USAToday- Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said he was unaware Lynch would sit for the anthem, but added that the two spoke afterward and described the running back's action as a "non-issue" to him.
"He said, 'This is something I've done for 11 years — it's not a form of anything other than me being myself,' " Del Rio said in a postgame news conference. "I said, 'So you understand how I feel, I very strongly believe in standing for the national anthem, but I'm gonna respect you as a man. You do your thing, OK, and we'll do ours.' " The moment came on a day in which a car hit peaceful protesters, killing a woman and injuring at least 19 people, after white supremacists and counter-protesters clashed at a rally in Charlottesville. ----- Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. Can you believe that an oft-controversial, African American athlete chose to casually sit and have a snack without even removing his cap for the saluting of the country in which he's lucky enough to earn his market value of millions of dollars to display his talents? Just plopped right down on his keister for some sustenance like he was feeling light headed and needed a potassium boost after a long walk in the park when he was supposed to be doing his civic duty by standing upright? Ugh, completely and utterly disgraceful if you ask me. I'm sorry. I support the freedom of free protest and all that happy horse shit, but if someone is going to be that apathetic towards an unlawful squabble that revolves around a flag then it should be the President of the United States of America! Honestly, sit (or stand, doesn't really matter to me) there and tell me that Marshawn Lynch is un-American for choosing to rest his legs during a song while the country that it represents was currently serving as the unwilling host to a racial supremacy riot. Please, concoct a narrative in which a peaceful (if not entirely uninterested) protest for something that is inherently positive should be viewed more negatively than people angrily taking to the streets with fucking shields of armor and lit Tiki torches ready to commit vehicular homicide on behalf of their undeserved privilege. I'd be genuinely curious to see if someone could logically argue that the American flag truly symbolizes "freedom" when the removal of a Confederate flag that - like it or not - serves as a symbol of an oppressive history is still capable of being the catalyst for a citywide, neo-nazi-led 'Civil War'. Admittedly, I have some pretty strong doubts that a star running back with a polarizing personality has been sitting out the 'National Anthem' for 11 years. I know we are a hell of a lot more hyper sensitive to how people choose to recognize the 'Star Spangled Banner' than we were when Marshawn Lynch was last on an NFL sideline, but there's no way he lasted over a decade on his asscheeks without drawing public ire. He's being disingenuous - if not completely full of shit - in acting like he didn't know what he was doing in the moment. However, since what he was doing is a wee bit more harmless than a public promotion of a "master race" that turned deadly, I think I am at liberty to say that what he was doing wasn't all that bad regardless. Marshawn Lynch may not have made the most agreeable of spokesperson since he didn't even own up to a cause and his posture served as the biggest of middle fingers to every hypocrite that thought his unspoken cause was the most obscene thing that happened on American soil this weekend. Not that the type of stubborn jackass that would be overly critical anyway needs my blessing, but I suppose you could chastise him for delivering his message a little more indirectly, yet explicitly than we have come to expect. That said, if you're under the assumption that he and Michael Bennett acted under the same pretense then you're going to have a pretty rough time blindly (and deafly) disagreeing with this sentiment without sounding like a racist asshole that's incapable of comprehending English words and undeniable truths... Michael Bennett: "With everything that's been going on the last couple of months, and especially after the last couple of days seeing what's going on in Virginia, and earlier today in Seattle, I just wanted to be able to use my platform to be able to continuously speak on injustice." "First of all, I want people to understand that I love the military. My father's in the military. I love hot dogs like any other American. I love football like any other American. But I don't love segregation. I don't love riots or oppression." "I just want to see people have the equality that they deserve. And I want to be able to use this platform to continuously push the message of that." "I'm being vulnerable right now. There's a whole bunch of people sitting at home judging me, but they will never get to this point where they can be vulnerable. Let people attack me because they don't believe what I believe in, but at the end of the day, I'm being vulnerable to show every person that no matter [what] you believe in, keep fighting for it. Keep fighting for equality. Keep fighting for oppressed people. And keep trying to change society."
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