XFL Players Who Kneel During the Anthem Will Face ‘Consequences’, Commissioner Says

(Bloomberg) -- Vince McMahon’s reborn pro football league launches this weekend, and while it’s unclear what the XFL’s football will look like, its commissioner has driven home one point: Athletes will stand for the national anthem.

“Players will stand and respect the flag,” Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer Oliver Luck said on the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast. Asked what would happen if they didn’t, he responded: “There’ll be consequences.”

The eight-team XFL, which McMahon is funding himself, launches on Saturday. The league has media partnerships with Fox and ABC/ESPN, a few different rules than the NFL, and has promised to embrace technology and gambling in a new way.

It won’t be easy. A number of leagues have tried and failed to build a viable alternative for fans during the NFL and college football offseason. McMahon himself has tried before: An earlier league, also called the XFL, folded after its inaugural 2001 season.

The NFL was criticized by President Donald Trump when quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem in an effort to call attention to police brutality against African Americans. McMahon’s family, meanwhile, has ties to the Trump administration. His wife, Linda, was the head of the Small Business Administration, a post she departed last year to chair a pro-Trump super PAC.

McMahon’s business empire could use a win given the struggles at World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., where he serves as chairman and CEO. WWE shares fell to their level since May 2018 on Thursday after the company delivered a disappointing forecast. Also, two of its top executives were ousted last week.

Notable players on XFL rosters include former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Landry Jones and former Ohio State star Cardale Jones. The coaches include June Jones, Bob Stoops and Jim Zorn.

“One of the things that is really neat about all of our players is they’ve all got a little chip on their shoulder,” Luck said. “Somewhere along the way, they feel like they haven’t been given their proper due, that some scout missed on them or whatever. That, I think, is going to be a great motivator for them as they go into the season.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Eben Novy-Williams in New York at enovywilliam@bloomberg.net;Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum

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