Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says his players will stand for the national anthem when the upcoming NFL season starts but wants President Donald Trump to stop talking about the issue, ESPN reports.

 

“His interest in what we’re doing is problematic, from my chair, and I would say, in general, the owners’ chair,” Jones said Wednesday at a news conference. “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.”

Jones said that the players won’t have the option to stay in the locker rooms during the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner” and will have to stand on the field. He rejected an NFL policy that would fine players who sat or knelt during the anthem. 

 

“Our policy is that you stand at the anthem, toe on the line,” he said, per ESPN. “But as far as the Dallas Cowboys are concerned, you know where I stand. Our team knows where I stand on the issue, and that’s where we are.”

 

Earlier this month, the league and the NFL Players Association announced that the policy wouldn’t be implemented until a resolution is agreed upon. 

“The NFL and NFLPA, through recent discussions, have been working on a resolution to the anthem issue. In order to allow this constructive dialogue to continue, we have come to a standstill agreement on the NFLPA’s grievance and on the NFL’s anthem policy. No new rules relating to the anthem will be issued or enforced for the next several weeks while these confidential discussions are ongoing,” the statement read.

Some social media users were quick to call out Jones for forcing his players to stand during the anthem, while others were in support of the owner’s decision.

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