*By Conor White*
The former NFL star Victor Cruz said the league's new rule requiring players on the field to stand during the national anthem exacerbates an us-against-them dynamic between owners and players.
"It just doesn't make sense to me," Cruz said in an interview Thursday with Cheddar. "I just don't understand why you're retracting a player's right to even protest or do anything that you wanted to do. It just feels like you're continuing the narrative that you're the player, and we're the hierarchy, and you have to listen to us, and pay attention, and do as we say."
The former New York Giants wide receiver vocalized what some current players have said they are feeling.
Last week, the NFL announced it would fine a team an undisclosed amount if any of its players were to kneel during the playing of the national anthem. Players can stay in the locker room during the anthem if they do not want to stand.
In an [interview with ESPN](http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/211882/victor-cruz-youve-got-to-respect-the-flag) in 2016, Cruz had said the American flag needed to be respected, and that he thought players should stand with their teammates during the anthem "regardless of how you feel about things that are going on in America."
Now, the 31 year old said NFL players should be able to express themselves.
"I still stand by those players who are protesting, fighting for a change, or fighting for the right things to be done, not only in the NFL, but across the world," Cruz said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/victor-cruz-makes-an-impact-off-the-football-field).
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Jan. 7, 2019.
Will “wiill” Sims, in-game leader of the NobleGG team that recently qualified for the NPL preseason, started gaming as a League of Legends player in 2012. But his League of Legends skills didn’t foreshadow his later esports success. Sims talked with Cheddar Sports about his unlikely path from casual gamer to PUBG pro.
It's no secret that much of the popularity of Epic Games' smash hit Fortnite comes from its status as a free-to-play game. Now, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter says two other surprising titles may make the switch: Overwatch and Call of Duty.
It's become par for the course for Epic Games to release game-changing items in Fortnite just before tournaments. Ghost Gaming's Kayuun shares his worries for what that means for competitive Fortnite.
In a sign of how attitudes around gambling have changed as laws around it have softened, the NFL announced its first-ever partnership with a gambling company, naming Caesars as the league's official casino sponsor. Chris Holdren, chief marketing officer for Caesars, told Cheddar that the sponsorship represents the beginning of a relationship that could eventually become one where the NFL is directly endorsing sports betting.
Bull riding isn't just for the rodeo, anymore. It's coming to a major city near you ー and streaming online ー thanks largely to the efforts of Colorado-based Professional Bull Riders (PBR). And PBR CEO Sean Gleason told Cheddarthe organization has plenty more tricks up its sleeve to keep its momentum going.
The markets opened up sharply higher on Friday after Thursday's big sell-off. The turnaround was due in large part to investor optimism over the upcoming U.S.-China trade talks but also the December jobs report. The U.S. economy added 314,000 jobs last month, topping the 184,000 jobs expected. Plus, Professional Bull Riders CEO Sean Gleason and bull rider Tanner Bryne stopped by to chat about growing bull riding in the U.S. in an ever-changing media landscape.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Jan. 4, 2019.
Fitness and beauty booking tool Mindbody is planning to make a play for the next big thing in wellness ー on-demand video, CEO Rick Stollmeyer told Cheddar on Thursday. "You can expect us to be playing in that space because we think that the on-demand and streaming video revolution hitting the fitness space is a big breakthrough," Stollmeyer said.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019.
