The Green Bay Packers will reportedly be staying in their locker room while the National Anthem is played on Sunday.
When the Green Bay Packers take on the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, you won’t be seeing Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams and the rest of their teammates out on the field as early as you might have imagined. That’s because Green Bay has made the decision to not take the gridiron for the National Anthem.
According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, the Packers have decided as a team that they’ll be staying inside their locker room while both National Anthems are being played at U.S Bank Stadium in Minnesota.
Per Pelissero, Green Bay collectively made this decision because the players are wanting to focus on the changes that are being made by the team as a whole, rather than having a split of teammates standing for the anthem.
This summer, peaceful protests reached new heights among athletes after police in Wisconsin shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back. After that truly disturbing incident, we saw players and teams from multiple leagues boycott games and practices to bring awareness to the situation.
During the NFL’s season-opener on Thursday night between the Chiefs and Texans, the two teams decided to unite and lock arms together after the anthem was played. Surprisingly, it led to Chiefs fans booing all the players.
Come Sunday, you can expect plenty of players to kneel during the anthem. Movements are being made all across the league to make sure the players’ voices are being heard. While the Packers will remain in the locker room for the anthem, that doesn’t mean whatsoever they’re not active in the fight against racial injustices.