More than 70 percent of members of American football’s governing body voted to dismiss the policy that required players to “stay respectful” during the song. About 30 percent voted to keep the policy in place.
“We know this is a very divisive issue in our country and around the world,” American football president Cindy Parlow Cone told reporters.
“So it didn’t surprise me that our members weren’t 100% one way or another.”
The U.S. women’s national team positioned itself as a group during the anthem before their SheBelieves Cup match on Feb. 21 after some knelt at the tournament’s opening on Feb. 18.
Team members said they had passed the protest phase of the anthem debate, but that they are still committed to fighting to end systemic racism.
National Football League player Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the anthem in 2016 to protest racial injustice. Other players joined until the team owners banned the practice. This policy was reversed in 2020 during a wave of national protests over racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd in May.
This board vote required confirmation from the broadest governing body of American football, which it received on Saturday.