Pink sings the national anthem prior to Super Bowl LII between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made it clear his players are expected to stand for the national anthem, and they're not allowed to stay in the locker room.
"We've always had written policy in place," Jones said. "Our policy is that you stand at the anthem, toeing the line."
The NFL recently adopted a new policy demanding players stand, but permitting them to remain inside if they don't wish to participate. Last week, the league and player's union agreed to suspend the rule while an agreement's worked out.
Patriots Matthew Slater and Devin McCourty have been very involved in the players' social justice initiatives.
"We all know how that issue has affected our league, our country," Slater said. "As a Christian, I believe it's my responsibility to show people love of Christ and how I deal with him in my relationships, to invest in our youth, to invest in people and the human side of things, and that's the way I'm going to handle it. I can only speak to how I'm going to handle it."
"A lot of what I've focused on has been what you've seen throughout the offseason, doing different things, a DA forum, different op-eds," McCourty said. "That'll continue to be my focus. With the Anthem policy, we'll see how it comes out and what happens, but the work off the field to me has been very encouraging, throughout the league, seeing guys in different cities doing things."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports