NFL Commissioner says 'everyone should stand for the National Anthem'

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said that the league thinks "everyone should stand for the national anthem. That's an important part of our policy."

However, he stopped short of saying it is a requirement. Mr Goddell noted: "Our players will state to you publicly they are not doing this in any way to be disrespectful to the flag."

"But they also understand how it's being interpreted," he said.

He was speaking at a press conference in New York and addressing the latest controversy over players kneeling while the national anthem is sung ahead of all games.

Donald Trump took to Twitter once again this morning about the NFL, posting that because the league would "not force" players to stand it was "total disrespect for our great country!"

The President has tweeted about the kneeling protest controversy several times in the past few weeks.

The controversy arose from the president's appearance at a Huntsville, Alabama political rally on 22 September.

Mr Trump had said “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b**** off the field right now! Out! He’s fired,'" using his now infamous line from his reality television programme The Apprentice.

He was referring to NFL player Colin Kaepernick, who has no clear connection to the special election for US Senate seat or Republican Luther Strange's bid for the seat that Mr Trump was there to support.

Kaepernick, currently a free agent without a team, was the first player to kneel during the national anthem ahead of a game while he played for the San Francisco 49ers nearly 16 months ago.

He said: "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour."

His protest stemmed from a slew of police-involved shooting deaths of several young black men and teenagers across the US like Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. It sparked controversy among fans.

Mr Trump later said the recent "protests have nothing to do with race" and that players who took a knee during the national anthem at games on 24 September were disrespecting the flag and the country.

It was not until after Mr Trump's Alabama rally remarks when several more players throughout the league began taking a knee as well or locked arms with teammates - white and black - during the anthem.

The Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans opted to stay in the locker room ahead of their game that week.

The NFL had issued a statement in response to Mr Trump's initial comments that said: "divisive comments...demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities."

Even NFL owners who are vocal supporters of the President like the New England Patriots' Bob Kraft disapproved of the President's comments. Mr Kraft said he was "deeply disappointed."

Mr Trump and surrogates held to the line that kneeling during the anthem was an insult to the US military and the country, however, several veterans and members of Gold Star families - those who have lost a loved one in the military - have spoken out against this notion.

Mr Goodell also said the NFL is "not looking to get into politics, but what we're looking to do is to continue to give people a focus on football."