NFL Will Not Punish Rams for "Hands Up" Gesture: Sparks St. Louis Outcry

The National Football  League has denied the request of St Louis Police Officers' Association to discipline five players of the St Louis Rams who copied the "hands up don't shoot" gesture used by protesters in  Ferguson at a game against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

The Association felt the gesture by the players was "tasteless, offensive and inflammatory" .  

But the head coach of Rams, Jeff Fisher, said none of h e players would face any disciplinary action from the team and he declined to say anything further on the matter at a press conference, Monday. He termed the action of the players as a "choice to exercise their free speech". He further added that he was a coach and not an activist or politician and would prefer to talk about the game

Wide receiver Stedman Bailey, one of the five players to make the unique protest,  said the gesture was a symbol of positive protest.

"Violence should stop. There's a lot of violence going on here in St. Louis. We definitely hear about it all, and we just want it to stop," Bailey told reporters after the game, reports the USA Today.  Another player Jared Cook said it was their way of showing solidarity with the protesters in Ferguson after the grand jury verdict did not indict the police officer in the killing of Michael Brown

"It's dangerous out there. None of us want to get caught up in that. We wanted to come out and show our respect to the protesters that have been doing a heck of a job," Cook said.

The players were adamant about their protest and said it was not meant to be a distraction but their way of showing community feeling about a wrong.

CNN reports that the Rams COO Kevin Demoff called the St. Louis county police chief and apologised for the players' action.