A new policy by the NFL that would fine players who don't “show respect for the flag" and stand during the national anthem isn't mirrored in the NHL, which has adopted a stance of indifference as it relates to potential acts of protest before games.
The NHL rule book does not specifically address player etiquette and requires only that an anthem — the "Star-Spangled Banner" and, in some arenas around the league, "O Canada" — must be played before games. It does not mention standing or being on the ice during the performance.
Despite commissioner Gary Bettman's stated preference for players to remain "apolitical" at the rink, the NHL hasn't suggested it would consider enacting a formal policy similar to the NFL's, which comes in response to players kneeling or participating in other demonstrations during anthems in the 2017 football season.
Since 2016, when former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick popularized the movement, hundreds of professional athletes have joined NFL players in an attempt to bring attention to police brutality and inequality for minorities through various displays of protest during the national anthem.
"Our players tend to focus on the games, which is what I think fans want," Bettman said in an interview in October, when several NHL players openly contemplated joining the protests. "There’s lots of places where you can exercise your commitment on either social or political causes, but I don’t think people come to games for that. ... We haven’t had to issue an edict. Our players are basically doing what they believe is correct and that is giving our fans and giving their teams focus right on the game itself.
"Before the game, after the game, on their off time we encourage them to be as socially active and involved as they’d like to be … and exercise their political choice."
J.T. Brown, a native of Minnesota and one of about 30 black players in the NHL, was the first and only NHL player who protested during the 2017-18 season, when he stood on the bench and raised his right fist in the air for the entire rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner."
Brown's demonstration was a response to President Donald Trump calling for NFL players who kneeled during the national anthem to be "fired."
Philadelphia's Wayne Simmonds and San Jose's Joel Ward also said they considered kneeling before NHL games, but opted against it out of concern national discussion had centered on the act of kneeling, rather than Kaepernick's original intention to encourage social justice reform.
At the time, the NHL Players' Association released a statement saying any NHL player would have the union's "full support" if he chose to make a "peaceful protest."
