Lynch has support of team after sitting
Marshawn Lynch declined interview requests Tuesday, wishing not to elaborate on why he sat down during the national anthem in the Raiders’ preseason opener at Arizona on Saturday night.
The running back has not told teammates, many of them said, why he sat during the anthem or if he plans to do it again before Saturday’s preseason game against the Rams in Oakland.
When Lynch played for the Seahawks from 2010 through ’15, he sometimes would stand during the anthem, sometimes sit and often would come onto the field from the locker room after the anthem was played.
Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio told local reporters Tuesday that he “didn’t have anything to add” to his postgame statement in which he said that he didn’t agree with not standing, but respected Lynch “as a man,” and that it was “a nonissue.”
After Del Rio was done with local reporters, he walked over and told the USA Today that he encourages his players to “be themselves.”
“We want to have a collection of individuals that come together as a team to play football,” Del Rio said. “We don’t need everybody in the organization to think the same way I think, or have the same feelings that I have about different topics.
“I mean, we’re in America. That’s one of the things we have. We have the freedom to be ourselves.”
Last season, Raiders linebackers Bruce Irvin and Malcolm Smith (now with the 49ers) raised their fists during the anthem in Weeks 3 and 4 to protest social injustice. Del Rio was surprised, just as he was this year, talked to them and the two players soon stopped.
Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested social injustice all of last season by sitting, and then later kneeling, during the anthem. It’s unclear if Lynch’s sitting was related to that or the events earlier Saturday in Charlottesville, Va., where a white-nationalist rally turned violent and a woman was killed. Seattle defensive tackle Michael Bennett said he was moved by the event and it’s one reason why he sat during the national anthem before his team’s game Sunday.
“I just want to see people have the equality that they deserve,” Bennett told reporters. “And I want to be able to use this platform to continuously push the message of that.”
Raiders tight end Jared Cook said he salutes Kaepernick, Lynch and Bennett.
“I don’t know what (Lynch) wanted to do by it, but I know that guys like Colin Kaepernick have become my favorite football player because of it,” Cook told reporters. “I think it’s awesome.
“Everybody has points of discussion after what happened in Charlottesville. I think it’s important for men in our position to step up and speak on unnecessary situations we find ourselves in as minorities in this country. That’s why I’m proud of ” Lynch.
Briefly: Receiver Amari Cooper and defensive end Khalil Mack returned to practice after missing last week with minor injuries. … Del Rio acknowledged that backup guard Denver Kirkland (leg) and safety Keith McGill (foot) will be out for a while.