Jets chairman: Team won't discipline protesters, will pay any fines

It appears the NFL isn't as unified on its new national anthem policy as the unanimous vote for it might suggest.

Owners approved a policy Wednesday that requires any player or team personnel to stand for the anthem if they opt to come to the sidelines, with an option to remain in the locker room. If a player does protest during the anthem, they could face other internal discipline and their team will be subject to fines.

New York Jets chairman Christopher Johnson won't take this route, however, and is willing to cover any financial punishments his players incur.

"I do not like imposing any club-specific rules," Johnson told Bob Glauber of Newsday. "If somebody (on the Jets) takes a knee, that fine will be borne by the organization, by me, not the players. I never want to put restrictions on the speech of our players. Do I prefer that they stand? Of course. But I understand if they felt the need to protest.

"There are some big, complicated issues that we're all struggling with, and our players are on the front lines. I don't want to come down on them like a ton of bricks, and I won't. There will be no club fines or suspensions or any sort of repercussions. If the team gets fined, that's just something I'll have to bear."

Johnson has been a vocal advocate for free expression from NFL players, previously calling the idea of forcing players to stand "a fantastically bad idea."