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Jermaine Kearse was far from pleased last week when he heard the details of the NFL's new policy on the national anthem.

The veteran wide receiver and his New York Jets teammates couldn't be happier Mike Gesicki Jersey Elite , though, to have the full support of acting owner Christopher Johnson.

"For me personally, I'm very appreciative of him," Kearse said after practice Tuesday. "I think he kind of gets it."

NFL owners voted last Wednesday to require players to stand for the anthem or stay in the locker room. Teams will be fined if players don't stand. Some players have been kneeling during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before games the last two seasons to protest police brutality and racial inequality.

"Honestly, I'm disappointed," Kearse said. "I think they're kind of missing the point. For us as a team, I think if you've paid attention, nobody on our team kneeled, but that doesn't mean we don't support the causes of why people are kneeling."

Johnson said shortly after the league announced the policy that he will not punish his players for any peaceful protests 鈥?and would pay any potential fines incurred by the team as a result of his players' actions.

"To me, honestly, the conversation about whether players are kneeling or not, I felt like that conversation was dying and it didn't get brought up until they decided to make the rules," Kearse said. "So, I think we're kind of getting away from the actual cause. I think we're starting to focus on the kneeling part rather than the cause behind it.

"I wish they would be more like Chris, to be quite honest, and support the players and actively be involved and have those conversations with their players."

Added coach Todd Bowles: "It's always nice to have the owner have your back. It's about the issues for us. We didn't have a problem a year ago. We'll continue to talk as a group, as a team and as an organization, and go forward from there."


Jets players say NFL owners 'missing point' with anthem rule.More from @DWAZ73: s://t.co/fbmH4jkKAo pic.OQp1Cy3C3N

鈥?AP NFL (@AP_NFL) May 29, 2018

Left tackle Kelvin Beachum echoed Kearse's sentiments about the NFL's new policy. Beachum and quarterback Josh McCown are part of the Players Coalition, an advocacy group of NFL players that has had discussions with league owners on social matters.

"It is disappointing, but it is what it is at this point," Beachum said. "We've been talking about this issue for a number of years and the league finally made a decision. We're going to still continue to do the work. Our owner supports us in doing that work and he's with us as we're doing that work. So we're not going to keep talking this game and keep talking about the anthem. We're actually going to do something about it and go find a solution."

Johnson met with the entire team last week and explained to the players why he voted in favor of the new NFL rule 鈥?only San Francisco's Jed York abstained 鈥?while also assuring them they would not be punished by the team if they did not adhere to the league's policy.

"He's very supportive of us Eduardo Escobar Minnesota Twins Jersey ," Kearse said. "I mean, whether guys choose to or not, he supports our decision 鈥?their decision 鈥?but like I said, nobody last year kneeled. The fact that he'll support us any way he can is a very gratifying feeling."

Johnson took over the day-to-day operations of the team last June from his brother Woody, who is serving as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom in President Donald Trump's administration. Trump frequently has been critical of players who have protested during the anthem, so it would appear a tough spot for the younger Johnson while balancing business, politics and family.

But Christopher Johnson immediately earned his players' respect last year when he went up to each one in the Jets' locker room before the team's home opener against Miami in September and asked if he could stand with them in unity.

Johnson, the players and the coaches stood 鈥?arms locked 鈥?on the sideline before every remaining game. Several players pointed to the owner's actions as playing a large role in establishing cohesiveness on a team that stuck together despite a 5-11 record.

But Johnson's latest stance has become a polarizing issue with some Jets fans and even politicians saying the owner's support of a player potentially protesting during the anthem is misguided.

"It's great that he stuck his neck out there," linebacker Darron Lee said, "because I know a lot of people feel passionate about that."

New York Rep. Pete King wrote on Twitter on Saturday that it was "disgraceful" that Johnson would pay fines for players who would kneel during the anthem. King added that Johnson's decision was "encouraging a movement premised on lies vs. police."

"Would he support all player protests?" King continued. "Would he pay fines of players giving Nazi salutes or spew racism? It's time to say goodbye to Jets!"


Disgraceful that @nyjets owner will pay fines for players who kneel for National Anthem. Encouraging a movement premised on lies vs. police. Would he support all player protests? Would he pay fines of players giving Nazi salutes or spew racism? It鈥檚 time to say goodbye to Jets!

鈥?Rep. Pete King (@RepPeteKing) May 26, 2018

The Jets have not decided what they will do this year during the national anthem, but Lee said if he had to take "an educated guess," he thinks the team will lock arms again. Beachum and Kearse stressed that unity is the top priority with the Jets.

"I think it's very important that no matter what we do, that we do it together," Kearse said. "We're a locker room with different personalities, different thoughts, so not everybody thinks the same. Whate Morris Claiborne was in the middle of a walkthrough practice last summer when he got the call 鈥?finally 鈥?that he was eagerly anticipating.

It was time for his twin daughters to enter the world.

A New York Jets trainer had the cornerback's cellphone and was tasked with letting him know if and when Claiborne's now-wife Jennifer was heading to the hospital.

"I remember I saw the trainer walking on the field and he gave me, like, a look," Claiborne recalled in an interview with The Associated Press at the family's home. "I just ran. I took off running. I grabbed my phone from him and I went to Coach (Todd) Bowles and I was like, 'Coach, it's time Authentic Customized Buccaneers Jerseys ,' and he was like, 'All right, congratulations.'

"And I remember just running out of the building and running to the hospital, and when I got up there I just looked at her."

It was July 30, 2017, and Jennifer was 35 weeks along 鈥?two weeks before her scheduled cesarean section. But her water broke while she was watching the couple's two English Bulldogs outside their home. She had to immediately head to Morristown Medical Center, about 2 1/2 miles away.

Meanwhile, Morris zipped from the Jets' training facility in Florham Park to the hospital just over 3 miles away in time to be there to welcome his daughters.

"He came and it all happened within the hour," Jennifer recalled. "It happened so fast, it was scary."

Doctors performed the C-section and first delivered Ma'Kaila, who was quite underweight at 3 pounds, 8 ounces.

Ma'Liah came a few moments later, weighing in at a more robust 4 pounds, 13 ounces.

Ma'Kaila was immediately taken to the neonatal intensive care unit, separated from her sister 鈥?and mother 鈥?for the first time.

"I was asking, 'Is everything OK?'" Morris said. "They were like, 'She's good. Everything's good. It's just that she's underweight 鈥?too underweight.' They wanted to take her back and start feeding her and try to get her to gain some weight."

Ma'Kaila stayed in the NICU for the next two weeks, working up the strength to be sent home to her parents and sister.


Jets' Morris Claiborne is a happy father after his newborn twins gave him a scare last summer.

Full story from @dwaz73: s://t.co/yul7hm1HrG pic.GGqXaXTqvG

鈥?AP NFL (@AP_NFL) June 17, 2018

For Morris, who was entering his first season with the Jets on a one-year, prove-it deal after four years with the Cowboys, it was a whirlwind of anxiety and excitement.

Somehow Alex McGough Jersey Seahawks , he needed to keep his mind focused on football, while also wanting to make sure his wife and daughters had everything they needed while he was working.

"Oh, man," he said, shaking his head. "We'd have meetings early in the morning and we had to stay over at the (players') hotel, but Coach was giving me a little time to come here and stay with (Jennifer and Ma'Liah) instead of going to the hotel. I'd come (home) after meetings. We'd get done around 11 or so and I'd come here, check on her and make sure everything's OK with her and then I'd head up to the hotel for curfew and we'd FaceTime all night."

Claiborne's coaches and teammates never knew of the hectic routine he was keeping throughout the summer.

Playbooks and Pampers.

Meetings and feedings.

Football and baby blankets.

"I don't care if it was 10 minutes, I live so close to the facility that I was running home every single break to check on them and see if everything's OK and then I'd get back to my job," he said. "It was like that for a while, for the whole training camp. ... It was chaos, but it was fun."

Claiborne was in for the biggest surprise of all on Aug. 15 when he arrived home during a short break.

"I was like, 'Babe, come here, look,'" Jennifer called out to him. "I was like, 'Can you watch her real fast?' And I was speaking of Ma'Liah."

But she had brought Ma'Kaila home from the hospital earlier in the day and had both girls in the bed, laying them beside her with a video camera set on record to capture the moment.

"I wasn't expecting to see both of them at all," a wide-eyed Claiborne recalled. "I wasn't ready for it at all. When I walked in, I was so used to seeing her (Ma'Liah) in the bed when I'd come in, and when I saw both of them laying there, my heart just dropped.

"I was like, 'Oh Authentic Patrick Kane Jersey , my God.' It really hit me: We've got twins at the house. This is real now."

Ma'Liah and Ma'Kaila are now 10 1/2 months old, healthy and full of personality.

Ma'Liah, according to Jennifer, is the more demanding of the two, and "she's a Daddy's girl." Ma'Kaila is still slightly smaller than her sister, but is more independent 鈥?moving around on her own, playing and feeding herself.

"It gave me a sense of what I'm really playing football for, what I'm really doing it for," said the 28-year-old Claiborne, who re-signed with the Jets on another one-year deal in the offseason. "It's for my family and bringing these two precious little babies into the world, it opened my eyes to a much bigger picture.

"I've really learned that it's not about yourself. Once you have kids, it's about the kids, but I think I got a re-understanding of that once these two babies were born. I enjoy every moment of it."

The family was planning to fly to its home in Dallas over the weekend to join Claiborne's son Morris, who turns 9 in November, and daughter Madicyn, who's 3, for a special Father's Day.

"Having these girls made me understand that I really missed some valuable time with my son, but I was off in college (at LSU) and there was nothing I could really do about that," Claiborne said. "My mindset was on making a way to feed him at that time. Just having them made me realize how much time at this age that I really missed that I would've loved to be there.

"I missed t.