Seattle Seahawks Protest National Anthem-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Players on the Seattle Seahawks refused to stand for the national anthem in protest over social injustice.
The Truth:
Players on various teams protested during the national anthem during the NFL’s opening weekend, but Seattle Seahawks players were not among them.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the movement when he sat during the National Anthem before his team’s third pre-season game. As week one of the NFL approached, there was speculation over which players or teams would protest in the same manner.
Rumors that the Seattle Seahawks would sit during the national anthem ran rampant. David Marcus wrote in an article published by The Federalist that “the Seattle Seahawks are planning to protest the singing of the national anthem” before their season opener:
Whatever the Seahawks have planned for Sunday, the silence from the NFL over this matter has been deafening. As of this writing, the NFL has made no statement on the Seahawks plans. In response to Kaepernick’s protest, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “I support our players when they want to see change in society, and we don’t live in a perfect society. …On the other hand, we believe very strongly in patriotism in the NFL. I personally believe very strongly in that.”
As it turns out, however, the Seahawks players, led by wide receiver Doug Baldwin, had planned to stand and lock arms during the singing of the national anthem in a display of unity, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reports:
As promised, the Seahawks offered no act of defiance during the national anthem before Sunday’s season opener against the Dolphins.
Instead, players, coaches and other team personnel linked arm-in-arm in front of a jumbo American flag that stretched across CenturyLink Field. It came after President Barack Obama offered a video tribute on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Wide receiver Doug Baldwin said the team’s gesture was meant to honor victims of 9/11 and to support San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who this past month began protesting racial inequality and police violence against African-Americans by not standing during the Star-Spangled Banner.
So, claims that the Seahawks had organized a protest for the team’s first game didn’t pan out. The team stood and locked arms in a show of unity.
Players around the league did, however, choose to protest during the national anthem in various ways. Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall kneeled on the sideline during the national anthem before the NFL’s Thursday night season opener — and he lost an endorsement deal with the Air Academy Federal Credit Union as a result.
SB Nation has compiled a list of players that have sat or kneeled during the playing of the national anthem that can be viewed here.