Were 3 NFL teams suspended for staying in locker room during anthem? Fact check
Rumours are spreading online that claim the NFL has suspended three teams that stayed in their lockers rooms during the national anthem.
The rumours come amid demonstrations by various NFL players who took to kneeling during the national anthem in protests against the oppression of people of colour – an issue that has been subsequently exacerbated when the President of the United States Donald Trump claimed in a tweet that players who participated in such demonstrations should be either suspended or fired.
However, the claim that three NFL teams have been suspended for staying in the locker room during the national anthem are false. The claim comes courtesy of an article published on Freedum Junk Shun that reads –
Three NFL teams thought it would be a good idea to stay in the locker room for the National Anthem. They were wrong. .
The Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers, all teams with predominantly black rosters, stayed in the locker rooms while the National Anthem was being performed, breaking a league rule of conduct:
“The teams involved knew that they were required to be on the field at that time and how their players m”should” respect the flag. Playerts aren’t held to the standard because of the wording, placed there early this season by the player’s union.
The committee for football operations has decided that those teams will sit out their next three games, giving the teams they were to play the automatic win. They will also be forbidden from the playoffs and the first round of next year’s draft.
The league wants to be clear: Respect your flag.”
There are going to be a slew of ticked-off liberals over this one.
However, these claims are not true. Firstly, the article asserts that both the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars stayed in the locker room during their recent game – however at the time the article was published this was simply not true since both teams did appear for the anthem during their most recent game, with many players on both sides kneeling down during the anthem.
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Secondly, three teams stayed in their locker rooms at the time of writing during their most recent fixture (but not the three teams mentioned in the fake article.) –
these were the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans. However, as ESPN reported, the NFL is not considering any punitive action against either the players or teams, including fines or suspensions.
The site that published the claims, FreedumJunkShun.com has a disclaimer towards the footer of its articles that reads –
We believe that there is nothing more precious than the mind of an aging conservative. Here we gather a boatload of bullhonkey, works of pure satirical fiction, to give the fist-shakers of the world a reason to hate. Reality is often in the eye of the beholder. You won’t find any of it here.
As such, the story is certainly false and should not be circulated as genuine.
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