When John Elway took control of the Denver Broncos, he made some demands. One was that he had full control over football operations. When the issue of kneeling came along, he made it clear: not on my field. Two of his players, however, continue to buck the system by kneeling during away games.

The first time it happened, Elway stormed the field personally and fired them on the spot. After a tussle with the Player’s Association, however, the two were reinstated. “He can’t tell us what to do in San Fransisco or New York,” said wide receiver DeJ’ose Barron, “he has no control when it’s not his field.”

The technicality worked well for both Barron and teammate, defensive end Lavart Tubolls until recently, when Elway announced he’d cut the players and send them into unrestricted free agency. “Go ahead and see if anyone will sign you,” Elway said to reporters, “ask Colin Kaepernick how things are going.”

The next move for the players is to try to sue the Broncos for their salaries for the season, which Elway already says he’ll be “happy to pay to get rid of them.” He’s not messing around.

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