Brandon Marshall of the Denver Broncos followed in the footsteps of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick by choosing not to stand Thursday night during the national anthem in the first game of the 2016 regular season.
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Marshall’s protest follows those of San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick and US soccer star Megan Rapinoe, both of whom also recently took a knee during the anthem to protest race relations in the United States.
In a post-game press conference after the Broncos pulled off a tight 21-20 win over the Carolina Panthers Thursday night, Marshall told reporters why he a took knee – and pledged to donate “an undisclosed amount” of money to US military veterans.
“Yes, I will kneel again on Sunday”, said Marshall, who will meet with Denver police Chief Robert White on Tuesday to discuss his call for better police training and treatment of minorities. “I’m not here to spread hate”, Marshall said, according to the Broncos’ transcripts.
It didn’t take long for Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall to see real backlash for his decision to kneel during the national anthem Thursday night.
CenturyLink released a statement saying the company “completely [respects] Brandon Marshall’s personal decision and right to take an action to support something in which he strongly believes. We wish Brandon well on his future endeavors”, wrote president Glen Strebe on Facebook. “Brandon has a right to his beliefs and I’m going to focus on the football”.
Colin Kaepernick shook up the world at large a couple of weeks ago after explaining his reasoning for sitting out during the national anthem ceremony. Marshall, like Kaepernick, said he would continue to kneel during the anthem and promised to donate to charities like Wounded Warriors, the Post reported. “What’s the end game for me to be able to get out, do what I need to do and feel good about the change that maybe I effected?”
“And I won’t just take knees, and that’s why I chose to donate an undisclosed amount to different programs that support the vets, ’cause, you know, it’s tough for them in this country”. “And the people that love me are going to support me and I definitely appreciate that'”.
But Marshall is seeing aggressive comments and actions against him for what has to be the first time in his career, at least to this extent. I love this country.
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“I’m a likable guy”.
