Marshawn Lynch took a stand by taking a seat during the National Anthem ahead of his first game as an Oakland Raider.
The former Seattle running back, who came out of retirement to sign with the Raiders, sat on an orange cooler while others around him stood.
via AP:
Although he rarely talks to the media, Lynch has voiced support for quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the anthem last season to protest what he saw as a pattern of police mistreatment of people of color.
Lynch was gone from the locker room by the time reporters arrived.
Coach Jack Del Rio said he spoke to him about the issue after the game.
“He said, ‘This is something I’ve done for 11 years. It’s not a form of anything other than me being myself,”’ Del Rio said.
The coach said that he told Lynch “just so you understand how I feel, I very strongly believe in standing for the national anthem but I’m going to respect you as a man. You do your thing.”
“So that’s a non-issue for me,” Del Rio said.
Quarterback E.J. Manuel said he didn’t know Lynch hadn’t stood for the anthem.
“Obviously, we all support Marshawn because he’s part of our team, but I think that is more of a personal thing,” Manuel said. “I can’t really comment on it too much.”
We wonder if more players will follow suit in support….
