Cleveland Browns players knelt during the National Anthem, nothing new since former 49ers QB Colin Kaapernick first set the protest in motion at the beginning of last season. What was new was the inclusion of Seth DeValve, the first white player to kneel during the anthem.
Last week, Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett, one of the faces of the anthem protest, issued a call to action to white players on national anthem protests, saying “It would take a white player to really get things changed, because when somebody from the other side understands and they step up and they speak up about it… it would change the whole conversation.”
Less than a week later, DeValve seemed to have heard Bennett out.
DeValve, who’s a Princeton graduate and married to a black woman, was one of nine Browns who knelt during the anthem, the largest protest by a team thus far.
The team released a statement on the actions of their players at halftime:
#Browns statement on protest pic.twitter.com/S9jqbJXy14
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 22, 2017
(Deadspin)
