Carolina Panthers: Torrey Smith makes statement against kneeling rule

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Torrey Smith offered insight to his stance on the new NFL kneeling rule and its impact on the upcoming season.

Discourse and debate continue a little less than a week after the NFL revealed its new rule against kneeling during the national anthem — and literally everyone had an opinion.

Meanwhile, this offseason, the Carolina Panthers signed Torrey Smith for both his speed and veteran leadership for a young receiving corps.

Smith showed that leadership when he spoke out against the new rule on Tuesday.

"“It was never against the military, never about the military but that narrative changed,” Smith said in a video posted by David Newton of ESPN. “When you do that, and the NFL is trying to do right by donating money to a lot of different causes that are helping people in oppressed areas in our country and under privileged areas in our country which is a great thing, but you do that but you are also are telling your guys to stand up when they are protesting. “"

The rule that was passed last week requires players and team personnel to stand if they are on the field during the playing of the national anthem. These individuals have the choice to stay in the locker room while the song is playing, but this basically removes their protest from the viewers whom the NFL is trying to appease. The measure was taken by the league to bring an end to the peaceful protests that began in 2016 and have become a major controversy, working its way all the way up to the White House.

As the 2018 season inches its way closer, the conversation now turns to how or if the players will respond to the new rule. Many took to social media to make it clear that they are against the new regulation. For example, Eagles safety Malcom Jenkins released a lengthy statement on Twitter where he made his opposition clear as day:

Smith, who was a teammate of Kaepernick when the protests started, took a strong stance in the conversation which is surely to continue into next season.

“Honestly, I thought it just about died off in a lot of different ways,” Smith said in the video. “And also you have the league putting this in and it almost makes it seem like a guy like Kaepernick, Eric Reed or the guys that started it, makes it seem like what they did was in vain.”

Many will disagree with Smith that the efforts taken up by Kapernick or Reid (both of whom are still unsigned even though they’ve shown the ability to contribute on the field) were in vain.

Next: The NFL got it wrong with the anthem rule

As it stands right now, the league has effectively silenced not only the players but an audience that many of them represent. It will be interesting to see how players, such as Smith, react in the coming weeks and the long months of the 2018 season.