XFL Commissioner Reveals Why League Will Never Have to Worry About Anthem Protests
Few issues, if any, have spilled across sports and politics more vociferously than the topic of national anthem protests.
Starting in 2016 with then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and growing in scope in the ensuing years, the issue has been hot enough to even involve the president of the United States.
The NFL National Anthem Debate is alive and well again – can’t believe it! Isn’t it in contract that players must stand at attention, hand on heart? The $40,000,000 Commissioner must now make a stand. First time kneeling, out for game. Second time kneeling, out for season/no pay!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2018
It’s been chaos, to say the least. In the midst of chaos, however, there is always opportunity.
As the NFL grapples with declining ratings, a president’s ire and sagging public sentiment, two new leagues have started to make their move.
One is the Alliance of American Football, which will launch in February, shortly after the conclusion of the current NFL season.
The other is the XFL. If that league sounds familiar, that’s because the XFL originally launched in 2001 and was the brainchild of WWE mogul Vince McMahon.
In short, the league failed spectacularly as viewership plummeted following a promising inaugural game. The original XFL lasted only one season.
After laying dormant for more than 15 years, an XFL reboot was announced in January. The XFL will launch in 2020, a year after the AAF.
Unsurprisingly, one of the burning questions to emerge from the unveiling of the XFL reboot involved whether or not players were going to be protesting the anthem.
For his part, McMahon has already made his stance on the issue crystal clear.
Vince McMahon on his new football league requiring players to stand during the National Anthem: "It's a time honored tradition to stand."
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 25, 2018
“It’s a time honored tradition to stand,” McMahon was quoted as saying.
Now, XFL commissioner Oliver Luck has revealed why XFL fans will never have to worry about anthem protests or politics seeping into their entertainment.
“Vince feels strongly about (anthem protests), so that will be one of those things that will differentiate us from the NFL. Remember, unlike the NFL, we will not have a union when we start. There won’t be collective bargaining … we could say to a player, ‘Hey there is a clause in the contract that says I hereby agree to stand for the National Anthem,'” Luck said on former NFL linebacker A.J. Hawk’s “The Hawk Cast.”
The revelation that the XFL won’t have to deal with a players’ union all but cements that anthem protests will not be a part of the XFL.
“Period. End of story. That won’t have to be collectively bargained. My position would be as long as a player knows beforehand that that’s part of the contract, then that’s a workplace rule and we can enforce that workplace rule,” Luck said.
Luck, a former NFL quarterback and father of Indianapolis Colts star quarterback Andrew Luck, has the benefit of foresight. The NFL’s ongoing struggles were a virtually unforeseen “perfect storm” of anthem protests and people cutting their cable or satellite cord. On the issue of anthem protests, at least, the XFL has directly learned from the NFL’s failings.
Luck issued one last pseudo-warning to any prospective XFL players entertaining the idea of protesting the anthem.
“If you go into a contractual situation, knowing what the workplace rules are, you’re obligated to follow those rules,” Luck said. “Otherwise, there will be consequences.”
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