you completely missed the point.  Everything you said has already happened and the NFL has chosen not to discipline the players (except maybe kaepernick).  This article is not about that
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this is about the state intervening between a private citizen (players) and their employer (teams) to penalize the employer for the legal actions of their employees through punitive tax laws.  It is not the states business to penalize legal actions that it doesn't like.  What next?  Putting his opponents in jail before the election?