Jerry Jones: Cowboys can’t stay in locker room for anthem

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has doubled down on insisting that his players stand for the national anthem, saying he wouldn’t support anyone who chose to stay in the locker room.

Jones was speaking Wednesday at his annual news conference to open training camp in California. He became the first owner to declare publicly that his players would not be allowed to stay off the field during the anthem.

Jones said, “Our policy is that you stand at the anthem, toe on the line.”

Last week, the NFL and the players’ union agreed to suspend the rule approved by owners this spring that gave players the option of staying in the locker room while allowing teams to discipline players who took a knee or sat during the anthem.

Jones said “everybody knows where I stand” on the anthem issue. Last season, he was the first owner to declare that he would bench a player for protesting during the anthem.