*By Britt Terrell*
The NFL's decision to require players to stand when they are on the field during the national anthem was in part influenced by President Trump's comments that football players kneeling to protest police brutality should be fired.
"He really stirred the pot and created a real mess and almost, really, threw dirt in the faces of the NFL players," said Frank Zaccanelli, CEO of Fiamma Partners and former president of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.
In an interview Thursday with Cheddar, Zaccanelli cited Trump's comments at a political rally last year in Huntsville, Ala., when the president said players were "ruining the game."
Trump piled on the day after the NFL announced its new policy, saying in an interview on "Fox and Friends" on Thursday that anyone who does not stand during the anthem, "[maybe they shouldn't be in the country](https://twitter.com/foxandfriends/status/999599639996313600)."
The NFL Players Association [criticized](http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/389018-nfl-players-association-criticizes-new-league-policy-on-kneeling) the league and the teams' owners for not consulting with the union before deciding on the new policy, which calls for teams to be fined if players kneel, but allows them to stay in the locker room during the anthem.
“NFL players have shown their patriotism through their social activism, their community service, in support of our military and law enforcement and yes, through their protests to raise awareness about the issues they care about,” the NFLPA said in a [statement](https://twitter.com/NFLPA/status/999325257403002881/photo/1).
"That is the canyon-wide split that's going on inside the NFL and it's not good for the game, it's not good for the fans," said Zaccanelli. "How could you possibly have done this without talking to the players' association? I think that's a big mistake by the owners."
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/nfls-new-anthem-policy).
The battle royale, "last man standing" phenomenon has all but engulfed the video game industry. Though whether you prefer realistic bullet drop, zombies, or even trampolines, the premise still involves cutting down your competition with conventional weaponry like swords and firearms. Spell Break IS one of these games, but what if you'd prefer to incinerate your enemies with a fireball? Or choke them to death with a cloud of poison?
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Feb, 6, 2019.
Respawn Launches Free to Play Battle Royale Game
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019.
Chris 'Hellpockets" Fields reflects on the Red Bull Final Summoning. Hellpockets also weighs on the character changes in Dragon Ball Fighterz.
Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman might be the MVP of the Super Bowl, but the #MVP award for Super Bowl brands goes to Planters' Mr. Peanut. Mr. Peanut won Twitter's #BrandBowl contest for generating the most brand-related tweets during the Big Game. "They ran a really smart sweepstakes on Twitter and were giving things away during the game," Ryan Oliver, Twitter head of brand strategy, told Cheddar on Monday.
Bud Light topped Salesforce's list of most buzzed-about brands during the Super Bowl, followed closely by Pepsi, Budweiser, Doritos, and Avocados from Mexico. Rob Begg, Salesforce's vice president of product marketing, said what set those brands apart was their active engagement on social media. "One of the things we did see with brands over the Super Bowl were the ones who had the highest mentions and the biggest buzz were the ones that sort of carried the advertising conversation online,” he told Cheddar.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Feb. 4, 2019.
While the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams face off for the Super Bowl title, advertisers will be waging their own battles during Twitter's Brand Bowl 53. Ryan Oliver, senior director of brand strategy for the U.S. and Canada at Twitter ($TWTR), said the Brand Bowl is a celebration of the advertisers that are being talked about on Twitter.
Wine manufacturer Yellow Tail can’t buy a national ad during the Super Bowl ー but that won't stop the company from getting its “Tastes like Happy” campaign out to the public in spectacular fashion. To skirt the category exclusivity hold that Anheuser-Busch InBev ($BUD) has on the Big Game, Yellow Tail bought 81 local ads ー which cover about 90 percent of the nation.
