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American Football Chargers' Okung slams Cowboys anthem over US national anthem policy

LA CHARGERS star Russell Okung slammed Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones today for forcing his players to be pitchside for the United States national anthem.

Jones revealed on Wednesday that the team policy for the coming season would be to “stand at the anthem, toe on the line.”

The NFL and the players’ union agreed last week to suspend the rule approved by owners this spring that gave players the option of staying in the locker room while allowing teams to discipline players who took a knee or sat during the anthem.

Okung took to social media to call out the owner, accusing him of bowing down US president Donald Trump.

He said: “I never thought I’d see the day the mighty Jerry Jones would succumb to Trump’s pressure. His manoeuvring around the anthem issue reveals how afraid the @NFL is by the movement @Kaepernick7 started. His 1st response to Trump was just as disingenuous.”

Miami Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills said yesterday that he “wouldn’t expect anything different,” from Jones.

“We’ve got to clean up how things are looking,” Stills added, following the Dolphins’ first training camp practice on Thursday.

The sixth-year pro is part of the debate because he kneeled during the anthem the past two seasons and has been vocal discussing social injustice issues that inspired the protest.

Stills would prefer the league had no anthem policy so players could do as they wished and said he’ll wait until a policy is set to decide what he’ll do during the anthem this season.

Three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jurrell Casey also plans to continue protesting but wants people to stop seeing this as an anthem issue. The Tennessee Titans lineman said he will continue protesting by raising his fist at the end of the anthem.

“The biggest thing that we have right now is the way the justice system is set up for minorities,” said Casey, whose wife is a lawyer. “And that’s just what the whole battle is about, trying to bring light to enlighten the things that’s going on around the minority community.”

Dolphins defensive end Robert Quinn, who protested during the anthem while with the Rams last year, was asked following his first Dolphins practice what the league should do about a policy.

“I’ll just say one thing. It’s called freedom of speech,” he said. “Simple as that.”

Quinn, Stills and others have been targets of criticism for their protests, which they believe have been misconstrued as unpatriotic.

But Stills was nominated by teammates last year for the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, a reflection of his standing in locker room. His latest community project is with the nationwide OK Programme, which mentors young black men.

“I think I’ve done a good job of trying to figure out ways to continue to use my voice and platform for the right things,” Stills said, “and put the messaging back in the right direction.”

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