been betrayed, and the whole thing feels like a mess at the end of the league’s effort to simplify it.
Why the NFL is light-years behind the NBA on social justice front
