The Jets and the Bills decided to remain in their respective locker rooms during the playing of the anthems on Sunday.
As the playing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” began prior to kickoff, both teams retreated to their locker rooms. They remained there for the playing of the national anthem and returned to the field upon its completion. According to the CBS broadcast, Le’Veon Bell said the Jets had a team vote and wanted to do something that displayed unity, hence their decision to not be on the field for the anthems.
The two teams deciding to stay in their locker rooms comes in the wake of the Chiefs and Texans joining forces at midfield prior to the beginning of the 2020 season to show unity. Players on both the Jets and Bills have been vocal about social and racial injustices in America following the shooting of Jacob Blake and the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and numerous others in the Black community.
Following the Blake shooting, the Jets postponed practice and spent over four hours discussing the incident and social and racial injustices throughout the United States. Joe Douglas, Adam Gase and Christopher Johnson all participated in the conversations and have voiced support for their players.
“It’s just definitely something that I don’t want — and a lot of my brothers in the locker room — swept under the rug,” safety Bradley McDougald said after Blake’s shooting. “This is not just a one-day topic or when it happens, we need to talk about it. This is something real in our community that we’re dealing with. And I’m going to deal with it for the rest of my life and my kids are going to deal with it. When we put street clothes on, when we walk out these doors, it’s real.”