UPDATE:
The entire team took a knee before the anthem and then stood up and linked arms. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his family partook in the demonstration. Many fans booed.
One player said, “We have to do something.”
Added another to the paper: “Something will be done.”
Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett doesn’t expect his players to protest the national anthem on Monday night after recent comments from President Donald Trump.
More than 100 NFL players protested the national anthem on Sunday, Sept. 24.
Speaking to Dallas News, Garrett said, “I don’t” when he was asked if there is a need to address what Trump said.
“We have an approach that we believe in,” Garrett said. “I have no real comment beyond that.”
The anthem protests were started last season when former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during preseason games, drawing intense media scrutiny. Kaepernick and others say they’re protesting against police brutality and racism in the United States. But many critics have said that the protest shows disrespect to the national anthem and the U.S. itself.
Garrett said he doesn’t have an opinion on Trump’s comments.
“I just don’t think it’s in anyone’s best interest for me to comment on that,” he said.
Trump, in a rally and in a series of tweets over the weekend, said that fans should boycott games.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired. He’s fired,’” Trump said.
“You know, some owner is going to do that. He’s going to say, ‘That guy that disrespects our flag, he’s fired.’ And that owner, they don’t know it, they’re friends of mine, many of them, [but] they'll be the most popular person in this country,” he said.
Cowboys linebackers Sean Lee and Jaylon Smith were asked about Trump’s comments. “I don’t agree with his comments,” Smith said. “But I love my team. Really no other comment than that. I don’t agree with it.”
Lee also said that he doesn’t agree with the comments. “I love my teammates like brothers. To be honest, that’s all I’m going to say on that,” he added.
The Cowboys are slated to play the Arizona Cardinals at 8:30 p.m. ET during “Monday Night Football” on ESPN.
“Many people booed the players who knelt yesterday (which was a small percentage of total). These are fans who demand respect for our Flag!” the president stated.
