Cowboys owner: NFL told me to stop talking about anthem

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Sunday that he was told by the NFL to stop talking about his team’s policy on standing during the national anthem, according to the Star Telegram in Fort Worth. 

Jones on Sunday reportedly told several local television stations that he could not talk about the anthem during previously scheduled interviews because the league told him to stop speaking publicly about it.

He did speak about other matters during interviews. 

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Jones last week said athletes on his team are required to stand during the national anthem, despite the NFL’s recent freeze on the policy that would have punished kneeling. 

“Our policy is you stand during the anthem, toe on the line,” Jones said at a press conference. 

President Trump, who has repeatedly denounced the practice of athletes kneeling in protest during the national anthem at sporting events, lauded Jones’s policy on Twitter. 

“Way to go Jerry,” the president tweeted. “This is what the league should do!” 

Way to go Jerry. This is what the league should do! https://t.co/yEP1jK57xi

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2018

The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) in July filed a grievance against the NFL over the league’s policy requiring players to remain standing during the national anthem. The union said in a statement that the new policy “infringes on player rights,” prompting the NFL to reassess it. 

The NFL said in a statement that it was “working on a resolution to the anthem issue” with the NFLPA. 

Jones also said last week that he does not believe it is appropriate for Trump to intervene in the NFL’s anthem policy. 

“His interest in what we’re doing is problematic, from my chair, and I would say in general the owners’ chair,” the owner told reporters. “It’s unprecedented, if you really think about it.”

“We feel strongly about how we deal with it and we’ll do so accordingly, but, yes, I, like everybody, would like for it to go away,” he continued. 

The NFL enacted the original policy mandating the practice of standing in response to widespread protests in which athletes knelt during the anthem. 

The athletes said they were kneeling to draw attention to police brutality against black communities.