Out on the fields, Seattle's Jason Myers kicked the ball through the end zone to open Seattle's season at Atlanta. The Los Angeles Rams sideline during the national anthem before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, Chicago Bears players on the sideline during the national anthem against Detroit Lions during an NFL football game, Sunday, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) and teammates kneel during the National Anthem before an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Detroit Lions players on the sideline during the national anthem against Chicago Bears during an NFL game, Sunday. The NFL along with other professional sports leagues are in favor of bringing attention to the treatment of black people by law enforcement after George Floyd died at the hands of police in Minneapolis on May 25. Since then, the league has taken largely symbolic steps like allowing racial justice messages in end zones and on helmets and T-shirts. “It’s bigger than football, so we’ve got to keep this going, let everyone see it, whether it sparks the conversation between a Black person and a white person, or whether a mayor sees this or a governor sees it to just get their minds right and see what we’re asking for and what we demand. “But think of the millions of other people who are thinking the same thing, and how those votes can add up and how it can have an effect on the election … if you think voting isn’t important, think of the people before you who took time and protested and fought to get us to have this basic right to go out and vote.”. 'I tried, against my better judgement, to watch the NFL today. I saw kneeling, fists in the air, players kneel in the middle of the field instead of defending a kickoff, and was subjected to the 'Black National Anthem'. Banner has suggested the NFL put stickers on their helmets with the hashtag #BLM. In Atlanta, the teams wore armbands honoring civil rights leader John Lewis and staged the most striking of the day's gestures: They watched the opening kickoff sail through the end zone for a touchback, dropped to one knee, and remained there for about 10 seconds before trotting off the field to resume the game. Been to at least 10 stadiums so far. After a lengthy team meeting discussing social justice issues Saturday last week, the team voted to cancel practice for the day. Metcalf, a Mississippi native, will have a decal reading “Emmett Till” on his helmet. The Los Angeles Chargers stand arm-in-arm before their game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati, Los Angeles Rams players on the sidelines during the National Anthem before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi, The Cincinnati Bengals stand arm in arm as 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' is played before an NFL football game, The Los Angeles Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals stand on the field during the national anthem at the beginning of their game at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday, There was a barrage of Tweets from supporters of the NFL who were not happy at political messages and 'social justice' actions crossing over into their football game, 'I think the NFL is taking a big misstep in making their product not about the game of football and making it about the political agendas of some of its players,' Green Bay Packers fan Andy Duffrin of Marinette, Wisconsin, said to the Green Bay Press Gazette. Wright organized the call to action for the latter. Players who were not registered to vote in November’s presidential election used the time to do so. Wayne Sargent of Campbellsport who runs a Green Bay Packers fan club says he believes the teams should stick to entertainment rather than political messages. Many players also have foundations through which they support local and national causes. “We all know what’s right, and we all know what’s wrong. It’s white people that don’t know. “They know exactly what’s going on. When the anthem began in Detroit, a slew of Lions walked off the field and headed toward their locker room; some remained on the field and knelt. Some team owners have pledged money toward social justice causes or offered their stadiums as polling places for the November election. Philadelphia Eagles 7 Eleven Slurpee Straw W Removable Mini Helmet NFL Playoffs. Not anymore, since 2017 haven't watched a game.'. DR ELLIE CANNON answers all those niggling worries and explains why you should be first in the queue, Has Sweden's iconoclast public health expert been sidelined? ', A Black Lives Matter sign is displayed at Baltimore Ravens against Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium, Members of the Las Vegas Raiders stand during the National Anthem before an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. 5 out of 5 stars Vikings players locked arms in the end zone about a half-hour before their game against Green Bay for 'Lift Every Voice and Sing,' the song unofficially known as the Black national anthem that was played before each game in Week 1 as part of the NFL's 'social awakening'. Metcalf, free safety Quandre Diggs and linebacker Shaquem Griffin are among the players registered to vote for the first time. The Falcons also wore shirts with his quote: 'The Vote is the most powerful, nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society.'. This would be a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. helmets ‼️ A post shared by Los Angeles Rams (@rams) on Aug 13, 2020 at 7:11pm PDT The defense was rocking bone practice jerseys, which look great with the new helmets, too. This is a white people’s issue to get over with and learn what’s going on and to figure it out and start loving everybody that’s a part of our country.”. GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS AND GOD BLESS AMERICA. Eventually this will end badly. In a recent poll by the Washington Post, 56% of Americans said they believed it to be appropriate for athletes to kneel during the national anthem with 42% saying it was inappropriate. Roger Goodell and your ratings will soon prove that Exactly to be true, dumbass!'. Ben Arthur covers sports for SeattlePI. I'm proud of the KC fans. The 14-year-old Till, a Black boy from Mississippi, became a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement after he was brutally murdered in 1955 for allegedly flirting with a white woman. But on Sunday, NFL fans on Twitter expressed their upset at what they had been witnessing in stadiums across the country. Published: 20:42 EST, 13 September 2020 | Updated: 09:21 EST, 14 September 2020. #BoycottNFL' wrote another. The NFL has pledged $250 million to support social justice causes in addition to extra money to individual teams. The Seahawks have also been preaching the need for Americans to exercise their voting rights. But Kaepernick's tweet on Sunday suggested he was still skeptical that anything had changed in the league. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. 'While the NFL runs propaganda about how they care about Black Life, they are still actively blackballing Eric Reid for fighting for the Black community. Goodell posted a video in June conceding that the league had been late in acknowledging the problem. The Packers pledged $500,000 and Murphy $250,000 to Wisconsin-based organizations. $18.99 New. Another user, Clay Travis from Nashville expressed his upset with the Baltimore Ravens. “Black people know the truth,” Carroll said. We just have not been open to listening. 'This attempt to unify only creates more divide. He was the second player, behind Kaepernick, to participate in kneeling protests during performances of the national anthem before NFL games. “I think a lot of people have had that idea of, ‘My vote is only one vote, it doesn’t mean anything,’” Diggs said. We’ve been unwilling to accept the real history. But the football league was in its offseason when Breonna Taylor was shot in her own apartment by Louisville police in March; when a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly eight minutes in May, killing him; when Jacob Blake was shot and paralyzed by Kenosha, Wisconsin, police in August; and when protests over those and other acts of violence against black Americans erupted across the nation. Player protests, Black national anthem, divide Green Bay Packers fans. Kaepernick appeared to be angered by the NFL pushing its social justice initiatives while his former teammate Eric Reid remained a free agent to start the season, New England Patriots stand during the singing of 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' by Alicia Keys, on the video screen, before an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Back online, NFL fan Luke Silver did not hold back: 'NFL is a total s*** show with their crossing over into politics and 'social justice' nobody wants to see that s***. That's just the laziest, performative bulls***,' stated one fan.