Seahawks DE Michael Bennett last night sat during the national anthem prior to the team’s preseason opener against the Chargers, a stance he said that he will continue throughout the '17 season "in an effort to 'continuously push' a message against injustice in society," according to Bob Condotta of the SEATTLE TIMES. Bennett "sat on a bench with a towel draped over his shoulder pads." After the game, Bennett said that he "made the decision in the last few days in the wake of demonstrations in Charlottesville and elsewhere," including earlier yesterday in Seattle. He added that he "plans to sit for the anthem for the rest of the season." Bennett: "Seeing everything in Virginia and stuff that is going on I just wanted to be able to use my platform to continuously speak out on injustice." Bennett said that it was "not a stance against the military, noting that his father, Michael Bennett Sr., served in the Navy" (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/14). Bennett said that he "spoke to other players around the league about his stance but did not talk" to former teammate Marshawn Lynch, who also sat during the national anthem on Saturday in the Raiders' preseason opener. ESPN.com's Eric Williams reported Bennett's teammates and coaches were "not aware of his plans." He "decided to make a statement on his own because he didn't want to be a distraction to other players or his teammates" (ESPN.com, 8/13). THE MMQB's Peter King writes it is "good that players ... choose to protest things like the Charlottesville riot." It is a "sign that some players won’t sit idle while they fervently disapprove of what’s happening in the country" (MMQB.SI.com, 8/14).
USING THEIR PLATFORM: In S.F., Vic Tafur reported Raiders coach Jack Del Rio was "surprised that Lynch sat during the anthem and talked to him" after Saturday's game. Del Rio said of Lynch, "He said, ‘This is something I have done for 11 years. It’s not a form of anything other than me being myself.' I told him I very strongly believe in standing for the national anthem. But I respect him as a man and he can do his thing. So, it’s a non-issue for me" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/13). Lynch was the "only player to sit," as his teammates and coaches "all stood" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 8/13). In Las Vegas, Michael Gehlken noted Lynch was "not available to comment on the gesture," so it was "unclear what relation, if any, the events surrounding Charlottesville" had on his decision (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 8/13). The AP's Bob Baum noted although he rarely talks to the media, Lynch has "voiced support" for Kaepernick's decision to "kneel during the anthem last season to protest what he saw as a pattern of police mistreatment of people of color" (AP, 8/12). Meanwhile, PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Michael David Smith noted a video of the national anthem before a '13 Ravens-Seahawks game "clearly shows Lynch standing for the anthem." Smith: "We have not been able to find any photos or videos showing Lynch sitting out the anthem at any time in the 11 years since he entered the NFL, until Saturday night" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 8/13).
NOT THE SAME SITUATION: In Oakland, Jerry McDonald wrote Lynch's move "won’t have the same furor or momentum" as when Kaepernick first began to not stand for the anthem last year. Lynch "hasn't spoken to me the media since training camp began," while Kaepernick "told his story to NFL Media" on the night he began his protest. Lynch "didn't say anything to anybody." So while the story "won’t end there, it doesn’t leave a lot of food for the media beast unless Lynch cooperates and begins talking" (EAST BAY TIMES, 8/13). In S.F., Scott Ostler writes he is 100% "supportive" of Lynch's protest "only if it was a protest." If Lynch "chooses not to explain his sit-down, he surrenders any power a protest might have" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/14). The LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL's Gehlken writes until Lynch "speaks himself, little else will be made clear." The public "won’t know what stand Lynch seeks to make when choosing to sit" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 8/14).
SHOULD UNION TAKE A STAND? In DC, Kevin Blackistone wrote Kaepernick's inability to find a team this offseason "would seem an easy mantle" for the NFLPA "to pick up." But Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith said that the 32 player representatives around the league "haven’t called his office en masse demanding a grievance be filed or some other action taken on Kaepernick’s behalf as some in the public are demanding." Smith indicated that he "hasn’t been informed that his membership ... wants to wear black arm and ankle bands to indicate their displeasure with the league’s stance against Kaepernick." Instead, Smith said that his office is "proceeding on Kaepernick’s behalf as the quarterback and his agents have preferred: alone." Other NFL players are "tacitly supporting the league’s lockout of Kaepernick by doing nothing" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/12). In L.A., Sam Farmer wrote he believes the "kneeling protest and others ... have completely dissuaded some NFL owners from signing Kaepernick." However, he does not agree that owners "have colluded with each other on that." If teams "felt he was a player they needed to win, they would sign him" (L.A. TIMES, 8/13). But in Pittsburgh, Gene Collier wrote it is "abundantly clear that something other than talent is holding Kaepernick back" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 8/13).
