professor
How will Jones be the idiot? He's already got his billions. He could have his team sit out the rest of the season and it wouldn't matter regarding his net worth.
You own a business. You pay your employees extravagantly well. In return - they agree to your terms of employment. Which means... if you don't want your business being negatively impacted because of an employee's (or a group of employees for that matter) political outspokenness (while he's at work, representing you and your business) then you're well within your rights as an owner to enforce that policy, no?
Just like ESPN/Disney. Jemele Hill signed an agreement when she went to work for the network, that she would comply with the corporate policies in exchange for being well compensated. Part of their corporate policy is that no on-air personality is permitted to post political commentary on social media, no matter how strongly they feel about it, no matter how right the general public might perceive those political commentaries. Curt Shilling expressed his political opinions while working at the network, was warned about it and likewise temporarily suspended. But, like Hill, he couldn't refrain from continuing to espouse his political commentary on social media and he was fired. The same will happen to Hill if it happens again.
Businesses don't have to tolerate employees who don't comply with employment agreements. Employees always have the right to seek employment elsewhere. Whether it's Shilling, Hill, Prescott, Elliot, whoever.
Adam Silver has already informed team owners in the NBA that players are expected to stand during the National Anthem this upcoming season, and that noncompliance of the policy will not be tolerated. Now.... if certain team owners don't feel obliged to honor Silver's wishes - that's another matter altogether. He ultimately represents them, not the other way around. But if an individual owner wants his players to stand during the anthem and has a no-tolerance policy within his team rules regarding the issue - that's his call.