Roger Goodell, Several NFL Owners, 'Handful' of Players Talked Anthem Protests

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly met with a collection of owners and players Tuesday night in New York City for two hours after teams across the league engaged in displays of unity during the national anthem in response to inflammatory remarks made by President Donald Trump. 

Speaking to reporters Thursday, New York Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas explained why the meeting was necessary. 

"You got to see opinions from the owners and from the players as well," Casillas said, according to ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan. "Stuff like that is very good, very proactive. Thank Trump for saying what he said because without him saying that, (1) the whole league wouldn't have been so collectively together, (2) we would've never had a meeting."

New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty, who was present for the meeting along with brother Jason McCourty of the Cleveland Browns, termed it a "very unique opportunity" for players and owners to have an open dialogue.

"I think it was just a great situation and opportunity that we could all sit there and just talk, and throw everything out there," he said, per Raanan. "I think both sides got to walk away with an understanding of how each other felt." 

McCourty added he thinks players need to keep their focus on protesting social injustice and racial inequality rather than engage in a war of words with Trump after the president called a player who kneels for the anthem a "son of a bitch" who "disrespects our flag." 

"We have to make sure this whole thing doesn't turn into the NFL vs. Donald Trump," McCourty said, per Raanan. "He is whatever he is. You can probably have an hour of trying to describe that and everything he is. But I think as players, we have an agenda of what we think can be done better, and we're trying to use our platform. I think we have to stick to that."

According to Raanan, owners at the meeting included the Philadelphia Eagles' Jeffrey Lurie, New England Patriots' Robert Kraft, New York Giants' John Mara, Miami Dolphins' Stephen Ross, Pittsburgh Steelers' Art Rooney II, Jacksonville Jaguars' Shahid Khan and the Cleveland Browns' Jimmy and Dee Haslam. 

As far as Week 4 demonstrations are concerned, the Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers are among the teams that have said they plan to stand together for the national anthem.