Donald Trump’s comments about NFL players and national anthem protesting only fanned the fames as an unprecedented number of players did so in Week 3.
When Colin Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem for the first time, his intention was to raise awareness, ignite discussion and provoke change in the United States. He was speaking out against police brutality and police treatment of persons of color.
While Kaepernick remains unemployed in the 2017 NFL season, the movement that he’s started has lived on. Numerous players around the league, as they did last season with Kap, have continued to kneel, raise their fists or even sit during the national anthem. This weekend while speaking in Alabama, Donald Trump spoke out about players protesting the national anthem.
The President of the United States referred to the players protesting as “sons of b****s” and said that NFL owners should fire players who participate. However, it would appear that his words largely had an adverse affect.
Players from around the league and athletes in other sports denounced the president’s comments on social media and other platforms. However, that was all a prelude to Sunday. It was expected that the NFL players would show out to protest in record numbers. And sure enough, they did just that. The protests began in London with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens teams all either kneeling or locking arms as a show of solidarity.
Then came the announcement from Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin that his team “would not participate” in the national anthem. Instead, they planned to stay in the locker room. As we saw from around the league, though, that was just the beginning.
Countless players in every game either knelt or made some show of unity on Sunday in Week 3. Take a look at the images from around the league of the powerful moment:
Browns sideline for the national anthem pic.twitter.com/xm3AZVm4dy
— Scoops (@ejmaroun) September 24, 2017
Vikings stand locking arms during anthem pic.twitter.com/8ZBMmdEC6a
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) September 24, 2017
Alejandro Villanueva was the lone Steelers player to come out during the national anthem pic.twitter.com/Jl7id3EGnk
— SB Nation (@SBNation) September 24, 2017
Large contingent of Broncos kneeling for the anthem. Von Miller included. pic.twitter.com/OBeAYKHgYP
— RK (@RyanKoenigsberg) September 24, 2017
Lots of defensive players kneeling during the anthem pic.twitter.com/PZKruYE8ZR
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) September 24, 2017
All the Panthers who were on the field stood for anthem. Peppers came out after the anthem was over.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) September 24, 2017
Alejandro Villanueva was the only Steeler to come out for the National Anthem, standing in the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/L4EtxRQSvA
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 24, 2017
Dolphins locked arm-and-arm, including owner Stephen Ross. Four players took a knee: Stills, Laremy Tunsil, Maurice Smith and Julius Thomas. pic.twitter.com/hVebWDyPrQ
— James Walker (@JamesWalkerNFL) September 24, 2017
Next: NFL Week 3: One burning question for each team
In the social media age, “Stick to sports” has become a common refrain from fans and some media members in regards to athletes. However, these NFL players obviously feel that they can no longer do that following Trump’s comments. Sunday was a historic day for the league following the president’s comments.