A day after President Donald Trump's controversial denunciation of NFL players who do not stand for the national anthem sparked league-wide protests, including during the Ravens' game Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, coach John Harbaugh spoke at length about the issue Monday.
Below is a partial transcript from his weekly news conference.
"We talked about it last night a little bit. Our owner, Steve Bisciotti, addressed it. The players talked about it. It's an emotional issue all around. It's not a new issue. It's been around for a long time in terms of our nation.
"All the teams are facing this. It's a conversation that's taking place in locker rooms and living rooms and in boardrooms and in cafeterias and around the coffee machines.
"The truth of the matter is, or the way I look at it, I think that's a really good thing. I think that's a good thing it's getting talked about. I think it's something that's a positive. It's not going to be easy. It's going to be painful. It's a tough conversation, but as for us here, as a football coach, my perspective of our team, I love our players and I support our players. A team is about unity. A team is about one accord. A team is a brotherhood.
"My daughter's lacrosse and basketball and tennis teams, whether you're in a club in a high school, there's something about being a part of something that's bigger than yourself that demands that you lock arms and you stand together, whether it be in front of the flag or be for someone when they're having a tough time. That's what brotherhood, sisterhood, being a part of team is all about.
"And our team is united. We stand together as brothers. And I'm proud of that. It meant a lot, means a lot.
"The other thing, I think, to talk about a little is the fact that these things aren't going to be easy. They're not going to be something that's going to be resolved in a day. They're not going to be resolved in a week, but we are going to play the Pittsburgh Steelers this week.
"We are going to line up in a very important divisional game on Sunday afternoon, and it's going to be a sport. It's going to mean something. It's going to be the Baltimore Ravens playing the Pittsburgh Steelers for the division lead.
"So I'm trying to say the right things about all the big issues in our country, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that what we're for is unity. We're for standing together, and that's what a team's all about. And really that's all we can do. We're going to stand together on Sunday and try to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. And they're going to line up on the other side and try to beat us. And in all honesty, that's our focus. That's my focus. That's what we're thinking about."
Harbaugh then was asked about whether it'd be better to keep politics out of the locker room.
"Well, like I said, it's a great question. I totally understand what you're saying. I wish it was that simple. Every locker room is facing the same thing in every single sport. It's just the way it is. It's just the reality of the thing. I think everybody's got to make that decision for themselves in terms of how they're going to express themselves in terms of what they think.
"And it's hard for anybody to _ you can't do that for anybody else. I mean, for me, I'm not taking a knee. If I'm taking a knee, it's to pray. That's what I'll be taking a knee for, and I'll be praying for our country, that we find a way to come together.
"I mean, America was created on a great ideal, the greatest idea ever, the idea of liberty for everybody, the idea that all men are created equal under the eyes of God. I'm praying for that. I'm praying that we come together. I'm not praying for divisiveness. I'm praying for unity.
"We had a chance, I had a chance, unbelievable, two times, to travel overseas with our military. I mean, there's no greater honor than that. You walk in the streets in the city in Turkey or in Afghanistan, the forward operating base, or in Iraq, and you walk with our military men and women personnel or the people that we were traveling with. I mean, it was a goodwill mission. We weren't in any kind of combat or anything like that. We were just over there in another land with Americans.
"And I can tell you, when you do that, when you walk next to an American or you see an American face in that crowd right there, you're unified. You're together. You're happy to see that face. Why? Because that's an American, that's a brother, that's a sister, that's somebody that understands we have the same value system. We stand for the same thing. We have our disagreements. That's what a team's all about. That's the beautiful thing about sport. You have the chance to express that on the field of play. You may not agree, but you can stand together."
