Harbaugh on national anthem: ‘If I’m taking a knee, it’s to pray.’
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh put out a statement Thursday in response to the NFL’s new policy requiring all players on the field to stand during the pregame playing of the national anthem.
According to ESPN, the new policy mandates that players who are on the sidelines for the playing of the national anthem must stand. However, the policy also gives players the choice of staying in the locker room and not participating.
Previously, Harbaugh had expressed his support for the right of his players to protest during the anthem.
Following a September 2017 game in which 13 Ravens took a knee during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Harbaugh said it was up to his players to decide if they wanted to protest. Those players had been responding to President Donald Trump’s comments calling for the “sons of b—–s” who kneel to be “fired.”
At the time, Harbaugh said he “100 percent” supported his players’ decision to kneel, per The Baltimore Sun.
For his part, though, Harbaugh said there was only one reason he would ever kneel.
“If I’m taking a knee, it’s to pray,” Harbaugh said. “And I’ll be praying for our country that we find a way to come together.”
Fast-forward to May 2018, and Harbaugh has once again indicated he supports standing for the American flag.
“I believe in standing for the flag,” the coach said Thursday in a statement prior to the Ravens’ on-field organized team activities. “To me, the flag represents the ideas and the ideals that make us America. I also believe in the freedoms the flag represents and that people can speak for themselves.”
Statement from Head Coach John Harbaugh. pic.twitter.com/1uRkoxn9h6
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 24, 2018
“I know this: Our players respect the flag and what it represents. And, we’re all proud at the Ravens of the work they do to make this community and country better,” he added.
Harbaugh’s players also responded to the league’s new national anthem policy, though some indicated the controversy had been blown out of proportion.
“I haven’t really thought too much about it because it’s not really going to affect me. I’m going to go out there and stand for the anthem and I’m going to play football,” said quarterback Joe Flacco, per the team’s official website.
Defensive tackle Brandon Williams expressed similar sentiments.
“My reaction to the policy is I’m all about the football policy and winning games on Sunday,” he said. “What every person on the team wants to do, I respect that. My biggest goal is just to win games on Sunday, and that’s all I worry about.”
However, the new policy has won the support of some prominent political figures, like President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
“You have to stand proudly for the national anthem and the NFL owners did the right thing if that’s what they’ve done,” the president said of the new policy. “You have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn’t be playing. You shouldn’t be there. Maybe you shouldn’t be in the country.”
Pence seemed to agree completely.
#Winning 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/aEJOCmB5lW
— Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) May 23, 2018
“#Winning,” he tweeted Wednesday, alongside a screenshot of a CNN story on the new policy.
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