There are a lot of solutions that the NFL could have come up with regarding the National Anthem situation. I’m not sure the one they did come up with qualifies as a solution.

Pure and simple, this was a business decision. It was made by businessmen because it was good for business. But is it really good for the NFL as a whole? More importantly, is it really a solution?

I’m like most of the football-watching public; I don’t think it’s too much to ask everyone to display some sort of reverence when the anthem is being played. (I do think we get a little carried away over degrees of reverence, but that’s another story.)

But the new policy the owners have so triumphantly come up with states that any team personnel, including players, must “stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem” if they’re on the field at that time. The previous policy said that players “should” stand but did not make it required.

There’s no ambiguity there, right?

Despite what they will tell you about their “unanimous” vote, the owners left themselves plenty of wiggle room. What’s the fine going to be? Who pays it? Who decides what is appropriate and what is not? Some players can stay in the locker room, but is that a protest too?

But the bigger issue to me that they didn’t call in the NFLPA and ask them to be a part of the discussion. They didn’t, because they didn’t have to. It’s not a collectively bargained issue.

That doesn’t make right. When you are trying to find a solution that affects your bottom line and your workforce, it doesn’t help matters by unilaterally making a decision like this. At least make the NFLPA feel like it had a part in shaping this policy, even if it’s a small role.

You know why the NBA doesn’t have this problem? Because the owners, the players and the league got together and figured out a way to make it work. That’s a partnership. The owners own and the players play, but everyone has a stake in what’s right for the league.

The NFL should have taken the hint.