'Dangerous and un-American': ACLU takes NFL's new national anthem policy to the woodshed

The National Football League announced on Wednesday that it would start fining teams whose players refuse to stand for the national anthem before games -- and the American Civil Liberties Union is not pleased.

In responding to the NFL's new policy, which states that players who do not wish to stand for the anthem must remain inside the locker room until the start of the game, the ACLU decried the move as "dangerous and un-American."

"Telling peaceful protesters to leave and do it behind closed doors is dangerous and un-American," the ACLU wrote on Twitter. "The NFL players’ protests have never been about the military or the flag. They’re about police brutality and white supremacy. Failing to protest injustice in America is not patriotic, it’s dangerous."

The NFL Players Association has similarly sounded a defiant note when it comes to the league's new policy, and it vowed to challenge any aspects of it that violate that collective bargaining agreement that has been signed by the league and the NFLPA. It also called out NFL owners for enacting this policy without first consulting the union.