Raiders OL to protest during national anthem
The entire starting offensive line of the Oakland Raiders is planning on doing a kneeled or seated protest during the playing of the United States’ national anthem during their road game against Washington on Sunday Night Football.
Protests by players on many different NFL teams have already begun with the Baltimore Ravens vs. Jacksonville Jaguars game from Wembley Stadium in London, and will culminate on Sunday with the Raiders game at Washington tonight.
On the gridiron and in the locker room, it’s important for an offensive line to act as a unit. Regular communication about sliding protection, picking up potential blitzing defenders and adjusting to audibles called by quarterback Derek Carr is essential to the success of the group. The Oakland offensive line will be demonstrating that solidarity in another way on Sunday night just prior to its game against Washington.
The solidarity goes beyond just their own unit, or even their own franchise, however. In response to comments made by Donald Trump about other NFL players who have in previous games taken a knee or sat during the playing of “The Star Spangled Banner,” Oakland’s offensive line intends to demonstrate solidarity with those players as well.
This will be powerful: #Raiders offensive line, the only all African-American unit in @NFL, plans to sit or kneel together during the anthem
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 24, 2017
While there is yet to be an official statement from the team or its owner, Mark Davis, about either the planned protest or Trump’s comments, the fact that Marshawn Lynch has a prominent role on the team without any comment on his earlier anthem protests suggests that the Raiders are indifferent to the practice.
It’s also unknown at this point whether any other Raiders players will be joining in with the offensive linemen or staging concurrent but separate protests of their own. There has been no announcement or comment from Washington’s side as of yet, although Washington owner Dan Snyder contributed to Trump’s election campaign.
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The final tally and full effects of these protests are yet to be determined, but what seems certain is that today will be a historic day in the NFL in this regard.