In the wake of worldwide protests against racial injustice and police brutality, many NFL players have said they plan to use their platform and visibly protest when the NFL season eventually begins.
In 2018, in response to a movement started by Colin Kaepernick two years earlier, the NFL revised its anthem policy to deter protests, mandating that all “all team and league personnel on the field shall stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem.”
In recent weeks, while the NFL has yet to formally apologize to Kaepernick, the league has been taking positive stances on social issues, and commissioner Roger Goodell admitted that the NFL ignored players who had spoken out about racial issues. It remains to be seen if the NFL re-revises its anthem policy, but it seems certain that players will be kneeling when the game returns.
J.J. Watt made his stance on anthem protests clear on Saturday in response to a fan who claimed that Watt wouldn’t tolerate protests during the anthem. The fan’s tweet, which has since been deleted after Watt’s response, said that they were “pretty sure you won’t see J.J. Watt taking a knee.”
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield had a similar interaction with a fan on Instagram, and wrote that he plans to kneel.
