Following the death of George Floyd, many NFL players are expected to kneel during the national anthem this season in protest of police brutality and social injustices in the United States.
Broncos safety Justin Simmons, who spoke at a peaceful protest this offseason, said during a Zoom conference call on Thursday that it’s okay for players to have disagreements about the best ways to protest.
“We’ve seen so many more people know being accepting of, ‘Hey, I understand, I see your pain. Maybe I’ll take a knee with you,'” Simmons said. “But even if you decide not to take a knee . . . that doesn’t mean they’re not in support of their brothers in the team that are. It’s okay to agree to disagree on how to move forward with different things.”
Simmons said he and his teammates are trying to find the best way to use their platforms to spread the message and awareness about social issues. Simmons didn’t directly say if he and his teammates will kneel this season, indicating that they are still discussing a unified plan.
Simmons made it clear that whether players kneel or not, they can still show support for standing against police brutality and social injustices.
“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion and their way of protesting and not everyone’s going to have the same ideas,” Simmons said.
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