Tennessee Titans wide receiver Rishard Matthews has had a conflicted relationship with the protests that have occupied the NFL since the start of the 2016 season. On one hand, he's been supportive of his college ball teammate Colin Kaepernick for sparking the wave of demonstrations, once tweeting, “Proud of My Brother @kaepernick7 for Sacrificing to begin a movement that is very much needed.” But on the other hand, there has been his indivisible loyalty to the memory of his brother, who as a Marine served in the Iraq War and fought and died Afghanistan in 2015. Out of respect for his late brother, Matthews chose not to join the protest movement, until this season, when President Trump's opposition to the players' Constitutional right gave him a reason he believes his brother would have supported him abstaining from the anthem over.
Fast forward to the season's upcoming Week 6 action and as the President, the players, and fans across the nation move to the edge of their seats for what the verdict will be on the Commissioner and teams instituting policies that ban kneeling during the anthem, Matthews finds himself contemplating his future in the league. Matthews went public about potentially retiring if the powers that be go through with the move, in his response to a tweet that he failed to delete before a screenshot of it got out onto social media on Thursday, October 12.
"@_RMatthews If NFL makes new rule on anthem... will you stay in locker room and face the fine/penalty?" a fan asked the five-year veteran. “No I will be done playing football,” he responded. Matthews previously told reporters that he has no intention of ending his protest until the President apologizes for his Alabama remarks. But the chances of Trump doing that got slimmer and slimmer with each passing day that it became apparent fans would side with him and his demand that the protests cease. And by the same token, seeing the mounting intolerance of the protests take shape, grounded Matthews all the more deeply in his conviction over why he was protesting in the first place.
“It's very unfortunate that fans choose not to watch because players are exercising their rights!” Matthews would tweet after witnessing the backlash that grew against those trying to draw attention to systemic oppression. “Just shows you we still have a long way to go in this country, but I believe in this country and we'll eventually get it corrected. Don't worry I don't hate you for your views as you me. Love thy neighbor as much as you love yourself,” he wrote.
Matthews has been taking action towards combatting against the impact of oppression in poor communities of color, in part through charity work he began after Kaepernick took a knee. Namely, he donated $75,000 to a couple of organizations supporting serving such communities. But as it appears, him being able to operate in silence, at this point will not be enough. Thus, if he can't continue to use his platform to shine a light on injustice, Matthews, it appears, would be willing to give his job up.
Source: nydailynews.com
