The NFL has reportedly told Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to stop talking publicly about the league’s tenuous policy to require players on the field to stand for the national anthem.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Monday that Jones was instructed by the league office not speak on the matter less than a week after he became the first NFL owner to publicly back the controversial anthem policy, insisting that his players stand for the Star-Spangled Banner and declaring that he wouldn’t support anyone who chose to stay in the locker room.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says his players must stand on field for anthem Read more

Jones informed several local TV stations who had booked him for Sunday night interviews from the Cowboys’ pre-season training camp in California that he’d been barred from speaking on his zero-tolerance policy, prompting the Dallas-area Fox affiliate to cancel their hit.

The outspoken billionaire owner of the NFL’s richest team had left nothing to question when asked about his stance last week, saying: “Our policy is that you stand at the anthem, toe on the line.”

The NFL and the players’ union have agreed to suspend the rule approved by owners this spring that gave players the option of staying in the locker room while allowing teams to discipline players who took a knee or sat during the anthem.

Last year, Jones was the first owner to declare that he would bench a player for protesting during the traditional pre-game playing of the song. Two of his players – defensive linemen David Irving and Damontre Moore – raised their fists briefly as the Star-Spangled Banner ended but weren’t disciplined.

“I obviously wouldn’t dare speak for any of the other owners, much less in general about 31 other owners,” Jones said then. “As far as the Dallas Cowboys are concerned, you know where I stand. Our team knows where I stand on the issue.”

The issue erupted in 2016 when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began protesting police brutality, social injustice and racial inequality by kneeling during the national anthem. The demonstration spread to other players and teams.

The NFL started requiring players to be on the field for the anthem in 2009, the year it signed a marketing deal with the military. Jones had already owned the Cowboys for 20 years when players moved from the locker room to the field for the anthem.

Jones said he understood the point of view of players who say they aren’t protesting the flag or the military.

“This is a case where we need to in my mind check that and be real clear that it is, the priority is about the flag, and be real clear about that,” Jones said. “Sometimes it’s best to just be real clear and succinct so that nobody misunderstands. I think that’s our case.”