The National Football League should have a formal rule that its players stand when the national anthem is being played or performed, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Wednesday.
"I think they should stand," Sessions told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" program. "It should be a formal rule. They should be able to say to the players, if you are on our field in our game, paid by us, you should respect the flag and the national anthem."
In fact, all Americans should, "as a matter of propriety and love of country, should not place their political views in a situation where you don't stand for the pledge or the national anthem," Sessions said. "Everybody should do that. The president is exactly right. To say no matter what you think of Hillary Clinton or President Trump, you should stand when the national anthem is played."
On Tuesday, Sessions announced that the Justice Department is ramping up support for students, including conservatives, who sue universities claiming their free-speech rights have been violated.
"No place in the country should we have more robust discussion than on college campuses," Sessions said. "I truly believe in talking to a lot of young college graduates that we have drifted way too far in controlling speech. I wanted to make that point, number one. Number two, we can intervene and will intervene in various lawsuits where we believe students are being constricted in their right to speak out and express themselves. It is a civil right. The Department of Justice has a duty to defend people's civil rights."
The call came after a series of conservative speakers have had their speeches canceled at places like the University of California at Berkeley. Session said that's a "heckler's veto," which is what happens when a group of protesters gathers to "raise a ruckus before a speaker comes. Often the speech is either canceled or put in a secondary location that is not effective."
Sessions said it's clear there is a bias against conservative speech on college campuses.
"Ben Shapiro, a 33-year-old, brilliant, Jewish Harvard law graduate, they sent out a notice before he came to Berkeley, and said 'if it upsets you so badly we will give you counseling for the students who might be faint or something if he spoke there. This is kind of ridiculous.'"
Sessions also spoke about the rift he and Trump has had in recent months, saying he remains "totally supportive" and loves his policies.
"It's a great honor for me to help at the Department of Justice to advance constitutional legal policies in accord with his leadership," Sessions said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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