When it comes to sports, the nationwide protests against systemic racism and police brutality for the past couple weeks has brought renewed focus on the NFL’s handling of protests during the national anthem.
Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protest during the anthem resulted in the former 49ers quarterback essentially getting blackballed from the league. And in response to the protests in 2018, the NFL went as far as requiring players to either stand for the anthem or remain in the locker rooms.
But nearly four years after Kaepernick’s kneeling, the league appears ready to stop silencing peaceful protest. We saw as Roger Goodell posted an apology video in response to NFL stars demanding change in a Black Lives Matter video. And we saw the backlash that Drew Brees faced amid his woefully misguided “respect the flag” response to anthem protests.
On Monday, Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury went on the record to say that he would support his players should they protest during the anthem.
Kingsbury said the team has not discussed the possibility of protests during the anthem, but "obviously we’re going to support our guys. They know that."
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) June 8, 2020
Though the Cardinals hadn’t discussed the anthem, Kingsbury made it clear that any protest wouldn’t be a negative issue with the team.
He continued via AZCardinals.com:
“As an organization, we want them to know we support them. From the top down. Michael (Bidwill) has called me multiple times to talk through things: ‘How can we help?’
“The racial injustice, the police brutality toward people of color, it has to stop. We’re all hopeful this is the catalyst for that change.”
Bidwill’s support would mark a significant departure from his 2018 statements about protests during the anthem. At the time, the Cardinals owner said that players should “restrict their statements” on game days — basically, telling them to stick to sports.
Aside from the Cardinals, Washington Redskins running back Adrian Peterson has already said that he intends to kneel during the anthem this season. And in all likelihood, other players will join the peaceful demonstration against police brutality when the season begins.
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