Lions Owner Bribes Players To Stand During The National Anthem

Martha Ford wanted all of the Detroit Lions players to stand for the national anthem, so she offered up a few incentives to those who would not take a knee.

The game in Minnesota was a big division rivalry win for the Lions, but now the headlines are circulating that the Lions owner was bribing players to stand during the national anthem.

Bribing may be a strong word here, but according to Cornelius Washington, Ford told them that she would financially support a charitable cause they support if they stand.

She just asked us not to take the knee and basically told us—not basically, she told us she would back and support financially as well as put her name on whatever issues that we wanted to try to attack

So why did I choose to use the word bribe? Because at the root, that's exactly what it is. Sure she is doing some good by offering to financially back a cause that the players support, but they have to do what she wants first.

That's the blueprint for a bribe. In fact, if you look up the definition of bribe, it's pretty clear.

So are you OK with this?

Only two Lions players decided to kneel during the national anthem after the offer from Ford. Steve Longa and Jaylen Reeves-Maybin both said they had personal reason for not standing.

I'll be curious to see if Ford will help support their charitable efforts in the future.