After Monday night's game [August 21] against the New York Giants, players in the Cleveland Browns locker room opened up about kneeling during the National Anthem.
Inside linebacker Christian Kirksey confirmed what many had suspected, in characterizing the demonstration as a prayer, while explaining that the team had discussed the possibility of doing something to help bring attention to the division going on along racial lines in America. Rookie Jabrill Peppers would follow, stating that "everyone has different methods," and that they didn't decide to pray on one knee to show any form of disrespect towards the flag.
Then there was Seth DeValve, who became the first white player to definitively protest, as he took a knee with the other 10 players who had committed to the demonstration. Prior to DeValve, such white players as Chris Long and Derek Carr have placed their hands on the back of a teammate close to them, but none had gone so far as to kneel until he did.
As the NFL preseason moves into its third week, it is now clear that the protest movement that Colin Kaepernick started in 2016 is back, and this time, being lead by multiple players, each exerting themselves differently to get their points across. Last year many joined Kaepernick through the first several games but would fall off as the season progressed. Now that Marshawn Lynch is back and simply doesn't care what anyone thinks about him sitting, and Michael Bennett has vowed to stay the course for the entire season, things could get interesting. Ultimately, their goals in holding the protest transcend the football field.
"You know, that's the big key, you know, um, is what two minutes are in the National Anthem as a protest, but you'd like to see the protest in our everyday lives," said Browns cornerback Jason McCourty.
