Bears Players Lock Arms During National Anthem; Steelers Stay In Locker Room

By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 24, 2017 5:00PM

Getty Images / Photo: Kena Krutsinger

Chicago Bears players stood and locked arms during the national anthem on Sunday ahead of the team’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, at Soldier Field, amid President Donald Trump's condemnation of players who kneel as a form of protest during renditions of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

The Steelers meanwhile remained in the locker room during the anthem, aside from offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva, a former Army Ranger who came out and stood. "We're not going to play politics," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told CBS' Jamie Erdahl before the game. "We're football players, we're football coaches. We're not participating in the anthem today—not to be disrespectful to the anthem, but to remove ourselves from the circumstance."

No Bears player has chosen to kneel during a pre-game rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" over the last season and a half.

The actions of course followed Trump’s renewed tirade against players who “disrespect” the flag. “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!’” Trump said at a rally in Alabama on Friday, according to the Atlantic.

Trump then doubled down on his comments on Sunday morning, saying on Twitter that players who don’t “stop disrespecting our flag and country” should be fired or suspended.

(In the midst of all this, Trump on Saturday also rescinded an invitation for the NBA champion Golden State Warriors to visit the White House after star player Steph Curry said he would vote against such a visit. LeBron James and others blasted Trump for his comments.)

While not addressing Trump by name, Chicago Bears Chairman George McCaskey released a statement ahead of the Bears-Steelers matchup saying, “What makes this the greatest country in the world are the liberties it was founded upon and the freedom to express oneself in a respectful and peaceful manner.”

Bears guard Kyle Long on Saturday publicly took exception to Trump’s comments. "Taking freedoms away from Americans is unamerican. Ain’t it?” Long posted on Twittter.

Bears captain Akiem Hicks said prior to the game that Trump’s Twitter remarks go “against a lot of the rights that we hold dear and the rights that we fight for as citizens in America,” according to Chicago Defender.

He added, “I don’t really appreciate it, but it’s where we’re at as a country right now, and it’s where our leadership is. I’m no activist and I’m not standing at the forefront of any movement, but I will say that you want to be respected and you want to be appreciated for what you do, and you want to be allowed the basic human rights that we all deserve.”

The protests were initiated by still-unsigned quarterback Collin Kaepernick in 2016 to protest police brutality and racial injustice.

According to PBS, a Quinnipiac poll last year found that white Americans disapproved of the protests 63 percent to 30 percent, while black Americans approved, 74 percent to 17 percent. Latinos disapproved 45 percent to 36 percent.

Some members of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens—the first two teams to play in Week Three—either locked arms, kneeled or both during the national anthem. The Ringer has a running list of players' Sunday protests here.