“We can’t have the inmates running the prison.”
In the Workplace of the NFL, the Players Hold the Upper Hand
Soon, team owners will realize it.
October 31, 2017
John Leyba/Getty Images
Summary.
Politicians, National Football League team owners, and fans alike seem baffled and perplexed by NFL players’ protests during the national anthem at the start of football games. While the heart of the issue is the complicated topic of race and American policing, that core issue has gotten all tangled up with another one: NFL players as “workers” who are “employed” by owners and fans. But this is the wrong frame. NFL players aren’t interchangeable laborers; they’re skilled talent, with unique training and experience. And talent is indispensable. Owners and investors in lots of industries, not just football, are going to have to get used to talent, not capital, being in control.