NFL Players vs. President Trump

One of the most talked about things this NFL season was the anthem protests that began when 49er's QB Colin Kaepernick sat down during the playing of "The Star Spangled Banner" during a preseason game. The protest soon gained support league wide. This caused President Donald Trump to call for team owners to fire players who kneeled in protest during the national anthem.

The President's comments brought up the question: What if the NFL Owners agreed with Trump and took action against the players who protested the anthem. This although it may seem like a violation of our 1st Amendment right to free-speech it is more of a labor-relations issue.

This becomes a labor-relations issue rather than a 1st Amendment one because NFL franchises are considered private companies and NFL players belong to unions that negotiate contracts on behalf of their members even though pro football players perform on game day at sports stadiums that are financed by public, taxpayer money.

Despite the best efforts of the President, NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell doesn't expect the issue to go away saying in a September Sports Illustrated quote that “We live in an imperfect society. A public discourse makes us strong.”

READ MORE: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-first-amendment-and-restricting-professional-athlete-protests