Baldwin was asked if 9-11’s anniversary being Sunday should be a consideration for any NFL player considering a protest during the National Anthem that day.
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Lane said he hasn’t received indication if any teammates will join in his action.
“He’s understanding the responsibility of it, I think, and shouldering it”.
“I want to make sure I get all of my ducks in a row before I do so”, Baldwin said. It’s going to be a team thing because that’s what the world needs to see. “The world needs to see people coming together versus being individuals”.
Speaking to the Seattle Times, linebacker Bobby Wagner spoke of the team possibly having a big surprise.
“I don’t know how realistic it is”, Baldwin said.
After sitting during the anthem in the Seahawks’ final preseason game last Thursday, Lane said San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick thanked him for his support and his matching gesture. Kaepernick said he sat to protest racial inequality and police brutality.
“It was a little nod to Kaepernick and everything that he’s standing for right now”.
Lane said Monday he plans to continue sitting.
The fifth-year cornerback said the only advice he got from coach Pete Carroll is to “be smart”. “I’m doing it for me”. “Not saying I won’t but I haven’t thought about it”. I really don’t know what to say about that.
“He reached out to me and just told me thank you for standing behind him”, Lane said.
But with the National Football League declining to discipline players for it, they clearly feel empowered.
“We have the freedom to do whatever we want here”, Wagner said.
Now Baldwin is perhaps the most respected leader in the Seahawks’ locker room – and on the field. “We kind of give each other a lot of slack, so whatever decisions you make, we understand we are all human beings”. Some of us might not agree. “You’ll never see another team like this ever again, whenever it’s done”. His decision was due to the quarterback choosing to stand with the people he said are being oppressed. “I’m still thinking it through”. The point of the protest is to get people to think. I think it’s very ironic that 15 years ago, on September 11, it was one of the most devastating times in USA history, but after that day we were probably the most unified we’ve ever been.
Will we see more Seahawks sit the national anthem? “We’re going one day at a time with the thought that he’s going to play”. Football’s just a small part of what we do. “But not specifically to that”.
Avril said he also has considered taking a knee during the anthem. That’s more heartening to me than anything. We don’t live in a box. “We’ll find out how that works out with no goal in mind really at this point”.
“As far as sitting down, me personally, I don’t know if I would do that. But as a person that does see it and does see what’s really going on out here, I definitely could see me doing something about it as well”.
His answer was one of the most thoughtful and balanced you’ll get in professional sports.
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Added Avril: “We’re thinking about it. I am”.
