Tuesday afternoon ESPN obtained a memo NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote to NFL owners.

In it, Goodell, speaking on behalf of the organization, suggests athletes could soon be required to stand for the National Anthem writing, “We believe that everyone should stand for the National Anthem.”

NEW: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to team leaders: "We believe that everyone should stand for the National Anthem" https://t.co/KEPUJR8Avx pic.twitter.com/cEGFqycB5B — ABC News (@ABC) October 10, 2017

Goodell adds that the league must “move past the Anthem controversy,” and that it has become a “barrier to having honest conversations and making real progress to the underlying issues.” Goodell added that the league has developed a plan to tackle these “core issues” to be presented during a league meeting next week.


The NFL memo echoes a call by Trump made in late September for the league to create a rule barring athletes from protesting.

The NFL has all sorts of rules and regulations. The only way out for them is to set a rule that you can't kneel during our National Anthem! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017

Absent from Goodell’s statement, however, is any mention of the “underlying issues” that prompted NFL athletes to take a knee during the National Anthem in the first place. Beginning in August of 2016, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began sitting during the National Anthem in protest of police brutality and racial discrimination in the United States.

Others in the NFL community are having difficulty understanding the purpose of the protests before games. Hall of Famer Mike Ditka said during a Monday Night Football interview that there has been “no oppression” in the United States within the last 100 years.


“All of a sudden, it’s become a big deal now, about oppression,” Ditka said. “There has been no oppression in the last 100 years that I know of. Now maybe I’m not watching it as carefully as other people. I think the opportunity is there for everybody…If you want to work, if you want to try, if you want to put effort into yourself, I think you can accomplish anything.”

The statement from Goodell comes just a few hours after President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday morning about changing the tax law so the NFL would no longer get “massive tax breaks,” even though the NFL voluntarily gave up its tax-exempt status two years ago.

Why is the NFL getting massive tax breaks while at the same time disrespecting our Anthem, Flag and Country? Change tax law! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2017

Monday night Trump praised Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for saying he would bench players who refused to stand during the Anthem.

A big salute to Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, who will BENCH players who disrespect our Flag."Stand for Anthem or sit for game!" — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2017

“We cannot in any way give the implication that we tolerate disrespecting the flag,” Jones told the Dallas Morning News on Sunday. “We know that there is a serious debate in this country about those issues, but there is no question in my mind, that the [NFL] and the Dallas Cowboys are going to stand up for the flag.”