"Cities need to stand up in this country, and many mayors have stood up in this country against this tyrant," Kenney said. "He is trying to turn this country into a dictatorship by ignoring the courts and by saying and doing what he wants, by ignoring the Department of Justice ... and in the end this will all come to a conclusion, and it won't be a good ending for him."
Is anyone legally required to stand for the National Anthem? No, unless you're in the military.. Daily Breeze
Q Are we required to stand during the playing of the national anthem?
— V.S., Carson
A Standing while “The Star-Spangled Banner” is played is customary, but there is no mandate to stand. The city of Baltimore — where the song was composed to commemorate a battle victory — passed a law 100 years ago that required musicians to stand for the song, but it didn’t indicate what the audience could (or could not) do. In 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a law that made “The Star Spangled Banner” our official national anthem.
If someone kneels, or takes some other posture when the national anthem is played, it is part of our right to freedom of expression. There is, however, a federal statute (36 U.S. Code Section 301) that sets forth that individuals in uniform, members of the armed forces and veterans, as well as all other persons present, “should face the flag and stand at attention” (with various salutes suggested) when the national anthem is being played and the flag is present.
The real question in all of this is why the President of the United States is trying to force his own views on the NFL. Is he jealous that his own foray into being an owner of a football team ended so badly and he now takes pleasure in trying to force the NFL to bend to his will? It actually was an old policy of the NFL to have the players stay in the locker room during the playing of the national anthem; that changed in 2009 when the government started paying the NFL for pro-military acttivities. The new NFL policy allows players who want to protest during the national anthem to do so in the locker room, essentially staying off the field as they USED TO DO BEFORE 2009.
Trump is extremely divisive. The very next day he tweeted "No escaping to the Locker Rooms!". Really? He's in charge? Is the The Trump Football League now? Business Insider
"This is fear of a diminished bottom line," Long tweeted. "It's also fear of a president turning his base against a corporation. This is not patriotism. Don't get it confused. These owners don't love America more than the players demonstrating and taking real action to improve it. It also lets you, the fan, know where our league stands. I will continue to be committed to affecting change with my platform. I'm someone who's always looked at the anthem as a declaration of ideals, including the right to peaceful protest. Our league continues to fall short on this issue."
