Over the past four years, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been among the NFL’s most outspoken opponents of protests during the national anthem. Even after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Jones was reluctant to publicly change his stance on the Cowboys players potentially protesting during the anthem.
But come Sunday’s season opener against the Rams, Ezekiel Elliott said that some Cowboys players will be kneeling during the anthem in protest of police brutality and racial injustice.
Speaking to the PFTPM Podcast, Elliott explained that while some players will stand for the anthem and others will kneel, the team feels that they have the support from Jones and Cowboys ownership.
Via ProFootballTalk:
“I think we’re going to have guys kneeling, we’re going to have guys standing, and the biggest thing is that we’re all supporting each other. We’re all supporting each other and that’s what’s going to bring us all together.”
…
“I think everyone in the locker room feels that we’re going to get support from ownership, coaching staff and from each other. I think everyone is going to feel free to express themselves however they choose to.”
Last month, Jones said that the Cowboys needed to have “grace” with how they approached protests during the anthem as he looked for a “compromise.”
But just as Colin Kaepernick’s protests in 2016 weren’t about the flag, these latest protests won’t be about the flag either.
