Anthem demonstrations include a show of unity in Cleveland
Members of the Cleveland Browns and law enforcement agents and emergency workers ran onto the field together and locked arms during the national anthem Sunday before the first game of the National Football League season.
The gesture defused tension over earlier protests by some members of the team during the song.
And it suggested that what players do during the anthem will be a focal point as several continue demonstrations started in 2016 by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick knelt several times during the anthem to draw attention to racial oppression and police abuse of Black people.
Kaepernick is now a free agent who left the 49ers in the spring when it appeared he would be cut.
He has not been signed by any team, stirring debate over whether teams have refused to hire him because of his politics, or if his skills, which took the team to the Super Bowl in 2013, do not measure up.
Civil rights groups and activists have protested against the league and called for boycotts. As was the case in the pre-season, a handful of demonstrations occurred on and off the field Sunday.
Seattle Seahawks’ Michael Bennett, who last week accused the police in Las Vegas of excessive force and racially profiling him after mistakenly detaining him related to a report of gunfire there, sat during the national anthem before a game against the Green Bay Packers.
His teammate Justin Britt stood with a hand on Bennett’s shoulder in support while Cliff Avril and Frank Clark shook Bennett’s hand afterward. Another Seahawk, tight end Jimmy Graham, did not kneel during the anthem, but he did wear cleats with the words “liberty” and “justice for all” on the soles.
Bennett’s brother Martellus, who is playing for the Packers, raised his right fist during the playing of the anthem, at Lambeau Field.
Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch sat during the national anthem before his team faced the Tennessee Titans in Nashville.
Robert Quinn of the Los Angeles Rams also raised his fist during the anthem before his team took on the visiting Indianapolis Colts.