MARSHALL SAYS HE MIGHT KNEEL ON SIDELINE AGAIN
Broncos inside linebacker Brandon Marshall is rethinking things. In an interview with NFL.com, Marshall said he’s considering resuming his protests during the national anthem this season to bring more attention to social injustice in the United States and join what has become a resurgence of player protests across the league.
“And I think some guys are thinking about it as well,” he told NFL.com. “So we’ll see what happens as the weeks come on. But I’m definitely thinking about it.”
After practice Wednesday, Broncos coach Vance Joseph weighed in on the topic and echoed earlier comments by general manager John Elway. But Joseph said he has not broached the subject with his players.
“In my opinion, it’s a personal preference. I believe in the anthem, and it’s special on game day to stand, so that’s me personally,” Joseph said. “But our players, they’re grown men. I respect the fact they have their freedom to protest. Right now, I’m focused on football. It hasn’t been a problem for our football team. Moving forward, if it comes up, we’ll discuss. Right now, it hasn’t come up.”
Many players across the NFL, and in other leagues, have been more vocal about societal and political issues within the past year. But with the outspokenness has come pushback.
Colin Kaepernick, Marshall’s teammate at the University of Nevada, remains unemployed, raising the question of whether he’s being blackballed by the league. Kaepernick, then with San Francisco, was the first NFL player a year ago
to protest during the playing of the national anthem. Marshall later joined suit and received derogatory messages and threats, lost a pair of sponsor endorsements and had a fan burn an orange T-shirt with his name on the steps of the Broncos’ practice facility.
Marshall kneeled during the anthem for eight games last season and said his protest was meant to spark a conversation. In the aftermath, he continued to work with local organizations and spoke to the Denver police chief about the department’s use-of-force policy, among other things. Although he stood for the anthem during the second half of last season, Marshall has remained outspoken about perceived social inequality nationwide and about Kaepernick’s continued free agency.
“That’s crazy to say he’s a bad quarterback and it’s not because he kneeled,” he told The Post this summer. “We know exactly why he’s not getting signed. I guess teams don’t want the distraction or whatever, but really he’s doing all positive things in the community, so why wouldn’t you want that on your team?”
Not all players want to or feel compelled to protest, no matter their personal beliefs about issues outside of the game. Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, the longest-tenured Bronco on the roster, said he hasn’t considered it.
“I just worry about doing my job, trying to get wins,” Thomas said. “There’s a lot going on in this world, stuff that I know I can’t handle. But as a group, I think a lot of the guys in the league can do something about it. But I really haven’t done it, because that would just bring more stuff to our team and from being here a long time, I know Mr. Elway doesn’t like those types of things, so I just go out and play my game.”
During the preseason this year, a number of NFL players have kneeled for the anthem, especially in the wake of the unrest in Charlottesville, Va. Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett has been outspoken on the topic and said it’s important that a white player join the movement “because when somebody from the other side understands and they step up and they speak up about it … it would change the whole conversation.”
The next day, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end and University of Virginia alumnus Chris Long put his arm around teammate Malcolm Jenkins as Jenkins raised his fist in protest. The day after that, Seahawks center Justin Britt placed his hand on the shoulder of a kneeling Bennett to show his support during the anthem.
And on Monday, Cleveland tight end Seth DeValve became the first white player to take a knee, joining a group of Browns players who circled together and kneeled before the start of their preseason game against the New York Giants.
“The United States is the greatest country in the world,” DeValve told reporters. “It is because it provides opportunities to its citizens that no other country does. The issue is that it doesn’t provide equal opportunity to everybody. And I wanted to support my African-American teammates today who wanted to take a knee. We wanted to draw attention to the fact that there’s things in this country that still need to change.”