The protest distracted from a big Broncos victory over the Carolina Panthers.
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Marshall may be the first player to lose an endorsement over expressing his views “against social injustice”, but he likely won’t be the last now that the Seattle Seahawks have expressed interest in a team-unified protest ahead of their season opener.
Marshall’s protest came before the first National Football League game of the 2016 season, a rematch of the Super Bowl from a season ago, won by the Broncos. Kaepernick dealt with the same misplaced criticism.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color”, Kaepernick has said. With these strong ties to the USA military, the credit union said in a statement on Friday that Marshall’s move not to stand for the national anthem went against what it stands for. “If I lose an Under Armour endorsement – that’s the only endorsement I have – I wouldn’t be anxious about it because to me, in my heart, I’m doing something that’s in benefit of a lot of people”.
“It’s going to be a special day, a very significant day, but at the same time I think I’m looking forward to the many better changes that we can make”.
Marshall brought up the instances of police brutality that made headlines over the summer as a root of the protest.
ESPN reported Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said earlier in the preseason that he wanted his players to stand for the national anthem, but respects other people’s beliefs and values. “We are actually educated individuals that went to college”, Marshall said. I figured some sort of repercussion would happen. “He can talk all he wants, but actions speak louder than words”.
Marshall said he didn’t discuss his action before the game with any member of the Broncos except tight end Virgil Green and decided Sunday to do it. Marshall will “absolutely” continue to do it, he said. “Then he was able to say everything he felt, everything he meant”.
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“I’m a man of faith. It’s tough because I don’t read all the comments”, he said. My dad taught me two things that I believe in strongly.
