NFL teams kneel or stay in locker room for anthems on opening Sunday

[ASFN Admin]

* Athletes across the US have been protesting against racism * Fans at Kansas City booed ‘moment of unity’ on ThursdayTeams across the NFL chose to stay in the locker room for both the Star-Spangled Banner and Lift Every Voice and Sing, commonly known as the Black national anthem, during the opening Sunday schedule.Due to the Covid-19 pandemic only one team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, admitted fans. The Jaguars stayed in the locker room for the anthems while their opponents, the Indianapolis Colts, stood on the goalline. The Colts head coach, Frank Reich, was the only member of the team to kneel. Indianapolis Star reporter Joel Erickson estimated half the crowd stood for Lift Every Voice and Sing.In a statement similar to those issued by other teams, the Jaguars said they decided to stay in the locker room “to continue raising awareness of racial injustice against the Black community. We understand that not everyone will agree with our position and demonstration, we hope that all will seek to understand the reason for it.”Elsewhere, Washington players decided to kneel on for the anthem, while their opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, left the field.> Washington is on field for the national anthem. Philadelphia is not. All Washington players and coaches appear to be standing. pic.twitter.com/4A3awSWTbo> > — Les Carpenter (@Lescarpenter) September 13, 2020The opening weekend came after months of anti-racism protests, following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. When another Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin last month, the protests moved to the sports world with the NBA, WNBA, MLB and MLS among the leagues postponing games in protest.In the NFL’s opening game on Thursday night, fans at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium booed a “moment of unity” as players from the home team and the Houston Texans linked arms while messages such as “We must end racism” and “We choose unconditional love” were displayed on the scoreboard.Houston’s star defensive end, JJ Watt, who is white, said: “I mean the booing during that moment was unfortunate. I don’t fully understand that. There was no flag involved. There was nothing involved other than two teams coming together to show unity.”Player protests have been a huge storyline in the NFL since Colin Kaepernick started kneeling during the national anthem in the 2016 season, seeking to highlight racial injustice. Kaepernick soon found himself out of the NFL and many believe he has been blackballed by owners because of his political stance.In June, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell admitted the league should have listened to its players earlier on the subject of racism and police brutality against Black people. Around two-thirds of NFL players are Black, while 29 of the majority owners of the league’s 32 teams are white.

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