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Patriots Player Reveals Team's Position on the Anthem

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In terms of tenure, only Tom Brady and kicker Stephen Gostkowski have been with the New England Patriots longer than special teams ace Matthew Slater.

Thus, Slater has a right to speak for the team just as much as anyone else, and he recently opened up regarding the team’s position on anthem demonstrations.

“As you saw during the preseason, the first preseason game, we all stood,” Slater said on WEEI-FM. “I think as a team we feel that is the best thing for us to do, and I think you can look for more of that moving forward.”

The NFL announced a new policy on anthem protests this spring under which players would be required to either stand for the anthem or remain in the locker room, but the league and NFL Players Association agreed in July to put that rule on hold. The league and the players union have yet to announce a revised policy.

Slater hopes a resolution can be found that respects both sides of the equation.

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“My focus now is on trying to build relationships in the community, do what I can to bridge the gap where there is a gap and use my platform in a positive way,” Slater said. “That is what I have always tried to do here throughout the course of my career and that is what I am going to continue to do. We’ll let the big wigs figure out the rest.”

Standing for the anthem is what the team did last year for most of the season. The week after President Donald Trump spoke out against the protesters — “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b—- off the field right now, out, he’s fired’?” Trump said at a September rally — more than a dozen Patriots took a knee during the anthem before a game against the Texans, which elicited boos from the home crowd.

The following week and in ensuing weeks, no Patriots players knelt, and the team instead locked arms during the anthem.

In an offseason interview with Oprah Winfrey, Brady discussed how the team reached its anthem decision last season.

“I think there were a lot of good, healthy conversations coming out of it in our locker room,” Brady said. “The great part about sports are the relationships. I’ve been at it for a long time. I’ve been with guys from all different parts of the country, every color, race, belief.

“Everyone comes from something different and I think showing respect for everybody in a locker room with a team full of guys trying to go in the same direction, you better have that empathy for everybody. That’s what sports are about.”

Even though Brady supported Trump during the 2016 presidential election, he said the president’s comments didn’t help the situation.

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“I thought it was just divisive,” Brady told WEEI last season. “Like I said, I just want to support my teammates.”

After defeating the Redskins in their preseason debut, the Patriots will host the Eagles on Thursday night in a Super Bowl rematch.

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Ross Kelly has been a sportswriter since 2009.
Ross Kelly has been a sportswriter since 2009 and previously worked for ESPN, CBS and STATS Inc. A native of Louisiana, Ross now resides in Houston.
Location
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Sports




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