The owner of the San Francisco 49ers was the only one to abstain from the vote when the NFL decided to punish players who would protest the national anthem, and he says he's taking additional steps to push back.
Here's what he said he'll do
San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York said that the team will shut down the sales of concessions during the performance of the national anthem as a response to the focus the NFL owners were putting on the event.
"I don’t think we should be profiting if we’re going to put this type of attention and focus on the field and on the flag,” he said.
He indicated that he abstained from the vote and added that a deeper look was required into the issue.
The announcement from the NFL Wednesday indicated that enough owners voted to fine a time if any player kneeled during the national anthem while out on the field.
Members of the team who didn't wish to stand during the anthem could avoid the fine by not going out on the field and staying in the locker room during the national anthem.
Here are the changes to the rules as announced:
"Some big, complicated issues"
The 49ers weren't the only NFL team to object - the New York Jets' chairman and CEO said that they would pay the fine if any of their players decided to kneel during the national anthem.
“I do not like imposing any club-specific rules,” Christopher Johnson said. “If somebody takes a knee, that fine will be borne by the organization, by me, not the players.”
“I never want to put restrictions on the speech of our players,” he continued. “Do I prefer that they stand? Of course. But I understand if they felt the need to protest. There are some big, complicated issues that we’re all struggling with, and our players are on the front lines.”
