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For tactical reasons, I’m not a big fan of kneeling during the national anthem as a form of protest. I worry that kneeling N.F.L. players distract from their important political message — calling out police violence against African-Americans — and needlessly alienate otherwise persuadable people. (I’ve made the full case here and here and discussed the players’ broader protest movement here.)

But if kneeling is problematic because it seems unpatriotic, the N.F.L.’s response is outrageous because it actually is unpatriotic. By instituting a policy yesterday to punish players who exercise their right of free expression by kneeling, the league is rejecting a basic American value. Roger Goodell, the N.F.L. commissioner, and the league’s owners are evidently so insecure about their own patriotism that they have felt the need to bully their employees into a ritual sign of respect.

“I am a fan of free speech on college campuses,” E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post tweeted. “So I ask my conservative friends who talk about this issue so much if they will also stand up for protesting #NFL players. Or do they think owners can make stadiums conservative ‘safe spaces’ where even silent protest is banned?”