NFL players have taken a knee during the national anthem since the 2016 season when Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers started the practice. However, Bill O’Brien might join the ranks.
The Houston Texans coach and general manager believes players have the right to protest and be heard, and he would take a knee in solidarity with his players.
“Yeah, I’ll take a knee — I’m all for it,” O’Brien said via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. “The players have a right to protest, a right to be heard and a right to be who they are. They’re not taking a knee because they’re against our flag. They’re taking a knee because they haven’t been treated equally in this country for over 400 years.”
The response is part of a larger feeling inside the organization that the club needs to be a part of social justice. Chairman and CEO Cal McNair hopes his club be the “pebble in the pond” to create larger ripples of change following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police on May 25.
“When you think about how big the issue is, if we can help make a little change in Houston, maybe it’ll be like a pebble in the pond that creates a ripple,” McNair said. “What happened to George Floyd brought to life something that’s bigger than football, and you can’t ignore it. We felt like we couldn’t stay silent. We felt like we had to say and do something. We want to help make changes.”
Unlike boxing where heavyweight legend Muhammed Ali was able to champion causes because the spotlight was on him, football is a team sport. The players have a natural cap on their impact. However, much like the concept of teamwork in football, if backed by coaches and the organization, players’ messages of change have greater impact.