A prediction: There will be more sideline protests in the opening week of the NFL season than it would have been if the league had merely continued its cooperation with an alliance of influential players.
Congratulations to the NFL, which has managed to please almost nobody, rile up almost everyone, ensure that a fading controversy has re-erupted, and virtually guarantee that the debate over national-anthem protests will take on a new, longer-lasting and evermore divisive life.
Commissioner Roger Goodell’s goal in issuing the NFL’s ham-handed and tone-deaf anthem policy on Wednesday was to bring closure to an issue that has proved irksome to the league for the past two seasons.