Cleveland police are walking back their refusal to hold the American flag at the Browns NFL opener, according to Friday reports.
Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams announced that police will run out into the stadium with Browns players and hold the American flag at Sunday’s NFL opener, FOX 8 Cleveland reported Friday. This comes after the city’s largest police union announced Sept. 1 that the rank-in-file officers would refuse to attend in protest against a group of Browns players refusing to stand for the national anthem before an Aug. 21 preseason game. The group of players said they only knelt and prayed.
“This is simply not the viewpoint of all of our officers,” Williams said of the boycott. “As law enforcement officers, we took an oath to serve and to protect. We protect the rights of all citizens to express their views as protected by the First Amendment of our constitution, no matter the issue. Our American flag is an important symbol to our great country and we, as officers, will continue to salute it.”
However, the conflict has resulted in a change for the ceremony. Instead of holding the flag alongside other first responders, police will run out of the locker room tunnel alongside Browns players, sources told Cleveland.com.
The police chief of neighboring Mahoning County ordered his deputies to stop working security at Browns games last week. He claimed he had long considered the order, but that the Aug. 21 protest made the final decision for him, FOX reported.
The outcry from both police and NFL fans seems to have been effective, as the players have refrained from kneeling during the anthem since their original protest.
Send Tips: anders@dailycallernewsfoundation.org
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.