The NFL has finally come to a decision on its policy to regulate players protesting the country during the national anthem. The league has now decided to allow players to remain in the locker room during the national theme song.

However, protests on the filed will be forbidden. Also, if they do come out on the field and protest the flag during the anthem, their teams will get fined.

The move caused a Twitter explosion among supporters of the anthem protests. They were not at all happy with the decision.

Black Lives Matter activist Deeray McKesson, for instance, insisted that the decision proved that people “can’t trust management”:

Colin was telling them not to trust management. And here we are. pic.twitter.com/s4HY0uuLjw — deray (@deray) May 23, 2018

Former Democrat operative and NBC reporter Chuck Todd called the new policy “unAmerican”:

While new NFL anthem policy makes sense from business & Trump PR perspective and is certainly within league’s rights, there’s just something that feels unAmerican about forcing folks to abide what is, well, the league’s own politics. Feels like a band aid that won’t stick. — Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) May 23, 2018

Naturally, ESPN’s leading “woke” activist, Jemele Hill, had a few things to say:

Me, trying to find any NFL owners with common sense pic.twitter.com/tD1mp9Bql6 — Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 23, 2018

I’m very curious to see how many NFL players will be on the field for the anthem that first NFL weekend. — Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 23, 2018

The NFL: Constantly striving to come up with rules stupider than some of their previous rules https://t.co/FzXtfBAGqn — Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 22, 2018

Pro Football Talk took the occasion of the rule change to riles up fans of Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reed:

Given the NFL's new anthem policy, there's no longer any reason not to employ Colin Kaepernick or Eric Reid, right? https://t.co/ihdsRUfHrW — ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 23, 2018

… and warned that the player’s union will likely fight the rule:

NFL owners find an anthem "compromise" that the players may not regard as a "compromise" https://t.co/QbaWVlwcr7 — ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 23, 2018

PFT also did a little crystal ball reading on what might be said at a future political rally:

Coming soon, at a rally somewhere: “How about this one, folks? They didn’t want to make the players stand for the national anthem but you know what? We made them do it. We did it. Together. If we can do that together, what else can we do? Or should I say, ‘What can’t we do?'” — ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 23, 2018

A host of others took to Twitter to slam the NFL’s decision…

In the midst of this latest national anthem controversy, let us not forget that @Kaepernick7 is still being blackballed for taking a principled and peaceful stand for justice. — Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) May 23, 2018

No Kap: Obtuse NFL Owners Agree On New Plantation-ish Policy That Requires Players On The Field To Stand For Amerikkka's Asinine Anthem (Image via Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)https://t.co/r9tdOoFPjZ pic.twitter.com/RQb2bR4Guf — Bossip (@Bossip) May 23, 2018

I hope the NFL decides to completely stop all concession stand sales during the anthem as well. We wouldn’t want people buying a $10 beer and an $8 hot dog during our sacred anthem.

All TV camera crews must stop filming and direct attention at the flag too.

Just seems fair. — Sage Rosenfels (@SageRosenfels18) May 23, 2018

The @NFL is a case study of how orgs led exclusively by white men can do so much harm to its employees and product, even when they believe they are doing the right thing. Racism extracts a high price #BoycottNFL — Michael McBride (@pastormykmac) May 23, 2018

This is not normal folks. Pay attention to rights and protections disappearing each week. This is and unAmerican act taken to placate an authoritarian leader. https://t.co/xz5KJ8WLqP — Amy Siskind 🏳️‍🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) May 23, 2018

The NFL making players (and lets face it, it’s about black players) stand for the anthem is not only appeasing racists, it’s un-American. It’s the exact opposite of freedom. It’s the opposite of controlling your destiny and free expression. — Aaron T. Starks 🌊 (@StarkyLuv73) May 23, 2018

The NFL will now impose a fine on players who kneel during the National Anthem but don't worry, they're still ignoring their players with traumatic brain injuries. pic.twitter.com/rHX5sTJK8V — Jim Jefferies Show (@jefferiesshow) May 23, 2018

Banned in the NFL: kneeling during the anthem Not banned in the NFL: players who commit sexual/domestic assault — Max Burns (@themaxburns) May 23, 2018

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.