Senator Duckworth re: the NFL anthem policy -

[RestoreAmerica2020]

6. All NFL players NEED to show solidarity..protest by all taking a knee or

... All stay in locker room during anthem, a practice prior to 9/11.

[CNN.comSept. 25 2017]

...... players observed the anthem after 9/11, and during Super Bowl games. But it wasn't until 2009 that players were mandated to be on the field for the song.


[Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News
SEP 26, 2017]
How the Pentagon Paid for NFL Displays of Patriotism
A massive show at a National Football League game in Cleveland in 2008, one year before the arrival of "paid patriotism." (Wikimedia Commons)
A key component is missing from the current controversial discussion surrounding football players and the national anthem. In the recent days of argument over whether NFL players have the right to protest racial inequality and systemic injustice in the United States, few have brought up the fact that less than a decade ago, professional football players didn’t even appear on the field during the national anthem.

That changed in 2009, as the Department of Defense poured millions of dollars into the NFL in exchange for displays of patriotism during games. “Until 2009, no NFL player stood for the national anthem because players actually stayed in the locker room as the anthem played,” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith explained in 2016. “The players were moved to the field during the national anthem because it was seen as a marketing strategy to make the athletes look more patriotic. The United States Department of Defense paid the National Football League $5.4 million between 2011 and 2014, and the National Guard $6.7 million between 2013 and 2015 to stage onfield patriotic ceremonies as part of military-recruitment budget ...