Gerald Hanks
The Houston Texans joined several National Football League (NFL) teams and locked arms in silent protest during Sunday’s games.
Videos by Rare
As “The Star Spangled Banner” was performed, players stood arm-in-arm on the sidelines prior to Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.
They were joined by Cal McNair, the Pats’ chief operating officer and son of owner Bob McNair.
Another instance of management and players joining together in silent protest occurred in London, England, as the Baltimore Ravens prepared to face the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Ravens players knelt on the sidelines during the national anthem while Jaguars players stood arm-in-arm with team owner Shahid Khan.
RELATED: ESPN Talks With JJ Watt About Harvey Recovery Effort
The league-wide protests are, most recently, specifically, in response to remarks made by President Trump at a campaign rally last week for Alabama Republican Senate candidate Luther Strange.
During his speech, the President brought up former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s silent protest of police brutality against African-Americans by kneeling during the anthem last season.
This season, dozens of other players joined in his protest movement.
“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!’” the President said at the rally.
On Monday, Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones, along with the team’s Head Coach Jason Garrett, knelt arm-in-arm with his players as a sign of solidarity with his players:
Many Houstonians would agree Jones has been a son of a bitch his entire life, but the Texans may not be the only Bayou City team to come out with a response to the President’s remarks.
RELATED: Rockets Owner Donates Millions to Harvey Relief
Rockets point guard Chris Paul, who is also the president of the NBA players’ union, told a local newspaper the players may stage their own form of protest.
“It’s not any one individual,” Paul said. “Whatever we do, we’ll do it as a team.”
On Sunday, Paul tweeted a more direct and personal response:
And I doubt he's man enough to call any of those players a son of a bitch to their face…
— Chris Paul (@CP3) September 23, 2017
Stay tuned, y’all.
[anvplayer video=”4179083″]
