How teams protested on ‘Monday Night Football’ and in every NFL game following Trump’s national anthem comments
NFL players on Sunday made a point of demonstrating during the national anthem. (Sept. 25, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR)
Players from nearly every
A total of 204 players protested during the anthem on Sunday out of the 1,696 players on National Football League active rosters, compared with six players the previous week, according to a team-by-team breakdown by the Associated Press.
The hashtag #TakeTheKnee trended on Twitter throughout the day, according to the New York Daily News.
The protests started more than a year ago when former
"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, you'd say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He's fired,'" Trump said during a rally in Huntsville, Ala., on Friday night.
Trump continued his tirade on Twitter.
In a prepared statement, NFL Commissioner
Here’s a look at how NFL players responded during every game on Sunday to Trump’s attacks:
Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars
From the Los Angeles Times:
NFL players provided their first physical response with the 6:30 a.m. PDT kickoff of the Baltimore-Jacksonville game at Wembley Stadium in London. Players on both teams either knelt or locked arms in solidarity. In that human chain on the Jaguars’ sideline was team owner Shad Khan, who had also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.
From the Baltimore Sun:
Most Ravens players and coaches locked arms during “The Star-Spangled Banner†at Wembley Stadium. About 10 Ravens kneeled. They included wide receiver
From the Associated Press:
Jaguars linebacker Dante Fowler, defensive tackle
“​A lot of guys were upset about the things President Trump said, were upset that he would imply that we can’t exercise our 1st Amendment rights as players. We were upset that he would imply that we should be fired for exercising those rights.†— Ravens tight end Benjamin Watson
“We stand with our brothers. They have the right to protest. We knelt with them today. Nonviolent protest is as American as it gets. We knelt with them today and let them know we are a unified front. There is no dividing us. I guess we're all sons of bitches.†— Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs
Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers
From the Los Angeles Times:
In Carson, where the Chargers were playing host to the Kansas City Chiefs, three Chargers sat on the bench and three more knelt during the anthem. There were a few catcalls of “Stand up!†from the crowd. The rest of the team had linked arms, including team Chairman Dean Spanos. Across the field, at least 10 members of the Chiefs were either sitting or kneeling, among them linebacker
From the San Diego Union-Tribune:
With standout players such as
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
From the New York Daily News:
Landon Collins,
"Comments like we heard last night from the president are inappropriate, offensive and divisive. We are proud of our players, the vast majority of whom use their NFL platform to make a positive difference in our society." — Giants statement
“People out there are going to hate us. At the end of the day, we respect our opinion and everyone has freedom of speech.†— Giants safety Landon Collin
Miami Dolphins at New York Jets
From the Florida Sun-Sentinel:
Most of the Miami Dolphins stood for the national anthem before Sunday’s 20-6 loss to the New York Jets with arms locked, and with team owner Steve Ross linked into the human chain. There were also a handful of players, including Jay Ajayi, Kenny Stills,
From the New York Daily News:
No Jets players kneeled, but acting team owner Christopher Johnson and staff linked arms and tweeted a photo with the message “Unity.†Johnson’s brother,
“As a man, as a father, as an African American man, someone in the NFL who is one of those ‘sons of bitches,’ yeah, I took it personal. I’ve got a daughter who is going to have to live in this world. I’m going to do whatever I have to do to make sure she can look at her dad and say he did something to make a change.†— Dolphins safety Michael Thomas
“The comments being made by our president are being used to scare us, to intimidate us. We’re allowed to [protest]. It wasn’t meant to be divisive.†— Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills
“I stood for my rights. I took a knee. If he doesn’t respect us, how can we respect him.†— Dolphins offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil
Pittsburgh Steelers at Chicago Bears
From the Associated Press:
The Pittsburgh Steelers stayed in the tunnel except for one player, Army veteran Alejandro Villanueva, who stood outside with a hand over his heart.
From the Chicago Tribune:
Bears players stood along their sideline, most of them with their arms interlocked in a show of unity.
"We're not going to play politics. We're football players. We're football coaches. We're not participating in the anthem today. Not to be disrespectful to the anthem, but to remove ourselves from this circumstance. People shouldn't have to choose. If a guy wants to go about his normal business and participate in the anthem, he shouldn't be forced to choose sides. If a guy feels the need to do something, he shouldn't be separated from his teammate who chooses not to. So we're not participating today. That's our decision. We're going to be 100 percent. We came here to play a football game." — Steelers coach
Houston Texans at New England Patriots
From the Associated Press:
Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady was among the New England Patriots who locked arms in solidarity in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
From the Los Angeles Times:
Even team owners who donated millions of dollars to Trump’s presidential run publicly rejected his comments. “I am deeply disappointed by the tone of the comments made by the president,†said New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a close friend of Trump who contributed $1 million to his inauguration.
“We hate that people are going to see it as that we don’t respect the military and the men and women that are way braver than us that go and put their life on the line every day for us… But, we just wanted to send a message of unity and being together and not standing for the disrespect and different ways guys felt." — Patriots defensive back
Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills
From the Associated Press:
About 35 players, including about half of the Broncos' roster, protested during the anthem.
From the New York Daily News:
Buffalo Bills running back
"I just wanted to show them that I was with them today, especially in the backdrop of our president making the comments about our players, about their mothers. And then you put that in conjunction with how he tried to gray-area Nazism and KKK members as being fine people, I had to take a knee." — Bills linebacker
Seattle Seahawks at Tennessee Titans
From the Associated Press:
Both the Seahawks and Titans stayed inside until after the national anthem was over in Nashville, a throwback to the pre-2009 NFL when teams, not the league, set pre-game policy regarding players standing on the sideline for the anthem. National anthem singer Meghan Linsey took a knee as she finished singing.
New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
About 12 players, including Saints running back Adrian Peterson, protested during the national anthem.
"I'm disappointed in the comments that were made. I think we need a little bit more wisdom in that office. I want that guy to be one of the smarter guys in the room and it seems like every time he's opening up his mouth it's something that is dividing our country and not pulling us together." — Saints coach
Atlanta Falcons at Detroit Lions
In Detroit, national anthem singer Rico Lavelle took a knee at the word "brave," lowering his head and raising his right fist, according to the Associated Press. About 10 players, including Lions running back Ameer Abdullah, protested during the anthem.
Cincinnati Bengals at Green Bay Packers
Green Bay quarterback
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings
At least two players, including Bucs wide receivers Mike Evans and
Cleveland Browns at Indianapolis Colts
About 24 players on the Colts and Browns protested during the national anthem, according to the Associated Press.
Oakland Raiders at Washington Redskins
From the Associated Press:
Dozens more players protested before the Raiders-Redskins game, the final one of the day and not far from the White House in Landover, Maryland. All but a handful of Raiders sat on their bench and seven Redskins took a knee while their teammates stood arm-in-arm along with owner Dan Snyder and president Bruce Allen.
Dallas Cowboys at Arizona Cardinals
From the Los Angeles Times:
The Cowboys, joined by team owner Jerry Jones and his sons, interlocked arms and walked about 10 yards toward the middle of the field on “Monday Night Football.†They then took a knee collectively and were loudly booed. They then stood in unison, unlocked arms and returned to the sideline where they stood for the duration of the anthem. The Cardinals, joined by owner Michael Bidwill, lined the back of an end zone and linked arms with members of the military.
Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers hosted the Rams on Thursday night before the controversy erupted over Trumps’ remarks.
The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, Florida Sun-Sentinel and San Diego Union-Tribune contributed to this report.
UPDATES:
10:05 p.m.: This article was updated with details from the Monday Night Football game.
This article was originally published at 4:20 p.m.
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