Protesting the National Anthem has turned into a growing trend in the NFL as Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall dropped to his knee ahead of the team’s season opener against the Carolina Panthers Thursday night.
Marshall was showing support for San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick’s widely publicized protest, which began in the preseason last month and is slowly spreading across the NFL.
In a post-game press conference after the Broncos managed a tight 21-20 win over their Super Bowl 50 rivals, Marshall told reporters he didn’t just take a knee — but will also donate “an undisclosed amount” of money to U.S. military veterans.
“Colin is my fraternity brother, my ex-teammate,” the University of Nevada alum said. “I support Colin and what he’s trying to do.”
Marshall went on to say: “The message is I’m against social injustice. I’m not against the military or police or America at all. I’m against social injustice and I feel like this was the right thing to do,” he continued, according to NFL.com.
“I feel like this is the right platform. This is our only platform to really be heard … I feel like a lot of times people want us to just shut up and entertain them, shut up and play football. But we have voices as well. We’re actually educated individuals that went to college.
“So when we have an opinion and we speak it, I feel like a lot of people bash us for what we have to say,” Marshall said, NFL.com reported.
Kaepernick has also been joined in his stance by teammate Eric Reid and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane.
Several members of the Seahawks are considering protesting the National Anthem when the team faces the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, according to the Seattle Times.