The Ravens were booed at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday as they linked arms and knelt in prayer prior to the national anthem, though that "might not have happened if the team" had not been "so coy about the plan to make a statement of unity," according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore SUN. It is "understandable that some Ravens players were frustrated by the fan response," but it is also "understandable why a large part of the crowd booed before they realized the team planned to stand back up for the national anthem." The team "chose to talk in non-specific terms about keeping the conversations in-house and making some kind of team-wide statement on game day." However, the situation "did not benefit from the NFL’s usual shroud of secrecy." Schmuck: "It might not have prevented all the booing since a lot of fans obviously have grown tired of the whole situation and -- let’s be honest -- probably recognize that the generic pregame prayer and statement of unity was as much about public relations damage control as it was about promoting peace, love and understanding" (Baltimore SUN, 10/3).
BIG WIGS: In Indianapolis, Gregg Doyel writes the Colts stood for the national anthem on Sunday with many players "wearing the same T-shirt they all wore on to the field for pregame warmups, a black shirt with white lettering" under their jerseys. On the front of the T-shirt, "under a white horseshoe," it read in large letters: WE WILL. On the back, in smaller letters, it read: Stand for. Equality. Justice. Unity. Respect. Dialogue. Opportunity. The conversations that led to the T-shirt were "not pretty." Colts S Darius Butler said, "Our leadership council met with some (franchise) bigwigs. We had some uncomfortable conversations." Butler "didn’t say" who the bigwigs were. None of the Colts "would say who came up with the idea for the shirt." Butler: "The T-shirt is just a start to us putting some action behind our words. It’s about being direct, and being honest, so there’s no way to misconstrue what we stand for. It was important to us. It’s important for not only us, but for our community, and for our communities back home" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/3).
FOLLOW HER LEAD: In Detroit, Nolan Finley writes Lions Owner Martha Firestone Ford’s "approach to defusing football’s divisive national anthem dilemma is inspired, and should be copied by other NFL teams." Ford’s way out "should satisfy players who wanted action on the issues they care about." The "promise of funding is the best kind of action they could have hoped for" and it "removes a distraction that promises to cost the NFL money and fans" (DETROIT NEWS, 10/3).
