NFL players being required to stand during the national anthem is a free-speech issue, as it would be to anyone in the stadium.
So let’s extend this ruling to the fans as well. Anyone using their phone, talking to a neighbor, walking back from a concession stand or bathroom, etc. during the anthem should be shown the gate.
Protesting an injustice is patriotism and, as I heard someone point out, “patriotism is not compulsory.”
David Alan Chatburn, Bonney Lake, U.S. Navy 1966-70