After widespread protests in the United States against racism and police brutality, the NFL has chosen to allow players to protest during the national anthem after coming down on players including Colin Kaepernick for doing so in the past.
During the Week 1 slate of games, players from a number of different teams kneeled during the national anthem or touchdown celebrations. For the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks in particular, players from both teams kneeled together on the field during kickoff.
While kneeling has become common in some sports such as the NBA and even the NHL, it’s especially noteworthy in the NFL after Kaepernick became the first athlete to protest during the anthem and in many ways started this movement in sports.
While Kaepernick remains out of the league, Roger Goodell and the NFL issued a mea culpa in the offseason for failing to listen to the original message behind anthem protests. Kaepernick settled with the league last year on his collusion grievance, and remains eligible to sign with a team as a free agent.
