NEW YORK — The NFL Players Association filed a grievance with the league on Tuesday challenging its national anthem policy.

The union says that the new policy, which the league imposed without consultation with the NFLPA, is inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement and infringes on players’ rights. The filing met a statute of limitations deadline and will be heard by an independent arbitrator, an NFLPA spokesman said.

In May, the NFL approved its national anthem policy at its owners meetings in Atlanta. The policy allows players to protest during the national anthem by staying in the locker room, but forbids them from sitting or taking a knee if they’re on the field or the sidelines.

Teams will be subject to fines if players don’t comply and will have the option of punishing players.

When the league announced the policy, Commissioner Roger Goodell called it a compromise aimed at putting the focus back on football after a tumultuous year in which television ratings dipped nearly 10 percent; some blamed the protests for such a drop. The union said at that time that it would file a grievance against any change in the collective bargaining agreement.

The union said Tuesday it has proposed having its executive committee talking to the NFL instead of proceeding with litigation. The union said the NFL has agreed to those discussions.

The NFL declined to comment about the union’s action.

In 2016, then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began protesting police brutality and social injustice by kneeling during the national anthem, and the demonstration spread to other players and teams. It became one of the most controversial and sensitive issues in the NFL, with players saying their messages last year were being misconstrued.

“We’re here for a bigger platform,” Raiders tight end Jared Cook said during the spring. “We’re not just athletes. We’re people that live this. It’s people in our neighborhood, it’s people that we grew up with, it’s people that we know who are actually living through these circumstances. So when we speak on it, it’s not like we’re just speaking out of the side of our neck. It’s things that actually touch home and things that we can actually relate to.”

PROSECUTORS CHARGED former Pro Bowl defensive back Brandon Browner with attempted murder Tuesday, the latest in a series of domestic violence incidents in the Los Angeles area involving the onetime member of the Seahawks, Patriots and Saints.

Browner is accused of breaking into ex-girlfriend Marin Foster’s home in La Verne on Sunday, chasing and dragging her, then smothering her in a carpet.

BILLS: Police acknowledged Tuesday that a woman was assaulted in a home invasion at a suburban Atlanta house owned by running back LeSean McCoy, hours after graphic posts on social media accused him of bloodying his former girlfriend.

One female was treated and released from the hospital, while another sustained a minor injury during a targeted invasion early Tuesday, Milton police said in a release responding to requests by the Associated Press.

McCoy denied allegations posted on social media earlier in the day accusing him of hurting his former girlfriend.

PANTHERS: New owner David Tepper says that while he’ll accept nothing less than an “open and safe” work environment, he’s “contractually obligated” to keep a 13-foot high statue of former owner and team founder Jerry Richardson outside of the team’s stadium as part of the purchase.

Richardson sold the Panthers following reports of sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace.

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