Texas governor Greg Abbott responded to the NFL threat about bathroom bill. He said that he would pass the law to require players to stand for the national anthem.
NFL threatened Texas about its bathroom bill which force people to use bathrooms which correspond to their sex as stated on birth certificate. The league considered the bill as non-inclusive and discriminatory. Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has responded promptly to the NFL decision, saying there is no conflict with between the Texas Senate Bill and NFL inclusiveness.
Governor Abbott also made his point in the Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” on Thursday, Sept. 16. He said that NFL should govern football, not politics.
He pointed that NFL has its own problem which it must solve, including the violence against woman conducted by its players and some players refuse to stand for the national anthem. Therefore, NFL should not meddle in the state business and how the state run its politics.
"The NFL has no business whatsoever trying to get into the politics of various states,” Governor Abbott said. He later stated hat he might pass the bill in Texas to mandate all NFL players to stand and put their hand on their heart for the national anthem.
The governor has made his point as reported by Dallas Morning News. He said that his comment was a hyperbole to respond to the NFL threat.
According to constitutional law, forcing someone to pledge allegiance to the United States in unconstitutional. One of the most popular case is the West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette in 1943.
The case involving the State’s law to require children to pledge allegiance to the U.S. flags and constitution at school. A group of Jehovah Witness filed complaint to protest the state’s legislation which was a violation to the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The nine judges voted 6-3 to protect student from being forced to pledge allegiance to the United States.
Governor Abbott made the points with his hyperbolic statement as also discussed by Molly Qerim, Stephen A Smith and Max Kellerman in the ESPN’s “First Take” below:
