The NFL Players’ Association released a statement initially in response to Pence, but NFLPA officials noted that it had many applications on the day: The First Amendment doesn’t necessarily protect them from being fired by their employer, however.) (Also, once more, so we’re clear: Players do have a First Amendment right to say what they wish without fear of government intervention. But if you’re going to allow some forms of “disrespect” in your workplace and not others, well, you’re just opening yourself up for exactly the kind of ugly legal challenge the NFL tries to evade at every turn. These are pedantic questions, of course, and you could argue that fans are “exempt” from Jones’ directive because he’s not paying them. One wonders how Jones might enforce that “respect” off the field - will fans in attendance be required to stand with hands over hearts? Will the Cowboys avoid wearing flag patches on their uniforms, or ditch the use of the giant horizontally-held flags so common across the NFL, all of which are in direct contradiction to U.S. Of course, one person’s disrespect of the flag is another’s peaceful, non-confrontational speech. “We’re going to respect the flag and I’m going to create the perception of it.” “If there is anything disrespecting the flag, then we will not play. To date, the NFL has used that soft language to permit players to protest without immediate recrimination, with NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart saying “our players have a right to express themselves.” Jones is indicating that the Cowboys will follow a far more hardline philosophy. It’s worth noting that only the first “must” in that paragraph pertains to the playing of the anthem itself everything else is either a “should,” a “must” that’s undercut by the last sentence, or a violation that “may” result in punishment. But there is no question in my mind that the National Football League and the Dallas Cowboys are going to stand up for the flag. We know that there is a serious debate in this country about those issues. I know the vice president did leave because in his opinion, the teams were. We cannot in the NFL, in any way, give the implication that we tolerate disrespecting the flag,” Jones told reporters after the game. Later in the day, following a last-second loss at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke at length on the protests. But the political brushfire flared right back up again in Week 5 thanks to Vice President Mike Pence’s highly publicized walkout from an Indianapolis Colts game, a protest of the protests apparently orchestrated by President Trump himself. Controversy over protests during the national anthem simmered down in Week 4 after a leaguewide spread following President Trump’s September criticism.