A large swath of players and coaches for the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars linked arms and kneeled for the U.S. national anthem during a matchup in London, England on Sunday.
The Ravens-Jaguars game took place at Wembley Arena in London, and while the players either knelt or locked arms during The Star Spangled Banner, they all stood for the British anthem, God Save The Queen.
Ravens and Jaguars players locked arms while others knelt for the national anthem prior to the game in London. https://t.co/bP59FWysNd pic.twitter.com/tzgUpXIuXg
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 24, 2017
The protest is likely in response to President Donald Trump’s comments at an Alabama rally on Friday night, where he encouraged NFL owners to fire the “son of a bitch” players who kneel for the anthem. Kneeling started last season with then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and has spread to other players, but this appears to be the first time entire teams have done it in solidarity.
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Former Ravens player Ray Lewis conspicuously joined Sunday’s protest, despite criticizing Kaepernick’s form of protest and urging him to “get back on the football field and let your play speak for itself.” Lewis said the Ravens almost signed Kaepernick this year until Kaepernick’s girlfriend compared Lewis to a house slave from the movie “Django Unchained.”