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The NFL Has Its First White National Anthem Protester

Aug 22, 2017  •  Post A Comment

National Anthem protests among NFL players appear to be spreading, with one key barrier falling Monday when Seth DeValve, a second-year tight end for the Cleveland Browns, took a knee during “The Star Spangled Banner” before a preseason game in Cleveland against the Giants.

The New York Post reports that DeValve was “part of a circle of more than a dozen players who bowed their heads in silent protest. They were flanked by several more teammates who stood and put their hands on the kneelers’ shoulders.”

The report adds: “DeValve is the first white player to join the movement started by Colin Kaepernick, who’s currently not in the league. The Eagles’ Chris Long stood with his hand on a teammate’s kneeling shoulder last week.”

The report notes that Michael Bennett, a defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks, said last week that it would take the involvement of a white player in the protests “to really get things changed.” The protests are focused on the treatment of African Americans by police across the U.S.

“For DeValve, a fourth-round pick last year out of Princeton, protesting treatment of minorities is personal: He’s married to an African-American woman, and he expressed hope that his future children would grow up in a better world,” The Post notes.

DeValve, 24, is quoted in the report saying: “The United States is the greatest country in the world. It is because it provides opportunities to its citizens that no other country does. The issue is that it doesn’t provide equal opportunity to everybody.” He added: “I wanted to support my African-American teammates today who wanted to take a knee. We wanted to draw attention to the fact that there’s things in this country that still need to change.”

6 Comments

  1. This identity politics is losing steam with the middle class because we work side by side with minorities every day. The two levels above me are both black women. I work with gays, bi’s, blacks, asians, Europeans, and Africans. Microsoft is not run by a white male and it is the same for many companies. The truth is that any minority that really wants to work and work their way up, through military, school, apprenticeship, or just hard work is able to do so. It is hard for the middle class to accept this politics when we live with minorities, have friends who are minorities, have kids who date and are married to minorities.

    • Yeah Cleric I hate to say it doesn’t work that way. In fact after Virginia it’s getting worse. No one denies that minorities are making hay in America no doubt. And working side by side with minorities has been happening for way too long. The challenge now is the new world order of those white folks who used have those jobs side by side with other white folks. They feel they’ve lost something, their position in the world and they are angry. Very angry. So the politics has changed in America dramatically. Therefore the demonstration, the kneeling, the protests and whatever is next on the calendar to fight against the growth where I agree with you has moved in the right direction.

      In addition we have a president who agrees with those whites left behind. Once again therein lies the reasons for the protests.

      By any mean necessary.

  2. Amen Cleric !

  3. I disagree. There cannot be different rules for different people.

  4. Without taking a side, my observation is that the demonstration is taking place in the wrong venue. The football field is the workplace these entertainers work in. Every workplace has rules and policies that allow the enterprise to be as successful as possible without causing disruption with other employees or their customers. The owners of these football businesses are not exercising their right as an employer to stop activities that are driving customers away.

  5. Agreed.

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