If the NFL doesn't enforce its own rules, why should teams and players have to?

I can't figure out why people care so much about football players' feelings on the National Anthem.

Make your own league and make them stand, if you want. I predict nothing but success.

All of those have more significant (relatively) meanings than "THAT FOOTBALL PLAYER AINT STANDIN FOR MUH FLAG AND ANTHEM"

I just want a vagina hat

My biggest thing on this issue is that the issue that is being argued isn't the issue being protested. Kaep started protesting to bring attention to issues in the black community. He gets shite canned and a handful of other players began to protest, this had as much to do with him being out of a job as it did with the initial issue. Fast forward to Trump making a statement that NFL owners should fire any player kneeling during the National Anthem and now the entire league is protesting.

Let's stop pretending these guys are protesting a cause, the flag, or the National Anthem. They're protesting Donald Trump and fairly so. It's one thing to disagree with someone's views and actions. It's another to try and take away their ability to voice those opinions. It's even beyond that to say that they should have their livelihood, their dream, something they've worked towards for most of their lives taken away while you are in a role that is supposed to protect those liberties.

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All of those have more significant (relatively) meanings than "THAT FOOTBALL PLAYER AINT STANDIN FOR MUH FLAG AND ANTHEM"

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Is it more faux outrage than players expressing such outrage over police brutality when their union spends half its time defending the scumbags in the their midst for punishment?

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During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.” 

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Maybe they should rewrite the rule and include the appropriate jargon.

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“The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem.

“During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.”

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I've kept my opinion on this subject to myself and will continue to do so, but if this is the rule and it dictates what the punishment could be if it's not followed, then what makes this any different from the following instances of rule breaking:

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Running back DeAngelo Williams received a first-offense uniform violation of $5,787 for wearing "Find the Cure" in his eye black in honor of breast cancer awareness. He has worn the eye black for years, he told ESPN.

Meanwhile, the league fined cornerback William Gay the same amount for wearing purple cleats to show support for domestic violence awareness, his agent, Jerrold Colton, confirmed.

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When Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall first decided to wear green shoes to raise awareness for mental illness during Thursday Night Football last week, the NFL told him he wouldn’t be allowed on the field with the shoes on. The league relented after public pressure, but it promised Marshall he’d be fined.

Marshall, who was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in 2011, wore the shoes anyway. And the NFL followed up on its threat, fining Marshall $10,500 for violating the league’s uniform rules.

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So the NFL fines a player for raising awareness on an issue the league formally endorses throughout the entire month of October, but they do nothing to people who violate another rule in the league rulebook?

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“The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem.

“During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.”

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I'll keep my personal thoughts to myself here as I will likely only make both "sides" of the debate angry about something. :)

But from a strictly legal argument, here is how it reads to me. I've bolded what seems to be the crux of this rule... as written, the only parts that appear to be explicit enough to be "violated" are "The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game" and "all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem". Everything else appears to be suggested behavior. Expected conduct is enumerated, but no penalties are described for failing to adhere to those points.

There is a weird line there at the end - "for violations of the above" - but again, should is not definitive enough and a good attorney would have a field day with this one.