Patrick Mcmahon
One man is reportedly responsible for the Cleveland Browns’ reversal on kneeling in prayer and protest during the national anthem. In yesterday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, players stood, arms locked, while the national anthem played.
Many #Browns players had their arms locked together while standing for the national anthem behind the front row of players. pic.twitter.com/ZbN9HvkTlV
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) August 26, 2017
As recently as last week, however, as many as a dozen Browns players took a knee for the national anthem. What changed?
WKYC reports that Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown met with the team before the game and talked them out of it.
In the locker room before the Buccaneers game, Brown reportedly told the Browns: “Do not disrespect your flag; do not disrespect your country.”
The locker room talk comes in the wake of similar comments from Brown about such activism and its place in the NFL. Last week, Brown told ThePostGame that Colin Kaepernick “has to make up his mind whether he’s truly an activist or a football player.”
.@JimBrownNFL32 gives us the 'real deal' on @Kaepernick7, flag, anthem and being an activist. pic.twitter.com/MMcLX3dteb
— ThePostGame (@ThePostGame) August 24, 2017
