Atlanta Falcons Owner: Players Have A Right To Kneel

ATLANTA, GA – Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank is siding with his players on the issue of whether to kneel or stand during the national anthem. The controversial issue, which started last season with one player, has spread this year as several players on multiple teams have taken a knee during the anthem. Critics, including President Donald Trump, are chagrinned.

Via Twitter, Trump has put pressure on the league and its owners to come down hard on players who choose to silently protest by kneeling during the singing of the anthem. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

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On Wednesday, Blank left no ambiguity as to whose side he was on when it came to standing or kneeling for the anthem, telling a reporter with WAGA-TV that "players have a right to express themselves … in a respectful way.”

He added that for him, the issue was "how do we not just express ourselves, but how do we move it forward, actually make a change."

Blank's comments came one day after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell issued a directive that all players in the league stand for the anthem. Blank said mandating that players stand “runs against the grain of the NFL.”

NFL team owners are set to decide whether players will be required to stand for the anthem after Trump tweeted that tax laws could be used against the league if players continued to kneel. “Why is the NFL getting massive tax breaks while at the same time disrespecting our Anthem, Flag and Country? Change tax law!” he wrote in a since-deleted tweet.

But the league is no longer a nonprofit after giving up its tax exempt status in 2015.

The issue has become unavoidable for the NFL: Blank was seen on the sidelines two weeks ago standing in solidarity with his players before a game. Trump has chided NFL owners — including Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who knelt with his players — about the anthem issue.

NFL owners will convene in New York for their fall meeting on Oct. 17 and 18 to discuss the anthem issue, which has divided football fans across America.

Eyes On NFL; Players Defy Trump, Protest At Sunday Games

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank stands with his players during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)