Two days of NFL owners meetings — at which the topic of whether players should be forced to stand for the national anthem was to be discussed — ended Wednesday without a change in the league’s policy.

While continuing to stress that the league believes the players “should” stand for the anthem, Goodell said at a news conference in New York City that the issue of changing the guidelines to “must stand” was never brought up for discussion.

The controversy continues to roil the NFL and the country more than a year after former 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat, then began kneeling, during the pregame anthem to protest what he saw as racial injustice, particularly in the way African American men were treated by police in this country.

The issue had receded considerably from the public spotlight as this season began, but President Trump brought it back to the fore when — speaking at a rally in Alabama last month — he cursed when talking about players who took a knee during the anthem and said they should be fired.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones — who has spoken at length to other owners about the issue — has said that any Cowboys player who doesn’t stand for the anthem would no longer play. The Cowboys play the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.