Roger Goodell would rather see players helping in the community than protesting during the national anthem

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell supports the rights of players to express their views. He just seems to prefer them to do it by “going into the community” and “actually making really positive change,” rather than kneeling or sitting on the sideline during the national anthem before football games.

While speaking with a group of Arizona Cardinals club-seat ticket holders on Monday, Goodell was asked how he felt about players who chose the latter form of social protest.

“The national anthem is a special moment to me. It’s a point of pride. That is a really important moment,” Goodell said. “But we also have to understand the other side — that people do have rights, and we want to respect those.”

Goodell added that there’s “responsibility of doing it at the right time and in the right way.”

“What we see is a lot of players going into the community and really taking the platform they have and being active and creating dialogue and actually making really positive change. And that’s what I think is so important. Protest to progress is what I call it,” he said.

“And we all have to recognize that people want to see change. Let’s go out and try to make that change happen in a peaceful and important way. ... That’s what we want to see our players do, and I think that’s a positive thing.”

Last season, then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick did not stand during the national anthem all year. He hasn’t found a job since opting out of his contract with the 49ers in March, and many people feel he is being blackballed from the NFL because of his protests.

During their teams’ preseason openers this past weekend, high-profile players Marshawn Lynch of the Oakland Raiders and Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks protested in the same manner.

All three of those players — Kaepernick, Lynch and Bennett — are known for being active in their communities.

Kaepernick has pledged to donate $1 million to organizations that help oppressed communities. According to his website, he has donated $700,000 so far. He also started a “Know Your Rights” camp to teach young people about social issues and handed out custom-made suits outside a New York City parole office to help formerly incarcerated individuals and others in need with their job searches.

Lynch co-founded the Fam 1st Family Foundation, which works to “improve the lives of children by mentoring them on the importance of education, literacy and self-esteem.” While retired last season, he also joined Bill Clinton in making improvements to a community center in his hometown of Oakland.

Bennett announced this winter that he will donate all of his 2017 endorsement money to help minority communities. He and brother Martellus Bennett of the New England Patriots were honored at this year’s BET Awards for their off-the-field contributions.

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii

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