*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).
Cheddar's Need2Know Podcast for Thurs., June 18, 2020.
Cheddar's Need2Know Podcast for Wed., June 17, 2020.
Cheddar's Need2Know Podcast for Tues., June 16, 2020.
Traditionally around this time of the year, advertisers and agencies attend hours of pitches from media companies featuring their most promising TV shows and marquee events for the upcoming year. Like so many things in 2020, this year is different.
Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes is among more than a dozen NFL stars who united to send a passionate video message to the league about racial inequality.
The NBA’s Board of Governors has approved a 22-team format for restarting the league season in late July at the Disney campus near Orlando, Florida.
The baseball players’ association has given management a wide-ranging response to a 67-page proposed set of protocols for a season to be played during the coronavirus pandemic.
NASCAR drivers will be returning to Darlington Raceway this weekend in South Carolina, but even with those loud engines, it'll be a much quieter racetrack. After a two month suspension due to COVID-19, the racing organization will hold it's first race without fans in the stands or high fives in Victory Lane. Jill Gregory, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at NASCAR, talked to Cheddar Friday.
A person familiar with the decision tells The Associated Press that Major League Baseball owners have given the go-ahead to making a proposal to the players’ union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans.
Under 1% of Major League Baseball employees tested positive for antibodies to COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Results were based on 5,603 completed records from employees of 26 clubs.
