With some NFLers ending their National Anthem protests as the season has progressed, the "off-field conversation and work continues," as five players spent yesterday in DC "meeting with lawmakers to learn more about how to enable policy changes," according to Lindsay Jones of USA TODAY. The players -- Lions WR Anquan Boldin and S Glover Quin, Eagles S Malcolm Jenkins and Browns QB Josh McCown and WR Andrew Hawkins -- met with U.S. Reps Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.) with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and with members of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s exec committee. Jenkins said, "There's a lot of different problems, and they didn't just show up out of nowhere. It's decades, and, really, centuries of systematic injustice." He added, "As we work on our relationship with the police, the next part of it is, how do we change policies that can change the amount of authority that police have, how do we make the investigation process more transparent?” The players' trip to Capitol Hill is a "significant step in what Jenkins considers to be the second phase" of the Anthem protests that 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick started in August. Jenkins: "The biggest thing is it’s important for guys to step up and actually do stuff, because the world is waiting for us to forget about it. ... If all we do is take a knee or raise our fist and then cut a check, then nobody is really going to help or believe in the cause that we're trying to fight so hard for.” The players left the Capitol "feeling encouraged that the dialogue will continue, and they plan to return" in the offseason, when they "have more time to have expanded conversations" (USA TODAY, 11/16).
UNTIL NEXT TIME: The Nature Conservancy Associate Dir of Marketing Andrew Blejwas, an adviser to Boldin, said, “It was kind of surprising how bilateral the support was for kind of what they were talking about. I wouldn’t say it caught them off guard, but everybody agrees that there is an issue, how we solve it is going to be -- there’s no magic button so we’re all going to have different ideas, but the end goal is to work together to try to solve it.” Blejwas, who helped arrange the meetings, said that the players were "invited back to testify before Congress, and plan to return, perhaps with more players, to Capitol Hill next spring." In Detroit, Dave Birkett notes Boldin had been "working in conjunction with Blejwas" to take part in yesterday's meetings for about six weeks (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/16). ESPN.com's Jim Trotter noted Boldin "began contemplating the trip well before August" and Kaepernick's protest. Boldin said the four other players he reached out to are "all guys who are well respected in the league and who have the same goal in mind as myself." Boldin did not reach out to Kaepernick because he said that it "would have been tough logistically for Kaepernick to make the trip from the West Coast" (ESPN.com, 11/15).
SAYING SORRY: FS1’s Jason Whitlock said he did not believe Bucs WR Mike Evans needed to apologize for sitting out the National Anthem Sunday in protest of Donald Trump being elected President, but Whitlock did call the move "smart." He said, "I like it anytime anybody makes a mistake and is willing to acknowledge it and move on and move to higher ground.” FS1’s Colin Cowherd noted Buccaneers fans are "some of the most conservative in America" and speculated Evans "heard from his fan base." Cowherd: "Kaepernick didn't get any pushback, San Francisco media loved him. The Tampa media, the Tampa fan base -- pro-military, very conservative, I think Mike Evans heard from them” (“Speak for Yourself,” FS1, 11/15). Evans reportedly did not vote in last week's election, and ESPN’s Trey Wingo said, “If you don't like the way things are changing, walk into the voting booth and pull the lever." ESPN’s Bill Polian: “That's the greatest failing of all. By all accounts, he didn't vote. That's far more egregious than any protest.” But ESPN’s Josina Anderson said Evans "has the right ... to bring that into the workplace." Anderson: "It doesn't make it right -- it means there could be a consequence -- but it's certainly his right to do that” (“NFL Live,” ESPN, 11/15).
POSSIBLE SOLUTION? SPORTING NEWS' Michael McCarthy wrote NBC's Bob Costas has "one of the most intriguing ideas" on how the NFL can handle protesting players while "placating #BoycottNFL fans angered over disrespect of the American flag and national anthem." Costas "outlined a possible 'compromise.'" He said that NFLers protesting social issues could agree to "stay in the locker room during the singing of the national anthem." That way, fans in the stadium, and the millions watching at home, "would be spared the sight of players kneeling or sitting." In return, the teams "would arrange press conferences for players to share their views." Team facilities would be "used for these pressers" and the clubs would "invite press to attend for them, making sure their message was widely heard" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 11/15).
