Tyrann Mathieu apologizes to Brandon Marshall for not taking a knee with him

Four years later, Tyrann Mathieu feels like he owes Brandon Marshall an apology.

While Colin Kaepernick made most the headlines, in part due to the fact that he never managed to find his way back onto an NFL field after the 2016 season, he wasn’t the only player protesting peacefully during the national anthem.

Former Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall also took a knee, facing similar immediate backlash to Kaepernick. He wasn’t the face of the issue, but Marshall is dealing with the same reality that all athletes who have taken a similar stand must come to terms with: the issues they brought to light in 2016 and beyond are finally coming to a head. The death of George Floyd lit a fire in the underbelly of United States culture, and there’s no going back now.

Tyrann Mathieu wishes he stood for Brandon Marshall’s cause years ago.

Tyrann Mathieu, then of the Arizona Cardinals, did not have the same support Marshall did in Denver. The since-retired linebacker cited the Broncos PR staff as a key reason he felt comfortable making a stand by taking a knee.

The Broncos’ locker room, for one, was willing to hear Marshall out.

“Me and some guys in the locker room were vocal about how we felt. And we were able to come to an understanding and we were able to coexist and that’s what it’s about. That’s what America’s about. We come from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different morals. And we don’t have to believe the same things. But as long as you try to understand where I’m coming from, I try to understand where you’re coming from, and either we can come to a common ground or agree to disagree. And that’s fine,” Marshall told Complex.

Mathieu, meanwhile, regrets not going out on the same limb.

With the George Floyd protests comes an opportunity to honor those who were willing to make injustice public before it was mainstream. Marshall belongs on that list, and this is Mathieu’s way of paying homage and apologizing for not supporting him sooner.