As the NFL rolled out its new national anthem policy mandating that all players on the field stand during the song on Wednesday, New York Jets chairman Christopher Johnson said his team would not punish any player who protests.
“I do not like imposing any club-specific rules,” Johnson told Newsday on Wednesday. “If somebody [on the Jets] takes a knee, that fine will be borne by the organization, by me, not the players. I never want to put restrictions on the speech of our players.”
He said he does prefer that players stand, but that decision is not up to him.
“There are some big, complicated issues that we’re all struggling with, and our players are on the front lines. I don’t want to come down on them like a ton of bricks, and I won’t,” Johnson added. “There will be no club fines or suspensions or any sort of repercussions. If the team gets fined, that’s just something I’ll have to bear.”
League owners voted to adopt the new policy, which says that if players do not want to participate in the anthem, they can remain in the locker room. But if they are on the field, they must stand or their club will face a fine from the league. Individual clubs can also issue their own fines.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that owners voted unanimously to rescind the old rules and approve the new ones. But Jed York of the San Francisco 49ers said his team abstained from the vote, according to the New York Times.
Johnson had been critical of the new anthem policy, according to Newsday, but he voted for it because he plans to pay any fines himself and will not sanction players.
“I have a really good relationship with the players, and I hope we can keep that going and I trust that we will,” he told the newspaper. “I’m so proud of our players and their efforts to date. I think that is the most important thing to get across. I could not be more proud of the guys.”