Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch recently took a knee during the Star Spangled Banner during Saturday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Raiders’ coach Jack Del Rio spoke to press about his conversation with the 31-year-old, claiming he wasn’t aware he planned to sit.
“[Lynch] said, ‘This is something I’ve done for 11 years. It’s not a form of anything other than me being myself,’” Del Rio told The Mercury News. “I said, ‘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, and we’ll do ours.’ So that’s a non-issue for me.”
Colin Kaepernick, created similar controversy in 2016 by famously kneeling during the national anthem. In response, Lynch said that anyone who wasn’t truly “racist won’t see what [Kaepernick is] doing as a threat to America, just addressing the problem that we have.” The former 49ers player still remains unsigned.
So far, there has been an overwhelming social media response in support of Marshawn.
https://twitter.com/ye_inspired/status/896624136604143616
https://twitter.com/fka_claire/status/896634370278207488
https://twitter.com/ashleyxholcomb/status/896587281808621568
IMAGE CREDIT: Getty
Marshawn Lynch Sits During The National Anthem was originally published on globalgrind.com