The Houston Texans didn’t take the field for the national anthem during the first NFL game of the season.
The Texans remained in the locker room during the national anthem, and the Chiefs all stood during America’ iconic song, except for Alex Okafor. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Alex Okafor was kneeling during the anthem, with a teammate’s hand on each shoulder.
— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) September 11, 2020
Honestly, if the choices are between staying in the locker room or kneeling, I’d rather just have the players stay in the locker room.
At least that way they’re not taking the focus away from the anthem. It’s certainly a better option than taking a knee.
Of course, we all knew the national anthem debate was going to be a major talking point this season. That’s been known for months.
Ever since Drew Brees’ anthem comments, we knew not everyone would stand.
Highlight: @readdanwrite asks @drewbrees what the star NFL quarterback thinks about “players kneeling again when the NFL season starts.”@drewbrees: “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”
Full exchange: pic.twitter.com/MpCkFyOMed
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) June 3, 2020
I think I speak for most people when I say NFL fans don’t want the games to become political debates about the national anthem.
We want to watch football, watch touchdowns get scored and cheer for our teams. That’s what we tune in for. Leave the politics at the door like it’s meant to be.