Look: Antonio Brown takes a knee, sends direct message to NFL
As soon as the NFL announced its new policy requiring players on the field to “stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem,” New York Jets chairman Christopher Johnson declared his team would be free to kneel or sit during the national anthem without worrying about any repercussions.
“If somebody [on the Jets] takes a knee, that fine will be borne by the organization, by me, not the players,” Johnson told Newsday on Wednesday after the NFL’s policy was made public. “I never want to put restrictions on the speech of our players. … There will be no club fines or suspensions or any sort of repercussions.”
Now players on other teams apparently are hoping to get in on the action.
On Sunday, Pittsburgh Steelers star Antonio Brown posted a photo of himself taking a knee on Instagram.
“Send the invoice to Christopher Johnson,” the wide receiver said in the caption, along with the hashtags “#JetsChairman” and “#Respect.”
The Steelers’ Instagram post wasn’t received well by many fans.
“How bout a thank you to the troops on Memorial Day weekend instead of kneeling for the flag and anthem,” said one commenter.
“PLEASE Say it ain’t so AB…show some respect, and right at Memorial Day, that’s just plain pissy,” said another.
“Very disappointed in you AB,” wrote a third. “I’m one of your #1 fans, I have a lot of your memorabilia all over our Steelers Den, but if you take a knee, we’re done with you, very disgraceful !!!RESPECT the Flag of our country that so many men and women fought and died for to defend our country!”
However, several others said they supported Brown’s post, and it had nearly 87,000 likes by Monday morning.
“This is why i love you,” one fan said.
The anthem protests were started by then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick during the 2016 preseason. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said at the time.
Veterans groups and others have called for a league boycott in response to the demonstrations, and NFL ratings have dropped the past two years.
The new policy is intended to end the controversy. It says that players who don’t want to stand for the national anthem “may stay in the locker room or in a similar location off the field until after the anthem has been performed.”
“We believe today’s decision will keep our focus on the game and the extraordinary athletes who play it — and on our fans who enjoy it,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement Wednesday.
Unfortunately for Goodell and his league, it looks like the anthem issue isn’t going away.
Johnson’s move effectively voids the new policy, and star players like Brown are already signaling their disagreement with it.
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